A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
"You Were Born with a Giant Silver Spoon in Your Mouth": Geography, the Young, and Social Class in Finnish Films in the 2000S
Authors: Römpötti T
Publisher: Centre for Research in Young Peoples' Text and Cultures
Publication year: 2020
Journal: Jeunesse
Journal name in source: JEUNESSE-YOUNG PEOPLE TEXTS CULTURES
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
First page : 62
Last page: 85
Number of pages: 24
ISSN: 1920-2601
Web address : https://jeunessejournal.ca/index.php/yptc/article/view/550
Abstract
In several Finnish films of the 2000s, Finland is portrayed as divided geographically into two parts: the small urban area around Finland's capital, Helsinki, in the south and the rural areas in the country's north. This polarization frames conceptualizations of social class, particularly in films that depict young people leaving their homes. Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty hedelma) and August (Elokuu) are examples of Finnish cinema in the 2000s that negotiate ideas about class and circulate this polarized imagination through geography. Both films depict the young leaving their homes and then clashing with a geographically marked border. The films are analyzed in the context of the neo-liberal success story which defines the ideal subject of contemporary society. The article argues that the cinematic journeys of the young show the power of geography in reproducing class structures.
In several Finnish films of the 2000s, Finland is portrayed as divided geographically into two parts: the small urban area around Finland's capital, Helsinki, in the south and the rural areas in the country's north. This polarization frames conceptualizations of social class, particularly in films that depict young people leaving their homes. Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty hedelma) and August (Elokuu) are examples of Finnish cinema in the 2000s that negotiate ideas about class and circulate this polarized imagination through geography. Both films depict the young leaving their homes and then clashing with a geographically marked border. The films are analyzed in the context of the neo-liberal success story which defines the ideal subject of contemporary society. The article argues that the cinematic journeys of the young show the power of geography in reproducing class structures.
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