NYHEDSBREV #13 / NEWSLETTER #13

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KOSMORAMA 261 - SÆRNUMMER OM MODTAGELSEN AF 1864

Nu sætter Kosmorama to fede streger under den største pressestorm, nogen dansk filmproduktion eller tv-serie nogensinde har udløst. Hvad var det dog, der skete i de uger, hvor Ole Bornedals 1864 løb over tv-skærmene og ud i den danske offentlighed, og hvor dagbladet Information på forsiden konkluderede, at ”1864 skaber mere debat, end den krig vi lige er gået ind i”. ”360.416 kroner i minuttet!” ironiserede Ekstra-Bladet, ”fejlagtig og forvanskende”, lød faghistorikernes dom, ”makværk!” udtalte Pia Kjærsgaard, ”det sædvanlige DF-lort!” replicerede Ole Bornedal.

Tsunamihøje bølger rejste sig i kølvandet på den til dato dyreste produktion i skandinavisk film- og tv-historie. Og pressestormen rasede, så ingen i Danmark – publikum, anmeldere, kommentatorer eller politikere – kunne se selve serien uden at være påvirket af diskussionen om, hvorvidt VK-regeringens 100 millioner skattekroner til projektet blev anvendt forsvarligt, eller om Ole Bornedal politiserede og forvanskede danmarkshistorien?
 
Kosmorama har fundet en neutral opmand til at rede trådene ud, en forsker med solid filmvidenskabelig ekspertise, som har været velsignet med ukendskab til den danske diskussion om 1864. I Kosmoramas første single tager den svenske filmprofessor Erik Hedling fra Lunds Universitet bestik af balladen om 1864 og serien selv:

In this issue, Kosmorama draws a line under the biggest media storm ever unleashed by a Danish TV or film production. Ole Bornedal’s series 1864 was not only an event on Danish television screens; it also made an impact on the nation’s public life. A front-page feature in the newspaper Information concluded that “1864 is provoking more debate than the war we have just entered” (referring to military action against ISIL). “360,416 kroner a minute!” squealed the tabloid Ekstra-Bladet. “Inaccurate and misleading” concluded the historians. “A travesty!” raged Pia Kjærsgaard of the Danish People’s Party. “The usual right-wing crap!” replied Ole Bornedal.
 
Thus, something of a tsunami washed ashore in the wake of the most expensive production in Scandinavian media history. And as the media storm fed itself, no-one in Denmark — neither the public, the reviewers, the cultural commentators, nor the politicians — could watch the series without being influenced by the ongoing discussion. Did 1864 constitute appropriate use of 100 million kroner of taxpayers’ money, as earmarked by the previous government? Was Ole Bornedal guilty of politicising and misrepresenting Danish history?
 
Kosmorama has found a neutral referee to untangle the threads: a researcher with solid expertise in film studies, but blessed with a healthy distance from the Danish discussion about 1864. In this, Kosmorama’s first long-read article, the Swedish film professor Erik Hedling (University of Lund) takes on the challenge of reviewing the drama around 1864 as well as the series itself.
 
Some subjects are so hefty that a thorough analysis of them simply cannot be done in an article of standard length. Readers can look forward to spending a few hours with this detailed study of 1864. We plan to publish articles in this extended format in the future, as and when the opportunity, the subject and the author all present themselves.

Enjoy your read

 

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