Film policy, national identity and period adaptations in Flanders during the 1970s and 1980s

Willems, Gertjan

doi:10.1080/01439685.2014.903038

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…Also, deviations from the Dutch standard language were tolerated for the sake of realism and recognizability of the films. The biggest ambiguity can be found in the policy towards adaptations of Flemish literary classics with a historical setting (Willems, 2015). Contrary to common assumptions, the film commission was very critical towards the folkloristic and nostalgic aspects that often occurred in these films.…”

Section: Film Policy Practicesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The role of film production policy in stimulating a Flemish identity (1964–2002)

Willems

2017

Communications

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Abstract:The role of the official film production policy in stimulating a Flemish identity forms the central research question of this study. This research project examines the period that starts in 1964, when a selective and culturally inspired support mechanism for feature films was introduced in Flanders, Subsequently, the support system ran until 2002, when it was structurally renewed. This study makes use of original archival research, policy documents analysis, expert interviews, qualitative press documents analysis, and a quantitative content and qualitative textual analysis of films. The research shows that throughout the course of the second half of the 20th century, there was an evolution in Flemish film policy towards more pluralistic and less essentialist and explicit national discourses, in which national elements, nevertheless, retained an important place.

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Section: Film Policy Practicesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The role of film production policy in stimulating a Flemish identity (1964–2002)

Willems

2017

Communications

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“…In these films, the image of the Flemish past consisted of a nostalgic portrayal of a rural community, with hard-working, often oppressed people, along with the contrast between countryside and city, and between tradition and modernity. The films were based on literary works by famous authors (e.g., Stijn Streuvels, Felix Timmermans and Hendrik Conscience), such that they preserved the Flemish literary patrimony alongside constructing a Flemish history (Willems, 2015).…”

Section: Historical Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nation on and beyond the screen: A history of film and nation‐building in Flanders

Willems

Winkel

Biltereyst

2020

Nations and Nationalism

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Most research on the relationship between film and nationbuilding focuses on the content of films (the nation on the screen). Much less common is research on the structural organisation of the film sector (the nation beyond the screen). This article argues for a combined focus in order to gain deeper insight into the relationship between film and nation-building. This is illustrated by a case study focusing on Flanders. The Flemish case shows that the relationship between film and nation-building is dynamic and multiple.There is a clear evolution from a Belgian, French-speaking film sector to a separate Flemish film sector. This process was stimulated by the coming of sound film in the early 1930s and by political developments towards more Flemish autonomy. But while Flemish nation-building keeps growing to this day, the concept of 'Belgian cinema' has gained renewed relevance since the 2000s.

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“…To Flemish viewers and producers alike, realism, banality and recognition are key qualities that set locally created content apart from glossy American imports. Of course, this ties into salient non-fictional discourses on Flemishness too, emphasizing ‘typically Flemish’ modesty and realism over ‘typically American’ flashiness and idealism (see Willems, 2015). More importantly, cultural proximity in Flemish television fiction also thrives on the reflection of contemporary social issues.…”

Section: Flemish Socio-cultural Identity Domestic Television Fictionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While sexuality and gender occupy a specific position in this performance of distinction, discussed later by focusing on the cases of At All Costs (Met Man en Macht) (VIER, 2013), Bevergem (Bevergem) (Canvas, 2015) and The Eleventh of the Eleventh (Den Elfde van den Elfde) (één, 2016), the derision of ordinary Flemishness is more generally construed by deploying the grotesque cultural motif of the parish . The focus on rurality is an established element in the historical repertoire of Flemish audiovisual fiction (see Dhoest, 2001; Willems, 2015), and more than half of all series have a non-urban setting (see Vanlee et al, 2018b); the parish motif presents a hyperbole of Flemish non-urban life in serial tragicomedies. The Flemish non-urban community has always functioned as a powerful reference to ordinary Flemishness, but in the case of parish fiction, serves to comically differentiate between premodern and contemporary Flemishness.…”

Section: Distinguishing Socio-cultural Temporal Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinctively queer in the Parish: Performances of distinction and LGBTQ+ representations in Flemish prestige television fiction

Vanlee

Bauwel

Dhaenens

2019

European Journal of Cultural Studies

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This article troubles the intuitive link between emancipatory portrayals of sexual and gender diversity and ‘quality television’ by focusing on three Flemish ‘prestige’ dramas: Met Man en Macht (VIER, 2013), Bevergem (Canvas, 2015) and Den Elfde Van Den Elfde (één, 2016). Contrary to the United States, Flemish quality television portrays fewer LGBTQ+ characters and narratives than less ‘prestigious’ content. Approached from a Bourdieusian perspective, the cases discussed show that when LGBTQ+ characters are featured in prestigious domestic fiction content, they function as distinctive queers. This article argues that, whereas LGBTQ+ characters in US quality television affirm the socio-cultural disposition of the target audience, Flemish prestige television fiction delegitimizes that of the group from which the imagined audience distinguishes itself. Distinctive queers circulate in a larger cultural repertoire associated with Flemish prestige television fiction, recasting markers of ordinary Flemishness found in domestic content. This repertoire is organized around the motif of the parish, and discursively separates Flanders into two distinct temporal configurations: one decidedly pre-modern and inferior, the other expressively modern and superior. A synecdoche for ‘common Flanders’, the parish constructs the majority of Flemings as culturally coarse, backwards and innately unable to be legitimately modern. As the analysis shows, distinctive queers accentuate the social deficit of mundane communities, and textually perform the distinction of fashionable, socially liberal urban-minded Flemings. In consonance with the hyperbolic representations that recast ‘ordinary Flemish cultural life’ as grotesque and ridiculous, distinctive queers frame LGBTQ+ inclusivity as the prerogative of conspicuously absent urban, socio-culturally progressive Flemings.

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Film policy, national identity and period adaptations in Flanders during the 1970s and 1980s

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

The role of film production policy in stimulating a Flemish identity (1964–2002)

The role of film production policy in stimulating a Flemish identity (1964–2002)

The nation on and beyond the screen: A history of film and nation‐building in Flanders

Distinctively queer in the Parish: Performances of distinction and LGBTQ+ representations in Flemish prestige television fiction

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