Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Film as a political and educational device: talk about men, male sexuality and gender among Swedish youth

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 21; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14725860600945010

1472-5878

Anna Sparrman,

Media, Gender, and Advertising

This article explores how upper secondary school pupils (16–18 years of age) talk about sex trafficking in mixed‐gender groups after having seen the Swedish film Lilya 4‐ever directed by Lukas Moodysson. An initiative to show the film during school hours was taken by the Swedish government in July 2003. The aim was to promote gender equality and decrease the sex trade. A video ethnographic study was undertaken in three media classes during film viewing and teacher‐led follow‐up discussions. The present article, drawing on critical discourse analysis, visual culture and positioning theory, demonstrates how pupils approach close‐up scenes of sexual abuse primarily by talking about men and male sexuality. Female and male pupils collaborate with teachers to construct men and male sexuality as an extensive structural problem in society with no hope for change. The analyses also show how gender differences are constructed in classroom interactions around the film.