Folkhemsk film : Med ”invandraren” i rollen som den sympatiske Andre

Sammanfattning: The main objective of this thesis is to study representations of ‘the immigrant’ in Swedish films during the last 30 years – 1970-2000. The main question is whether the films are to be seen as reproducing the dominant order in society or as subversive practices. Another question is why the representations of ‘immigrants’ in some aspects differ between different historical periods. The films selected are films with ‘immigrants’ in central roles, which are analysed using a discourse analysis. My theoretical framework includes theories about discourse, ideology, myth, gender and ethnicity, in a feminist and postcolonial perspective. The main conclusion is that the films analysed here, reproduce and challenge dominant discourses at the same time; they can be seen as both reproductive and subversive practices. On the one hand ‘the immigrant’ is represented as sympathetic, which I interpret as an anti-racist counter discourse. On the other hand most of the films also, in accordance with the dominant discourse, represent ‘the immigrant’ as fundamentally different. ‘The immigrant’ is used as a tool in different internal and historically specific political debates to embody the solution to the conflicts experienced in society at large. When modern urban society is criticized, ‘the immigrant’s’ role is to represent values belonging to the traditional society. ‘The immigrant’ can thereby be said to represent an utopian desire, insofar as s/he and his/her culture are constructed as the positive opposite of what is seen as negative in Swedish society during a specific historical period.