Introduction: On the History, Ideology, and Aesthetics of Swedish Children’s Cinema

This chapter introduces the history, ideology, and aesthetics of national children’s cinema in Sweden, where children’s films have been produced for over a century, received state support for 70 years, and been richly awarded at international film festivals throughout the years. Despite its long and rich history, though, children’s film in Sweden has notably lower status than other genres of films, and this is especially prominent within academia. The chapter covers the important movements of Swedish children’s cinema—including the rascal films of the 1920s, the folkhem era of the 1940s and 1950s, the groundbreaking culture for children of the late 1960s and 1970s, the nostalgic era of the 1980s, and the child-empowering films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some of the most important writers and directors of children’s film are introduced, and the development of domestic cinema is discussed in regards to societal change. Changing notions of children and childhood are particularly important to be able to understand the forms, functions, and the impact of children’s cinema in a nation where children’s rights have been high on the agenda ever since the well-known reformist pedagogue Ellen Key declared the 2000s to be the ‘century of the child’. The chapter also shortly discusses the long history of film education in Sweden, as well as the great difficulties that contemporary children’s film faces. In conclusion, the 14 chapters of the edited collection Swedish Children’s Cinema: History, Ideology, and Aesthetics are introduced.