Inclusion in New Danish Cinema: Gender, Sexuality, and Transnational Belonging

By examining the recent work by Danish writer-directors of both Dogme and New Danish Cinema from 1998 onward, this study pinpoints examples of film analysis that articulate the shared ethical themes of New Danish Cinema. These themes include Danish citizenship and identity, the reduction of family risk, negotiating prejudice and inclusion through desire, humility and empathy, and transnational belonging during a time of rising globalization. A number of the realistic fiction films of New Danish Cinema reflect Denmark’s preceding anti-Hollywood film movement dubbed Dogme 95. This movement first provided the political push for ethically valuable film making in a “realistic” aesthetic. Egalitarian in substance, and also in production, Denmark has a similar number of recently successful female writer-directors as male writer-directors. Known as a largely homogenized country with a recent rise in immigrants, Denmark has demonstrated that it is possible for film to be used as a vehicle to reinforce cultural ethics and political values while also navigating through the ongoing and mounting forces of digital communication and globalization