Icons of Danish modernity : Georg Brandes and Asta Nielsen / Julie K. Allen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, Julie K.

Series:

New directions in Scandinavian studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brandes, Georg, 1842-1927--Criticism and interpretation.

Brandes, Georg.

Brandes, Georg, 1842-1927--Friends and associates.

Nielsen, Asta, 1881-1972--Friends and associates.

Nielsen, Asta.

Nielsen, Asta, 1881-1972.

Brandes, Georg, 1842-1927.

Intellectual life.

Friends and associates.

Criticism and interpretation.

Denmark--Civilization--20th century.

Denmark.

Civilization.

Denmark--Intellectual life--20th century.

National characteristics, Scandinavia.

Physical Description:

xii, 283 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press ; Copenhagen : Museum Tusculanum Press, 2012.

Summary:

"Julie Allen utilizes the lives and friendship of the Danish literary critic George Brandes (1842-1927) and the silent film star Asta Nielsen (1881-1972) to explore questions of culture and national identity in early twentieth-century Denmark. Danish culture and politics were influenced in this period by the country's deeply ambivalent relationship with Germany. Brandes and Nielsen, both of whom lived and worked in Germany for significant periods of time, were seen as dangerously cosmopolitan by the Danish public, even while they served as international cultural ambassadors for the very society that rejected them during their lifetimes. Allen argues that they were the prototypical representatives of a socially liberal and culturally modern "Danishness" (Danskhed) that Denmark itself only gradually (and later) grew into. This lively study brings its central characters to life while offering an original, thought provoking analysis of the origins and permutations of Danish modernism and Danish national identity--issues that continue to be significant in today's multi-ethnic Denmark. Icons of Danish Modernity is a book about the uneasy waves that arise when celebrities take on national symbolism, and the beginnings of this formula in the early twentieth century.Julie K. Allen is associate professor of Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison."Allen weaves a compelling cultural analysis about national identity and its mores. The juxtaposition of the works of Georg Brandes and Asta Nielsen is highly original and Allen's contribution offers a much-needed introduction to an English reading audience of these important cultural figures." -Karin Sanders, University of California, Berkeley"-- Provided by publisher.

"Utilizes the lives of literary critic Georg Brandes and silent film star Asta Nielsen to explore questions of national identity in early twentieth-century Denmark"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 The Critic and the Actress: Crafting Art and National Identity 16

Part 1 Georg Brandes

2 The Literary Revolutionary: Marketing Danish Modernity in Imperial Germany 47

3 The Outspoken Radical: Political Journalism and Provocative Pacifism 87

Part 2 Asta Nielsen

4 The Danish Diva: Identity Games in Prewar Silent Cinema 127

5 The New Woman: Enacting Scandinavian Modernity on Screen 178.

ISBN:

9780295992204

0295992204

OCLC:

785080390

Online:

Cover image