Kroppar som fängslar - En studie om representation av svenska kvinnliga protagonister med bakgrund från Mellanöstern i filmerna Dröm Vidare och Para Knas

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the representation of Swedish women with background from the Middle East in lead roles in the films Dröm Vidare (2017) and Para knas (2017). The purpose of this study is to examine how those women are represented in contemporary Swedish drama films. The chosen method is a multimodal discourse analysis which allows to identify discursive means, ideas and values in the representation of the examined group. Various elements are analyzed in the films like text, characters and settings. Stuart Hall's representation theory with focus on stereotypes contributes to interpreting the analysis. The concept of orientalism and popular orientalism is also important to gain a deeper understanding in representation issues about the Middle East. The study shows that the protagonists fall into the category of immigrants based on their background. Therefore their representation becomes stereotypical as they are seen as ‘’the other’’.