Week Five – Geographies: From the National to Transnational

Television is a major presence in most national cultures, even in most affluent to developing countries, and the rise of transnational television is central to current regional and global reshaping of media industries and cultures. Consequently we can view television as a cultural technology pivotal to the production of real-imagined spaces for producers and audiences, with the myriad of forms of transnational television that have emerged more recently performing related cultural work in producing global imaginary and our sense of a place with it.

In identifying these television shows it’s important to not just focus on American or western media, because media globalisation is not just, “the spread of the same products of Western… origin all over the world through media conglomerates. Non-Western players also actively collaborate in the productions and circulation of global media products” (Iwabuchi, I; 2005). The Scandinavian television series Bron/Boren (2011), or The Bridge, is a part of the Scandinoir, also called Nordic noir, genre of dark and violent thrillers set in Scandinavia. The series adheres to this phenomenon in the unfolding narrative to create suspense, which is a common characteristic of thrillers; however it displays darkness and complex mood through alternative outlets such as the characters. The series is an example of transnational television as it’s produced in Sweden and Denmark and broadcasted to 174 countries worldwide. The concept has also been readapted for an American audience in the form of The Bridge (2013) which sees the plot take place between the United States and Mexican border, and The Tunnel (2013) which takes place between France and Britain appealing to their audiences.

Ingrid Stigsdotter argues that vital to the international success of Bron/Boren and its remakes is, “the simple yet glorious idea of a crime scene being divided by a national border,” with this notion of a transnational police investigation taking place over national borders an important feature of the series (Stigsdotter, I; 2014). Though this idea of transnational borders is not something we are fully familiar with in Australia, as we are an island and cultural differences don’t vary too profoundly across state borders; the border lines of our states do help provide a predetermined knowledge and understanding of the situation. The fact that it’s a passport-free Swedish-Danish bridge crossing is something we can also relate to, while it may intrigue other international viewers for its lack of political presence in comparison with many other national boundaries. The borders cultural differences and people is something we learn through the show as gaining an international understanding of Europe where there are so many countries and cultures right next to each other.

Stigsdotter also notes how the interaction between Saga and Martin plays a significant part in the series where, “the characters’ diverging personalities can be interpreted – at least by Scandinavian viewers – as a humorous take on Nordic national stereotypes, according to which Swedes are reserved, cold and obedient subjects of the Nanny state, while Danes are… friendlier… more life-affirming, but with slightly anarchistic politics” (Stigsdotter, I; 2014). These cultural differences can be seen through the contrast of the main characters – Saga being, “efficient, intelligent, hardworking and follow[ing] the law by the book, but is servery lacking in social skills;” while Martin is, “jovial and likeable libertarian, but his tendency to follow his instincts… rather than professional rules end up having serious consequences” (Stigsdotter, I; 2014). These traits are expressed in the first episode of the series through character developments; for example Saga does not let the ambulance pass on the bridge despite there being a heart transplant patient in desperate need of an operation, it is evident she lives through her work and is never shown away from her job or in a social setting and she has quite a masculine way of approaching things for example when she gets changed in the office. While Martin allows the ambulance to pass despite Saga’s orders therefore disobeying her authority, he is shown away from work when he goes home to his son and wife and he brings Danish bread to the Swedish police station when he visits.

Perhaps part of the reason why the series has been able to be adapted for so many different audiences is because of the underlying characteristics that make the show familiar to many western viewers. The show is a familiar cop show genre and proves to have a relatable narrative arc with there being a murder and as the case unfolds we learn the victim is of importance as she is a politician, therefore the stakes escalate. The opening credit sequence is also similar in the sense that the city plays a central role to the story, a familiarity to a Western Law and Order (1990) viewership, with night shots of the city lit up. There is also a male and female lead that has a love/hate relationship which they have to put aside for the case.

However, the show’s differences can be seen in the lack of emotional breadth in scenes, such as when the victim’s body is moved and the audience sees the whole cross section of the cut depicting human organs. There is also no pleasant banter between the two leads or limited between characters in general, discussion is always around the case itself and the characters are far from heroic as possible. More obviously the setting is visually different with the clean infrastructure a current reminder of the foreignness.

Through the television series Bron/Broen we can see how national identity can be represented through such things as characters, place and cultural values. There are some parts of the show that prove relatable to a Western audience, however it’s through the elements we displace that we are able to further understand the country where the series was produced, building an imagined space of that place in our minds.

References

Iwabuchi, K 2005. ‘Discrepant Intimacy: Popular Culture Flows in East Asia,’ Asian Media Studies: Politics of Subjectivities, Blackwell Publishers, Massachusetts, pp. 19-36.

Stigsdotter, I 2014. ‘Explaining the success of Bron/Broen (The Bridge),’ MeCETES UK: Mediating Cultural Encounters through European Screens: http://mecetes.co.uk/explaining-success-bronbroen-bridge/, August 2014.