Your role will be to ensure the looms run efficiently ensuring safety at all times ,place gears into looms and prepare everything needed to the weaving function to commence , identify and rectify faults diagnosed , document any repairs and adjustments carried out to looms.
Manage and maintain to the highest standards a clean and safe environment under the guidelines from the Cloth Production Manager and the company H&S guidelines.
To work as part of the production team and have a flexible approach to working life.
Be part of the production team to implement change and promote a 'right first time, no fault' forward approach to quality.
Manage and maintain a share of looms on any set week and help where needed if needed on others.
To ensure accurate start-up of new warps, checking construction, design against production sheet and passing standard. Ensuring the quality checklist is completed and tickets signed for each new warp.
To monitor spare parts stock levels and report back to the weaving manager any requirement. Recording parts that have been fitted during your shift period and the current stock level.
To document any repairs/adjustments carried out to looms on the work carried out/parts fitted record sheet on each loom.
To make routine inspections of all the looms to ensure the absence of faults.
To identify and rectify faults diagnosed at the perch/mending.
To assist in the maintenance of a safe working environment through the strict adherence to company health and safety rules and procedures.
Ensuring that all Personal Protective Equipment as issued is used.
Any other duties as requested by the Team Leaders / Manager that are deemed within your abilities and to the benefit of the business.
All H&S requirements are adhered to, including PPE and hearing protection.
Experience as a loom technician is essential. Dornier looms preferred but others are acceptable. Training will be provided for the right candidate.
Confidence to implement change and develop / improve the department.
Ability to communicate well, including appropriate use of computer software.
Textile based qualifications / relevant experience needed.
Improving the Business – Promotes improvement and changes.
Can Do approach - Has enthusiastic drive and self-confidence.
Openness and Integrity - Encourages an environment of openness and honesty.
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Most novels and comics that I read aren't new releases. This makes things a little complicated when it comes to end of year lists. Most often those kinds of things are focused on new releases. If I focused on new released I'd have a really small list. You'll find a couple titles on my list that are new releases, but most of these of older books.
In previous years I've organized my end of year list by categories such as Science Fiction Novel, Fantasy Novel, Best Manga, Best Comic Book, etc. This year I'm lumping it all together and simply listing my 20 favourite comics and novels read in 2015. These are books that I've read in the last year, not books that were published in the last year. Still, all of these books were new to me and I didn't include anything I reread and enjoyed this year. Unfortunately, due to taking a month off in February (I got married) and because I had a two month long project focused on the Harry Potter series, there are some really good books that I read this year that I didn't review on the blog. I planned on reviewing these books, honest, but they never took shape past my initial notes and reactions I took while reading them. Now I feel like too much time has passed for me to write worthwhile reviews.
Before any more stalling, here they are, my favourite 20 books of 2015. We'll start with books 20 to 11 today and we'll finish with the top 10 on Sunday.
One of the things I wanted to do in 2015 was read a few books that were reputed to be difficult reads. Either difficult to understand, using complex prose, or simply very dense books. Three of those books come to mind and interestingly enough, they're all on this top twenty list. I guess the lesson here is that challenging books are often good books. Sure, three is a small sample size, but every one of these books was memorable for multiple reasons.
Thomas Pynchon has a reputation for writing difficult books. Inherent Vice is said to be one of his more accessible books which is kind of mind boggling. I had a hard time keeping up with the plot in this one and there were many, many references that I didn't catch. I wouldn't even have realized most of them if it wasn't for the online annotations I found, which were a fascination read of their own. One of the things that impressed me the most with this book is how versatile the writing and the story were. At time a hilarious book with some skilled and intelligent comedic writing, the novel switched gears to be a period piece, detective fiction, character centric book, to biting satire. There's a lot to enjoy in it. Much more than what you're used to finding in a book its size (under 400 pages) and it's layered so effectively that there are multiple meanings for many key elements of the plot and themes.
Buy Inherent Vice at Amazon.
Another one of my personal goals this year was to read more non-fiction. I don't read much non-fiction and the main reason is that I have clearly defined reading habits. Fiction, specifically genre fiction and comics, are my go to thing when I browse for new books. The beauty of non-fiction is that regardless of what you enjoy in life, there are non-fiction books dealing with a subject you find interesting. In the past, I've found most of what I enjoy when it comes to non-fiction is biographies by musicians or bands that I like. I'm a big Neil Young fan and it seemed like a no brainer to pick up this little book when I found it at Bay Used Books here in Sudbury, ON.
Neil and Me has an interesting angle as it's written by Neil's father, Scott Young, a journalist and writer. Since it was written in the 80s, the book only covers about half of Neil's career. The focus of this book isn't on the music or mapping out Neil's career. Instead, it's about Neil's character. Who he is, why he does what he does, and how that is reflected in his music, his life, and his career. It's about the man who makes the music from the point of view of his father which gives the information in the book a sense of immediacy and intimacy. Any fan of Neil Young would enjoy this book if for no other reason that it has a unique perspective on the rock legend.
Buy Neil and Me:The Neil Young Story at Amazon.
Steven Brust's Jhereg was a huge surprise to me last year. A slim fantasy novel published in 1983 did things with world building I never could have imagined. I had no expectations coming into this book other than the fact that Jo Walton said some nice things about this series at Tor.com. What I found inside was a world that seemed infinitely bigger than the novel could actual contain. Better yet, the book was fast, precise, and instantly marked Brust as an author I respect and admire. I'm notorious for taking a long time to read an entire series. I like variety in my books and I'm constantly jumping around. I suspect this is pretty common for avid readers. The downside to this kind of habit is that it can take months to get to the second volume of a series, even after you've named the first book one of the best books you've read in a given year.
Thankfully I found time to read Yendi this year. I devoured it in two 100 page sittings and the novel was delightful. I'm so very impressed by Brust's writing. The man writes so well I'm amazed I never heard of him until a year ago. With this second volume in his Vlad Taltos series, Brust provides us with a prequel. He tells the story of how Vlad got his first big break in the Jhereg world of crime. In Yendi he acquires a small territory and has to defend it against a richer and more powerful rival trying to squeeze in on his streets. The simple and small time crime war ends up being tied to a secret plot between Dragaerans that reaches as far back as a millennium ago. Though not on the same level of quality as Jhereg, Yendi proves that Brust can consistently write fast moving, tightly plotted, and complex narratives in a fantasy world setting. That he does it with style and snappy dialogue is simply icing on the cake.
Did anybody else get excited about Star Wars in 2015? I feel like I was the only one. Like many other readers and fans of the franchise, I spent my time in anticipation for the movie reading Star Wars novels. In the first half of the year our options were mostly limited to works in the Expanded Universe which were sadly but understandably pushed aside in place of new post-Return of the Jedi continuity which now goes under the name of New Canon. Later on in the year, receiving a big push in the fall, was the arrival of plenty of tie-in media under the line of Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens which provided fans with a wide variety of tie-in fiction.
Most of what I read this year was part of the EU. I particularly enjoyed The Thrawn Trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn. It's an excellent series that provides a satisfying continuation of the saga and further development of well-known characters, essentially giving the franchise new life during its original publication in the early-to-mid-90s. In addition, Zahn included many new characters which have remained popular in the EU for two decades.
In December I read some of the new comics by Marvel and while I enjoyed them they weren't as good as the novels. I find that the franchise requirement and focus on action didn't allow for much character development or complex plotting. I still got my fill of good characterization and action with the short novel Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure written by Greg Rucka with illustrations and cover by Phil Noto. A character centric story, Rucka proved to have a good grasp on Han and he included a new villain for the New Canon, a character I hope to see again.
Buy Heir to the Empire at Amazon.
Buy Dark Force Rising at Amazon.
Buy The Last Command at Amazon.
Buy Journey To Star Wars: The Force Awaken Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure at Amazon.
Love and Rockets might just be the best comic of the last thirty years. It's been in near continuous publication since then, too. The most recent format is an annual paperback. It's done in an anthology style, similarly to the original series that began in the 80s. Each issue contains stories of varying lengths by Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert "Beto" Hernandez. In this new format, the Bros Hernandez have been using their comic to continue the decades long stories which consist of a cast of characters in the hundreds.
In this issue, Jaime focuses on two different stories. The first one is about his two most famous characters Maggie and Hopey as they travel to their hometown for a reunion with old friends. The second story deal with a new character recently introduces in an earlier issue of New Stories. His grasp of aging punkers and their 21 Century equivalent is as exciting and endearing to read as some of his most acclaimed stories. As always, his art is clear and beautifully rendered. Jaime's art is instantly recognizable as the work of a master of the comic book medium and it's a regular pleasure to see him continue to refine his skills in these annual volumes.
As for Gilbert, he hasn't been doing the same kind of stories as found in his earlier Palomar work. Rather, the comics he's doing today are an extension of the stories he's started all those decades ago. While Jaime has been perfecting his style of storytelling, Gilbert has been letting loose. His art is as imposing as ever while his dialogue is getting sharper and more unusual. Still, he's been building a complex and multilayered story based on the grandchildren of his matriarch Luba. Her granddaughter, Killer, has become a favourite of mine in the last few years. If anything, half of the annual paperback doesn't seem like enough room for Gilbert and his big ideas. I guess that's why he's been doing many side projects in recent years. One thing is clear, however, the Bros Hernandez are still at the top of their game with Love and Rockets: New Stories.
Buy Love and Rockets: New Stories #7 at Amazon.
This is another book I read specifically because it was non-fiction. And because it's about dinosaurs, obviously. As a fan of dinosaur and prehistory in general, I'm rather uneducated in the whole thing. This book, which I received as a gift from my little sister after I dropped some not-so-subtle hints, was chosen as a good starting point because I had read some of author Brian Switek's online articles. I enjoyed his style and the knowledge he has on the subject of dinosaur and prehistory. He's got an infectious energy when discussion these particular subjects. Sampling his work online gave me a good appreciation for what he does and encouraged me to check out this book.
My Beloved Brontosaurus is a good introductory book for mature dinosaur fans (not targeted towards a child audience). The writing style is conversational without being pandering or condescending. Switek writes with quite a bit of energy and the whole thing is structured in a way that is approachable. You could know nothing about dinosaur and read this book without feeling lost. Some books on the subject of dinosaurs get lost in the specific language of the field of study and casual or amateur fans of dinos can find it difficult and confusing. There is none of that here. If you finish reading My Beloved Brontosaurus and you want to get something more details or technical language, the bibliography will provide you with dozens of starting points for further research. Quite simply, this is a great book to introduce fans to the world of dinosaurs.
Buy My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs at Amazon.
What can I say about Parker that I haven't said already? I'm a fan for life, that's got to be clear at this point. In The Seventh, Richard Stark's writing is as precise as ever. His prose has a poetic brutality to it. There is no sentimentality for the characters or sympathy for their actions. It suits the main character quite well. Parker gets in a situation where his single-minded attitude and his drive for a particular goal are crucial. They are key characteristics that are essential not only to his getting his cut of the money, but equally important to his very survival.
The Parker novels aren't long, but they're not sparse. They have a good amount of detail, but they have details without the addition of fluff or filler. The result is that each book condenses a surprising amount of tightly plotted crime stories with a fascinating character at its centre. If you've never read a book by Stark, I strongly recommend you give them a try. The Seventh isn't his best book but it's still a skilled novel that has earned its place in the consistently excellent series of novels starring the coldest, most practical, and most professional criminal in literature.
Buy The Seventh at Amazon.
Reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series since I started Shared Universe Reviews has been one of the most consistently enjoyable reads. As a whole, the series has its flaws but I still find a lot to enjoy in these novels. I'm not suggesting these flaws should be ignored. I'm saying they shouldn't be the sole focus of your evaluation of these books.
Really though, none of that matters. Those who take the time to read the novels in the Pern series will be rewarded with a rich science fiction and fantasy world. The kind of place that is realized in such detail that you could (and likely will) spend hours of you time visiting the distant planet in your imagination. This year I read three novels in the series. Two of them (Dragondrums and The White Dragon) closed off their respective trilogies and effectively concluded the first portion of the series which is made up of two trilogies that complement each other nicely. The third book I read provided readers with a look at a particular time in Pern's history and giving us the story one of their legendary Weyrwomen, Moreta. In this book McCaffrey excelled at telling a science fiction story in a fantasy world setting in ways that I still find impressive. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern acts as the introduction novel to the second portion of the Pern series, the portion that looks at Pern's history and provides readers with many answers to six novels' worth of questions.
Am I cheating by including three books here? Nah, I don't think so. They're all part of a series and they're all connected. I listed the individual titles I read but I could have simply put Dragonriders of Pern as the title. If you really want to pick a single title, I might suggest The White Dragon. Though if you asked me the same question tomorrow, I'd likely answer with Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. When it comes to classic books, these are oldies but goodies. I'd call them a guilty pleasure if that didn't suggest they aren't worth reading. They certainly are and I'll continue to do so for many more volumes.
Buy The White Dragon at Amazon.
Buy Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern at Amazon.
Kate Beaton is Canada's gift to comedy and literacy. I can't think of any other cartoonist that combines such a wide range of sources for jokes as she does. There are so many enjoyable things to find within the pages of her latest collection of comic strips. Pop culture references, low brow humour, history jokes, and literary based gags all share space between two covers. There is quite literally something for everyone.
What impresses me most of all isn't the style of humour but the execution of it. I admit that it took some time for me to adjust to Beaton's art when I first encountered her work. Since then, I've simply grown increasingly found of it. This resulted from my understanding her style of cartooning. Beaton is a very expressive artist and while some of her art can occasionally look a little crude, it's the gestures and the slightly raw execution that strikes a chord with me. Beaton isn't just a good comedic writer she's also a skilled artist. She excels at body language. It's the details that add to the movement and facials expressions of her characters that make the jokes land and work better than they should. Beaton also excels at making feel guilty. After reading her comics I feel like I need to read more history books and classics literature. It's not my fault that I'd rather read Step Aside, Pops. She's the one who had to make perfectly hilarious comics that distract me from reading the classics.
Buy Step Aside,Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection at Amazon.
You can read most of Kate Beaton's comics at her website Hart! A Vagrant. Be sure to check it out as it's pretty rad.
Cormac McCarthy writes brutal books. His style of writing is also pretty rough as his often strays from conventional syntax and grammar in favour of minimalist use of punctuation. The result is a style of prose that is short and sharp that creates a particular mood for his stories. The only other book I've read by McCarthy was The Road, a stark portrayal of humanity's possible future following the destruction of society by nuclear weapons. It's not an easy book to read because McCarthy includes many difficult truths about human behaviour and the challenges we have with peaceful cohabitation. In some ways No Country for Old Men is even more disturbing because it's set a few decades in our past but presents the reader with a realistic and unfiltered look at humanity's darker side.
It's undeniable that McCarthy is an important voice in fiction. His books pack a punch and they never shy away from telling it like it is. McCarthy isn't looking out for his readers, instead he's looking out for his story and the themes at play. No Country for Old Men is about humanity's decline into a society where criminal activities are the norm. There are fascinating comparisons to be made between the three main characters, two of which are living in completely different worlds and one of which is straddling both, not really belonging entirely in one or the other. This book is about a great many things and one of them is the noticeable changes one experiences in a human lifetime, the moral ambiguity of the present, and the decline of strong values and proper civil conduct. It's a quick and powerful read which prose that highlights the impactful nature of the story and its imposing characters.
Buy No Country for Old Men at Amazon.
Come back to SUR on Sunday, January 3rd, for the final ten in my Favourite Comics and Novels Read in 2015.


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HM George I's 13-Great Aunt. HRE Charles VI's 14-Great Aunt. Poss. U.S. President [WASHINGTON]'s 17-Great Grandmother. HRH Charles's 20-Great Grandmother. Poss. PM Churchill's 18-Great Grandmother. Lady Diana's 18-Great Grandmother. HRH Albert II's 20-Great Grandmother. HM Juan Carlos' 20-Great Grandmother. Poss. Jamie's 24-Great Grandmother.


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As of September 23, 2017, OHSA's regulations are in effect.
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Major tourism sites in Havana and elsewhere are back to normal after Hurricane Irma. Visitors would help the rest of the country recover.
Hurricane Irma was expected to largely skirt Cuba, sweeping over the eastern tip of the island before barreling toward Florida. Instead, the monstrous storm practically ran the length of the nation, leaving a path of destruction along the northern coast. This was the first time the eye of a category five storm reached the island since 1932, and the immediate consequences were dire.
The malecón, Havana's famed seawall, was no match for the 20-foot swells that hurtled against it. Low-lying neighborhoods were flooded, laying to waste the belongings of tens of thousands of Habaneros and flooding the U.S. Embassy. The historic hurricane took 10 Cuban lives, countless homes and caused millions of dollars in damage to resort towns, airports and farms.
Irma did not, however, take the resilience, resolve and spirit of the Cuban people. It did not leave Cuba uninhabitable and it didn't destroy the beauty the country has to offer. If you've thought about visiting Cuba, now is the time. Cubans are very much back to business – and their doors are open to visitors.
But you wouldn't know it from the news. Media coverage focused on horrific scenes of destroyed coastal towns and severe flooding in the capital. Along with a recent State Department travel advisory that urged visitors to "carefully consider the risks of travel to Cuba" while recovery efforts are underway, this has caused panic among would-be travelers. The upshot? The rest of the State Department's message – that major roads were open, and that power and water service has largely been restored – was overshadowed. This led to trip cancellations that further harmed Cuban entrepreneurs and tourism workers who were already suffering from measures taken by the administration of President Donald Trump to limit U.S. travel to Cuba.
De la Rosa is correct. Havana was largely spared from destruction. Old Havana's plazas, parks, churches, cobblestone streets, and cafés are up and running, and are as charming as ever. The city's impressive art museums and private studios and galleries are open, as are popular tourist attractions like Ernest Hemingway's home, the iconic Hotel Nacional's garden and the stately mansions of Vedado and Miramar. And, if your travel category permits it, you can once again take the tunnel under the bay – which was filled with water during the storm – to Havana's eastern beaches to soak up the sun on white sands.
Hotels long-popular with Americans, like the historic Hotel Nacional, and Parque Central and Saratoga in the city's historic core are running at 100 percent capacity. Famed Cuban paladars (private restaurants) like La Guarida, made popular by the Oscar-nominated film Fresa y Chocolate, San Cristóbal, where Malia Obama served as translator for her father, then-President Barack Obama, and the internationally acclaimed Atelier are still serving meals. The airports, bus stations and, of course, the 1950s Chevys and Fords, are up and running. Electricity was restored to the city days before South Florida residents, some of whom are still without power, got back on the grid.
The same is true for the cities of Cienfuegos, Santiago, Trinidad and the beautiful tobacco region of Pinar del Rio, all of which fell outside of Irma's path.
The misconception that the island was left completely destroyed comes at a tough moment for Cubans. Confusion about Trump's travel policy has led to the false belief that Americans can't visit the island, resulting in a decline in visitors. This has hit Cuban entrepreneurs and folks working in the tourism sector particularly hard, and many small businesses won't survive a Trump-Irma combo that results in a tourism slump.
As was the case with New York following 9/11, it's important to remember that recovering and rebuilding means visiting. Visiting with your hearts, minds and wallets is what helps cities rebuild and aids the local economy. At Cuba Educational Travel, we're relying on our steady stream of visiting families, university groups and social organizations to help make a difference, redesigning programs where possible to support affected areas with recovery efforts and prioritizing businesses and individuals that are rebuilding. Many travelers are bringing donations that we then channel to the areas that were hit hard by Irma.
It's an incredibly exciting and interesting time to visit the island. The opening with the United States and reforms in Cuba have led to a dynamic and robust private sector. Cuban art, dance and music is richer than ever. The culinary scene and nightlife leads to memorable experiences. The same smiles and open arms await you from the Cuban people. Direct flights from the U.S. and incredibly diverse lodging options from new hotels and bed and breakfasts make it easier than ever. The Cuba that everyone says they "want to visit before it changes" is still safe, beautiful and unchanged, despite Irma.
So come for a visit. Not only will it be culturally enriching, intellectually stimulating and incredibly enjoyable, but you'll also be standing strong with your Cuban neighbors and helping them move forward.
Laverty is a leading expert on Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations. He is founder and president of Cuba Educational Travel.


text:
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in intense new Southpaw teaser
By George Wales 16 June 2015
A brand new teaser has appeared online for Southpaw, Antoine Fuqua's boxing drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled boxer attempting to get his life back on track after the untimely death of young wife Rachel McAdams.
Whereas the previous full-length trailer revealed the vast majority of the plot, this latest teaser focuses in on the general tone and intensity of the film, dispensing with dialogue almost entirely, in favour of an all-out assault on the senses. It might only be 35 seconds long, but it knows how to get the adrenaline pumping.
Take a look at the new trailer, below…
Gyllenhaal is in remarkable shape for this one, and it seems as though the fight scenes are going to have a shuddering physicality oft-absent from a Hollywood take on the sport. It certainly doesn't look to be pulling its punches. Directed by Fuqua and co-starring 50 Cent, Forest Whitaker and Naomie Harris, Southpaw will open in the UK and US on 24 July 2015.
For more great film and TV news, head to our movie channel or subscribe to Total Film.
George Wales
George is GR's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research, Volume 3, Issue 4, pages 41–52.
Sofia Sjö
Religious Themes and Characters in Nordic Children's Fantasy Films: Explorations of 'Acceptable' Religion
Abstract: This article argues that the character of children's films make them a useful area of study when exploring attitudes to religion. A recurring idea behind children's films is that they should include what is good for the child, which means that when religion is included it will be shaped in accordance with ideas of what is seen as 'acceptable' religion. Four Nordic children's fantasy films which include religious beings or themes are analyzed and the attitudes to religion that the films suggest are discussed. The films are argued to present religious spheres as unthreatening, but often also as related to the 'Other'. The films do not question religious faith as such, but do link it to private choice and children's fantasies and thereby circumscribe its importance. Simultaneously, the transcendent sphere becomes a sphere of childhood and fantasy and children are, it would seem, bestowed the role of providing adults too an access to something beyond.
Keywords: children's films, Nordic films, fantasy, religion.
Biography and contact info: Sofia Sjö (sofia.sjo@abo.fi) is a senior researcher in comparative religion at Åbo Akademi University. Her research focuses on religion and film and her previous projects have among other things explored science fiction and Nordic films.
Today, many scholars agree on the usefulness of exploring popular culture when aiming to comprehend contemporary society. As Andrew Nestingen argues, "[p]opular texts continually mediate socially significant conflicts through narration, music, and image" (9). Elizabeth Higginbotham points in the same direction when she states that "films capture and reflect shifts in ideologies and other thinking about social institutions and social positions" (ix). In the field of religion and popular culture – to which this article belongs – the way that popular cultural forms such as films can help us comprehend society and particularly the role of religion in society is also often highlighted. Christopher Partridge, for example, argues that "[p]opular culture is both an expression of the cultural milieu from which it emerges and formative of that culture, in that it contributes to the formation of worldviews and in doing so, influences what people accept as plausible" (123). Bruce David Forbes in turn writes that "[a]pproaching the study of religion through popular culture can help us learn more about widespread perceptions of religion and the role religion plays in the everyday lives of people" (2). This is not to say that popular culture directly reflects society. As Adam Possamai argues, "the mirror is not always well polished. Images might sometimes be distorted"; but, he continues, "there will always be an element of truth in them" (22–23).
Building on the notion that popular cultural forms such as film can help us better understand a society and its attitudes to religion, this article explores this notion with a focus on a genre that has so far largely been ignored in studies of religion and film, namely children's films. Children's films here simply means films directed at a young audience. With the exception of very well-known films such as the films based on the Harry Potter novels (see e.g. Wagner), children's films are seldom a focus in contemporary explorations of religion and popular culture. However, researching children's films from a religion and film perspective, I argue, offers a great deal of potential insight into how religion is understood in a particular context, especially when one takes the nature of children's films into account. The mediatization of religion theory argues that religion in films is always shaped according to media logics such as genre conventions (Hjarvard). This does not entail that there is just one role for religion in a given genre, but it can lead to certain repeated constructions and ways of representing religion. The nature of children's films have changed over time, but certain understandings of children's films prevail. Malena Janson has illustrated in a study of Swedish children's films how varying discourses regarding children have shaped Swedish children's films, but how the idea of what is best for the child has continued to be the guiding theme. Janson builds on David Buckingham, who argues that culture aimed at children has often had two purposes: to protect children from harm, and to include aspects considered beneficial which can guide children. This pedagogical element in children's film has been highlighted in studies of films from other contexts as well (Wojcik-Andrews) and in studies of other cultural forms too (Nikolajeva, Power).
I reason that the pedagogical aspect of children's films in particular makes it worthwhile to analyze how religion and religious themes are presented in children's films. Because of the nature of children's films, representations in these can be argued to illustrate ideas about what is seen as 'acceptable' religion: religion that is considered suitable even for children. Janson argues that in art and literature children have often, because of the naiveté connected to them, been presented as saying how things really are and as an intermediary between gods and humans (73). Thus children in comparison to adults often come across supernatural religious beings and connect to them, but these representations also include a pedagogical message and highlight adult and societal attitudes to religion. However, at the same time the films point to social attitudes to and understandings of children and childhood and can be argued to underline the adult world's need to see children in a certain way and have them fulfil certain functions, functions they cannot themselves fulfill (Janson; Rose). These functions can include the role of intermediary between humans and supernatural beings, a role that adults, for various reasons, cannot realize. Both the way religion is represented in the films and the roles presented for children in relation to religion are thus worthy of exploration when one wants to capture perspectives on religion today.
In this study I focus on Nordic children's fantasy films, films that include either religious supernatural characters – characters that have non-everyday powers and are connected to a religious sphere – or a clear Christmas theme. The films can all largely be characterized as fantasy films and I argue that the specific genre of the films, not just that they are children's films, is important to take into account in the analysis. As has often been pointed out, there is no single accepted definition of fantasy (Clute), nor is there a strict need for one, but it is of importance that researchers clarify their use of the concept and highlight what identifying a film as fantasy brings to the analysis. In this study I understand fantasy in line with Clute's presentation of the genre; that is to say as "a story which is impossible in the world as we perceive it" (338). As I will show though, several of the films open up different readings of the non-everyday elements they present. They can be seen as the fantasies of children, but also as "real" fantastical elements, and I argue that this latter reading is the reading that generally wins out. I also agree with Brian Attebery's notion that fantasy can be seen as a "fuzzy set" with a common center, but no defined boundaries (12), but I have found particularly Farah Mendlesohn's categories to be useful when analyzing the different films and their fantastic elements and I will return to Mendlesohn in my analysis. By looking at the films discussed in this article as fantasy I bring into my analysis an understanding of how fantasy films and stories work, an understanding that is needed, I argue, for one to comprehend the way both children and religious themes are presented in the films. In line with others in the field (Nikolajeva, Power, "The Development"; Butler) I particularly find that the fantasy genre can open up a space for children's agency, an agency that fantasy characters, be they connected to a religious sphere or not, can help highlight.
The films I analyze next have been chosen because they together indicate some recurring ways of representing religion in contemporary Nordic children's fantasy films, but also because they individually offer noteworthy depictions of both religious themes and children. With their very direct focus on religious themes the first three films I explore are somewhat unusual, however, they do at the same time capture what I argue are common attitudes to religion in the Nordic countries. I start my analysis with a Swedish film from 2002 directed by Ulf Malmros, We Can Be Heroes!/Bäst i Sverige!, a film where the fantastic is represented by none other than Jesus. I then turn to two films where the main protagonist encounters an angel, first a Danish film from 2000 directed by Natasha Arthy, Miracle/Mirakel, then a Norwegian film from 2008 directed by Jesper W. Nielsen, Through a Glass, Darkly/I et speil i engåte. After these films with obvious religious characters and themes I turn to a Finnish film that deals with Christmas. The film I focus on here has a lot in common with other Christmas films, but can in addition be connected to a current discussion on what is the religious aspect of Christmas. In analyzing Christmas Story/Joulutarina, a film from 2007 directed by Juha Wuolijoki, I explore what religious themes are to be found in the film and how the story of Christmas is re-interpreted. In the final section I bring the films together and discuss what attitudes to religion the films can be argued to present. I illustrate how the films can be seen to reflect themes found in research on religion in the Nordic countries, but how they also indicate less notable features.
Meeting Jesus
The story of Jesus is alive and well on film. Generally, in the field of religion and film, Jesus on film is separated into Jesus characters and Christ characters; Jesus characters are to be found in films telling the biblical story and Christ characters are conceived of as allegorical representations of the story of the Christian savior, that is to say characters with Christ like traits, such as suffering and sacrificing oneself for others (Malone). Christ characters can be found in Nordic films too (Sjö, "Påjakt") and are fairly common in fantasy stories (Sleight), but coming across Jesus in a film is something relatively original for both Nordic films and children's fantasy films. This makes We Can Be Heroes! a worthwhile film to explore, despite its, in many ways, traditional and well-known story.
Simply put, We Can Be Heroes! is about a lonely boy desperate to find a friend. The main character is Marcello, a young boy with a rather difficult life, something which is made clear from the first shot of the film. The story starts with three boys, filmed upside down. The reason that they are upside down is because they are shown from Marcello's point of view. Marcello has been tied upside down in a goal, as punishment for being a bad goal keeper. It is thus demonstrated that Marcello is bullied, but this is just one of his many problems. At home Marcello has to deal with the mixed expectations of his parents. Marcello's father wants him to become a great football player, but Marcello is really bad at football, something he does not dare tell his father. Marcello's mother wants him to sing in the boys' choir in the local Catholic Church, but Marcello cannot sing and he certainly does not want to become a priest, which he believes is his mother's wish. Marcello's biggest problem is, however, that he does not have a single friend.
From the start Marcello is presented as different. His name, the Italian sounding Marcello, highlights that he is not quite Swedish, despite his mother being Swedish and his Italian father having grown up in Sweden and not being able to, as Marcello puts it, even order a pizza in Italian. By being Catholic, and not Lutheran, like a majority of Swedes, Marcello also comes across as different. However, it is this difference which in a sense opens up for the fantastic to enter the story. When in the local Catholic Church, Marcello kneels down and prays next to what looks like a statue of Jesus, who has just been taken down from the cross – at least, Jesus is lying down and wearing a crown of thorns – Jesus suddenly sits up and starts talking to Marcello.
There are different ways of interpreting the Jesus character in We Can Be Heroes! The film is full of fantasy sequences, scenes where what Marcello imagines or dreams are shown. Marcello has a vivid imagination and the Jesus character could be seen as part of this imagination. However, the character seems to enter the story in a more direct way than any of Marcello's other dreams or fantasies. It is therefore possible to interpret We Can Be Heroes! as an example of what Farah Mendlesohn calls the "liminal fantasy". In stories of this kind "magic, or the possibility of magic, is part of the consensus reality". Furthermore, Mendlesohn continues, in these stories the fantastic and its "magical origins barely raises an eyebrow" and "the protagonist demonstrates no surprise" (18-19). Marcello is not at all astonished by the fact that Jesus talks to him and later comes to visit him. When Jesus has a real physical effect on Marcello's world – he makes 899 crowns in one crown coins suddenly rain down from Marcello's ceiling – Marcello and his sister, who also sees this happening, are somewhat amazed, but Marcello quickly understands it simply as a miracle, in line with a Christian discourse.
Overall the film presents the religious sphere and its spaces and characters as mostly kind and safe. Marcello does not like to sing in the choir, but he expresses no negative emotions towards the church as such. The priest in the church is a fairly young man who talks kindly to the choir members, encouraging the person who does not sing on key, that is to say Marcello, to not sing so loudly during the Sunday service. Jesus in turn is, in accordance with the Bible story, a man in his thirties. He comes across as quite relaxed, but un-willing to perform any great miracles. His advice to Marcello is usually simply that Marcello should use his brain. The miracle with the coins Jesus explains as being a case of Marcello borrowing money from his future self, something which Marcello seems to have thought of and Jesus has helped realize.
Despite the obvious connection to religious themes in the film, there are not that many obviously religious characters in it – that is to say characters who express their faith, have a position in a religious group or are directly connected to a religious setting. While Marcello's father is the one with the Italian heritage, it is actually Marcello's mother who insists on them being Catholic. Marcello's father shows no interest in religion, but his mother regularly goes to church. Her interest in Catholicism is explained by her having worked as an au pair in Italy when she was younger and having fallen in love with everything Italian. Apart from her, the only religious characters in the film are Marcello, the priest and Jesus. However, one character who needs to be mentioned, mainly because she is in fact not presented as religious, is Fatima, the girl who becomes Marcello's friend over the course of the film. At the start of the film, Fatima moves into a neighboring house with her father and two brothers. Fatima's mother is dead, having been killed by a grenade. Where exactly this happened is unclear. Fatima is first presented as Lebanese, but later calls herself Palestinian. Her story is fairly typical for Nordic films about immigrants, both when it comes to her mother being dead and the way she has to struggle with the expectations of her family and their ideas about how she should behave as a girl (Sjö, "Go with Peace"). However, she and her family do not come across as religious – they are never shown praying or talking about faith and their house includes no direct religious symbols.
Being religious thus sets off Marcello as different, but his faith is at the same time represented as something quite useful that helps him deal with his problems. As a character Jesus fills the role of guide and helper, but a guide and helper that opens up a space for Marcello to act and take control, rather than giving any simple solutions. Interestingly the film does not do away with Marcello's fantasies either, but instead towards the end allows the fantasy to come true. It is Marcello's dream to be able to fly and towards the end of the film he jumps off a multistory building with a hang glider and instead of falling to his death graciously flies around the houses, showing himself off to his family and friends. At the end of the film, Marcello has thus not just found a friend, but also found something he is really good at.
Among Angels and Children
There are both some notable similarities and differences between We Can Be Heroes! and the second film I want to discuss here, Miracle. The main character in both films is a young boy with lots of problems. Dennis P in Miracle has to deal with an overprotective mother who has not been able to move on with her life after the death of Dennis P's father and is constantly worried that something else bad will happen. Furthermore, Dennis P and his best friend Mick are in love with the same girl and the girl, Karen Elise, seems more interested in Mick than in Dennis P. Last but not least, Dennis P is the only boy in his class who does not yet have any pubic hairs, something that upsets Dennis P a great deal. Similarly to Marcello, Dennis P has also got a vivid imagination. The film is full of daydreaming sequences, sequences that are clearly presented as different from everyday reality. When Dennis P starts imagining things his life turns into a musical, with all the characters dancing and singing while dressed in colorful attire. A final similarity between the boys is that they both encounter a religious supernatural being. In Dennis P's case it is an angel who looks very much like his dead father.
The first time Dennis P sees the angel is when he and Mick walk past a church on their way to school. For a moment a man dressed in white and with wings on his back appears in the doorway, but when Dennis P looks back the man is gone. Neither Dennis P nor his mother comes across as religious, but Dennis P is friends with the owner of the local grill, Giorgos, a very religious man. Giorgos is often shown crossing himself and in his restaurant he has a small alter with a statue of the Madonna and an icon. Apart from this he regularly tells the boys old proverbs, proverbs that often have as their main point that if you have problems you should turn to God. When Dennis P's situation finally becomes too difficult for him to handle, he takes Giorgos' advice and goes to church. In the empty church, Dennis P prays for help and help arrives, in the form of the angel on top of a motorcycle. Soon the whole church is full of people dressed in white and singing and Dennis P enthusiastically joins in the musical-like performance. Dennis P is told by the white angel, who calls himself a white messenger, that he will be granted an angel license. This means all his wishes will come true. However, if he curses, his abilities will immediately disappear. Since Dennis P is known to curse quite a lot, this is a challenge and causes Dennis P problems, but at first he is very happy about his abilities.
In line with fantasy stories of this kind, stories in which the main protagonist is given god-like powers, things start off well, but soon spiral out of control. Dennis P does not only wish things into existence, he also changes the personalities of people around him who cause him problems, such as his mother and his teacher. He makes Karen Elise fall in love with him after she has told him she likes him but likes his friend Mick better. Finally, Dennis P changes Mick, whose fashion sense he has already drastically altered, so that instead of loving Karen Elise he hates her. What follows is chaos, and naturally, when things get too much for Dennis P, he curses.
At this point Dennis P meets the angel again and begs him for a last chance to make things right, and he is given one more wish. As can be expected, he wishes that all his wishes will be undone. This is of course a classic ending to a story of this kind, which often seems to grant children agency just to show them that they do not know what is best for them. As Nikolajeva (Power, 139-153) has illustrated, there is often an ideological tone to these stories, with the norms of the grown up world being set up as the best alternative. However, in Miracle the classic story has been allowed to develop. Yes, Dennis P's wishes come undone, but at the same time his wishes have had an effect. For one thing, Dennis P's mother has met Dennis P's teacher and they have fallen in love, something that has made both of them happier and nicer. While Mick and Karen Elise are now allowed to become a couple, Dennis P is also finally allowed to find someone to fall in love with when a new girl moves into his house. And most importantly for Dennis P, he has managed to get his own first pubic hair all by himself.
Thus in Miracle one finds a rather classic fantasy tale where the fantastic element is connected to the religious sphere. It is a tale that to some extent has a rather traditional message, but also allows the child to have agency. Again religion is thus allowed to, in a sense, work in the child's favor, but at the same time it is not given too much focus or presented as the best choice in the end. Miracle is, like We Can Be Heroes!, largely an example of liminal fantasy, in the sense that the magic is not questioned and not much time is spent on explanations (Mendlesohn). Coming across angels can, however, cause more of a surprise and represent more of an intrusion, as it does in Through a Glass, Darkly.
The title, Through a Glass, Darkly, refers to a Bible passage, 1 Cor. 13.12. In Through a Glass, Darkly this verse and the preceding one is read: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known" (King James Version, 1. Cor. 13.11-12). As the title and the Bible verses connected to it suggest, the film deals with existential issues, specifically death. This might sound like an unusual subject matter for a children's fantasy film. However, as Bjerkeland has illustrated, death is a rather recurring topic in Nordic children's and youth films. It is furthermore a topic often and interestingly connected with Christmas. In short, the films are often given a Christmas setting, with the joyous holiday working as a contrast to the theme of death, and the topic of death at the same time bringing a darker aspect to Christmas.
Despite its dark theme, Through a Glass, Darkly is not a particularly dark film. The film is based on a novel by the Norwegian children's and youth author Jostein Gaarder. According to Bjerkeland, Gaarder's books present "a fearless treatment of major existential questions that does not talk down to its child audience" (233). In Through a Glass, Darkly the theme to be treated is death, but also life. This is all done with the help of a religious supernatural being, the angel Ariel. As with the two films discussed earlier, in Through a Glass, Darkly too the fantastic elements can be interpreted in different ways. They can be seen as a dying girl's hallucinations or fantasies, but by being directly represented and given center stage it is at least clear that the angel the main character Cecilie meets becomes very real to her. In contrast to both Marcello and Dennis P, Cecilie approaches her heavenly visitors with a great deal of skepticism. In line with the intrusive form of fantasy, as defined by Mendlesohn, the setting is one we know, but the fantastic brings a challenge to this setting and is not directly accepted as it is in liminal fantasy stories. Instead the fantastic represents an intrusion that needs explaining. Cecilie is thus surprised when the angel appears and she is full of questions about who he is and where he comes from. The angel is also interested in the world of humans, and Cecilie and Ariel agree to share experiences: Cecilie will tell Ariel about what it is like to be human and Ariel will tell Cecilie about the place he comes from.
Through her agreement with Ariel Cecilie is allowed to experience many things for a last, and sometimes even for a first time, and she is in a sense prepared for her own death. In the company of the angel Cecilie does not feel sick, and she is even allowed to experience what it feels like to fly. What awaits her on the other side is, however, never really revealed. Ariel, as it turns out, has no clear answers, or if he does he is not willing to share them. This frustrates Cecilie at times, but in the end, she follows Ariel to whatever comes next.
The Christmas setting is central to Through a Glass, Darkly. It becomes clear to everyone that this is Cecilie's last Christmas, which makes what should be a holiday of joy into just as much a time of loss and sadness. The cold winter landscape of Norway in the Christmas season is furthermore notably contrasted with a trip to Spain when Cecilie was well and where she fell in love with a local boy, a trip which she cannot stop thinking about. Cecilie's memories of her trip are, in contrast to the now of her story, filmed in soft colors and a warm yellow light, highlighting this as a very different time and space. In the company of the angel too, however, time and space becomes something different and Cecilie becomes the energetic girl she was in Spain.
Though the Christmas setting and the presence of an angel makes it easy to connect the film to Christianity, this is a film that at a closer reading presents few direct connections to a specific religious tradition. While Marcello and Dennis P both encounter their heavenly guides in churches, Cecilie first sees the angel in a mirror, and he later appears at her home. Cecilie's grandmother, to whom Cecilie is very close, reads the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas, and also reads the passage from Corinthians quoted above, a passage she says is her favorite. However, like the angel, she has no clear answers to give, and neither Cecilie's grandmother nor Ariel ever talk about god. What comes next is thus an open question in Through a Glass, Darkly; instead, similarly to other films about death, the film is really about life, love, and finding joy in the little things.
Re-imagining Christmas
The last film I want to discuss, Christmas Story, also focuses on Christmas and at least partly re-works the story of Santa Claus. Finnish film-makers have lately contributed a great deal to the Christmas film genre and sometimes in rather unusual ways. In the animated film The Flight before Christmas/Niko – lentäjänpoika from 2008, directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen, and its follow up The Magic Reindeer/Niko 2 – lentäjäveljekset, from 2012, directed by Kari Juusonen and Jørgen Lerdam, the focus is on the adventures and troubles of young flying reindeer. In Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale/Rare Exports from 2010, directed by Jalmari Helander, the Christmas tale of Santa Claus is re-imagined for an adult audience, but with a child in the leading role. The result is an apocalyptic story with the child as savior (Copier). The subject matter of Christmas Story is more peaceful, but just as in Rare Exports the true story of Santa Claus is the central theme. Similarly to other Finnish Christmas films, the film does not directly focus on the Christian Christmas story, the birth of Jesus Christ, but it is still interesting to see which religious themes are included in the film.
In short, Christmas Story tells the story of how the young orphan boy Nikolas became Santa Claus. Nikolas lives in northern Finland, in the area where Santa Claus is believed to live, the mountain Korvatunturi. The time of the story is an undefined past. Early on Nikolas loses his parents and young sister, but even before this we are told that Nikolas has come up with the idea of giving children presents at Christmas. When his family drowns on the lake, Nikolas is preparing a gift for his sister, a gift he gives her after her death by placing it in the lake.
Since the village where Nikolas lives is very poor, it is decided that each family will take care of Nikolas for one year. In this way Nikolas gets to know the whole village, and each Christmas when he leaves for his new family, he gives all the children in the family and all the children in the families where he has stayed before gifts. Nikolas finally ends up with the mean old carpenter Isak. In the end Isak turns out not to be so mean, but just very lonely. Nikolas stays with Isak, and Isak leaves him his house and enough money to continue making gifts for children his whole life. Now Nikolas truly steps into the role of Santa Claus, even training some reindeer to pull his sled.
When Nikolas becomes old he and his young friend Ada, named after Nikolas's dead sister and one of the few who knows Nikolas's secret identity as Santa, decides that this is the last year that Nikolas will deliver gifts. During the trip he mysteriously disappears. When the next Christmas arrives, Ada finds out that her husband and other parents in the village have decided to continue giving the children gifts, pretending they are from Santa Claus. At first Ada is upset; however, when she and her family deliver the last gift Nikolas has left for his sister to the lake, a bright star suddenly appears in the sky, and out of the star flies Nikolas with his reindeers. Thus through others' continuing of the tradition of giving, Santa would seem to have really come alive.
Are there any religious themes to be found in this story? The community where Nikolas grows up celebrates Christmas, but, with the exception of the Turku cathedral appearing in the background when Isak and Nikolas sell their products at a market in the city, no clear, specific Christian references are to be found in the film. As mentioned, this is often the case in Finnish Christmas films and in Christmas films more generally too (Agajanian). It is also not that surprising, since a Christmas story without a clear link to a religious tradition can no doubt reach a larger audience than an obviously religious film. On the other hand, the film can also be argued to point to a secular view on Christmas. As Christopher Deacy (Christmas) among others has highlighted, many today underline how secular Christmas traditions are taking the place of religious ones. As Waits argues, "secular aspects of the [Christmas] celebration, such as gift giving, the Christmas dinner, and the gathering of family members, have dwarfed its religious aspects in resources spent and in concern given" (3) However, Nikolas's gift giving very clearly becomes a central ritual for him and for others. Furthermore, from the beginning this ritual is something that goes beyond the here and now and those in the present, since it starts with Nikolas giving a gift to his dead sister. Laine has convincingly argued for Christmas Story being about generosity and hospitality. The film illustrates the complexity of giving and receiving gifts. However, the film can also be related to a current discussion by Deacy ("The 'religion'"; Christmas) on what is the religious in Christmas. That traditional religious themes are not the focus of Christmas for many today does not, according to Deacy, mean that Christmas cannot still fill a religious function. Gift giving at Christmas might, argues Deacy, not have a traditional religious purpose, but it is a ritual behavior that, like many other secular activities, provides meaning and a central break with the everyday. It is thus, argues Deacy, "not a 'secular' analogue of Christian 'sacred time'. It is 'sacred time' per se" ("The 'religion'", 199), something clearly illustrated by Nikolas in Christmas Story.
Whether one agrees with Deacy's understanding of the religious potential of contemporary Christmas celebrations or not, the way that both the young and the old Nikolas invests himself in gift giving and the celebration of Christmas illustrates the importance of ritual settings such as Christmas and the potential sacred role – in the sense of providing meaning – that a secular celebration of Christmas too can provide. The film also illustrates in an important way, by its focus on the role of the child and Christmas, how it is through children that this alternative sacred sphere is actualized in our contemporary context.
Meaning beyond Tradition
What do the four films discussed above suggest about attitudes to religion today? In this final section I want to bring the films together, without, however, proposing that they all tell an identical story. Placed under the same lens they do, nonetheless, I argue, present certain common outlooks on religion in contemporary Nordic society.
Generally in the films, traditional religious spaces are presented as rather inviting and unthreatening. In many Nordic films churches are the setting of quite traumatic events and difficult emotions (Sjö, "Filmic constructions"), but this is usually not the case in children's films. On the other hand, though traditional religious spaces appear in two of the films, the focus on traditional religious beliefs is quite limited. None of the films are thus particularly interested in specific belief systems or ideas of correct ways of being religious. As long as one does not curse, it would seem, one can have heavenly forces on one's side. The religious spaces do to some extent become areas where agency is offered the young protagonists, but the lack of any discussion of what faith means and entails is worth noticing. This lack of specific beliefs and principles of correct behavior highlights a certain ideal: as long as religion fills these principles it is okay; if it demands something more it does not seem to have a place in children's films, nor, perhaps, in children's lives – or for that matter the lives of adults.
Though the films do not express any direct aversion towards religion, they do not present religion as something everyday or 'normal' either. In both We Can Be Heroes! and Miracle a direct and open expression of faith is in fact connected to the character who is in some sense 'Other' or different. Marcello, being Catholic and part Italian, is no average Swedish boy. It is, I would argue, unlikely that a story about an ethnic Swedish boy entering a Lutheran church and meeting Jesus would work as well as We Can Be Heroes! In Miracle in turn, Giorgos, Dennis P's religious friend who encourages him to go to church, is no regular Danish man. He is of Greek descent, and Greek orthodox. In a Nordic context religion is thus evidently connected to those who are presented as somewhat different from the norm. Consequently, when an angel comes to an ethnic Norwegian girl, as he does in Through a Glass, Darkly, he comes across as rather secular and not connected to an obvious religious tradition.
Despite the aversion to tradition and set beliefs and behaviors, the films do express the idea of religion being of use in a crisis, or at least that one tends to turn to religion in a crisis. Both Marcello and Dennis P prays when their problems become too great. Cecilie in turn meets an angel when she is about to die, and Nikolas performs a ritual act of giving when he loses his family. Though faith does not come across as useless in the films I have analyzed above, it can be discussed how useful it is. Instead of giving simple answers, Jesus encourages Marcello to use his head. Instead of directly solving Dennis P's problems, the angel gives him angelic powers that mostly seem to screw things up more. And instead of giving a clear answer and something to believe in regarding a life after death, Cecilie's angel makes her appreciate the life here and now. Religious faith, according to the films discussed here, can thus be of some help, but it does not provide any simple answers.
The way Christmas is represented in Through a Glass, Darkly and Christmas Story underlines the central role of this holiday in the Nordic context. It is not inconsequential that Cecilie's story takes place around Christmas. The time frame is surely chosen because of what Christmas time means to people in the Nordic countries and the way people's connection to the holiday when contrasted with death can heighten certain emotions (Bjerkeland). However, in neither Through a Glass, Darkly nor Christmas Story is it the Christian aspect of Christmas that is central. Though, following Deacy, one can argue that Christmas, whether it is celebrated as a religious holiday or not, can still offer religious meaning in the sense of opening up a sacred time and space, the Christmas setting as such cannot simply be interpreted as a sign of the importance of religion.
On a general level, all of this fits quite well with contemporary views on religion in the Nordic contexts. The Nordic countries are usually understood to be fairly secular nations where religion is of marginal importance (Casanova). Religion is often considered to be a private matter that one should be able to decide about oneself, and specific traditions and dogmas are for many not of any great interest (Botvar). A Christian heritage is still noticeable (Bäckström), and Christmas continues to be a central holiday, but a holiday not necessarily connected to questions of faith. One could also argue that the fact that it is in children's films and in fantasy that angels and Jesus appear underlines the limited position of religion in the Nordic countries: religion is placed in the margins. But this is only one way of reading the films and one perspective on religion in the Nordic countries. An alternative story that the films present, and which research also highlights (Partridge; Sjö, "Bad religion"), is the continuous interest in questions of meaning, faith and transcendence in Western secular contexts. In the films I have analyzed, it is children that are allowed to encounter religious supernatural beings. This can highlight that religion is given restricted importance – it belongs to children and fantasy and is something you grow out of – but it can also point to an understanding of the transcendent as something difficult and hard to reach that is partly thought of as out of bounds for the grown-up world, but which can be glimpsed in the worlds of children. Building on previous research on what representations of children say about society (Rose; Janson; Nikolajeva), the films can be argued to suggest that because of our own restrictions as adults, we need children to fill the role of mediators between us and a transcendent sphere. This does not mean that religion in a traditional sense of groups and dogmas is on its way back and that secularization is not taking place, but it does point to the fact that in a secular society too questions of meaning and reflections on something beyond have a place. Through among other things children's fantasy films a door to something beyond is kept open.
To summarize, the way religion is represented in children's fantasy films underlines certain ideas about religion and 'acceptable' religion. The films discussed above suggest that not all forms of religion are considered suitable in contemporary Nordic society. Religious spaces come across as quite safe, as do religious supernatural beings, but they do not offer a lot of answers. Dogmas are of little interest and being religious is seen as more "normal"' for the Other. However, religion and questions of faith and transcendence do still have a role to play, but this role is complex. Placing encounters with the transcendent in the world of children and fantasy can be seen as a way of restricting its importance, but also of highlighting its continuing significance but intricate position. Future studies will hopefully continue to explore what we can learn about religion through popular culture and what children's fantasy films from different contexts can bring to the debate. The four films I have analyzed in this article tell a noteworthy story, but they do of course not tell the whole story.
Agajanian, Rowana. "'Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men': The Depiction of Christmas in Modern Hollywood Films." Christmas at the Movies: Images of Christmas in American, British and European Cinema, edited by Mark Connelly, I. B. Tauris, 2000, pp. 143-164.
Attebery, Brian. Strategies of Fantasy. Indiana UP, 1992.
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Cambridge Edition. 1769. King James Bible Online, 2016. Accessed 10 November 2016.
Bjerkeland, Ingvild. "Death at Christmas: Christmas in Norwegian children's films." Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 3.3 (2013). pp. 227-239.
Botval, Pål Ketil. "Kristen tro i Norden. Privatisering ogsvekkelse av religiøse dogmer." Folkkyrkor och religiös pluralism – den nordiska religiösa modellen, edited by Göran Gustafsson, and Thorleif Pettersson, Verbum, 2000, pp. 74-96.
Buckingham, David. After the Death of Childhood. Growing Up in the Age of Electronic Media. Polity Press, 2000.
Butler, Catherine. "Modern children's fantasy." The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, edited by Edward James, and Farah Mendlesohn, Cambridge UP, 2012, pp. 224-235.
Bäckström, Anders. "De kyrkliga handlingarna som ram, relation och välbefinnande." Folkkyrkor och religiös pluralism – den nordiska religiösa modellen, edited by Göran Gustafsson, and Thorleif Pettersson, Verbum, 2000, pp. 134-171.
Casanova, José. "The Religious Situation in Europe." Secularization and the World Religions, edited by Hans Joas, and Klaus Wiegandt, Liverpool UP, 2009, pp. 206-228.
Christmas Story/Joulutarina. Directed by Juha Wuolijoki, Scarpe Diem Production, 2007.
Clute, John. "Fantasy." The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, edited by John Clute, and John Grant, St. Martin's Griffin, 1997, pp. 337-339.
Copier, Laura. "Satanic Santa: An apocalyptic Christmas in Rare Exports." Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 3.3 (2013), pp. 289-295.
Deacy, Christopher. "The 'religion' of Christmas." Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 3.3 (2013), pp. 195-207.
Deacy, Christopher. Christmas as Religion: Rethinking Santa, the Secular, and the Sacred. Oxford UP, 2016.
The Flight before Christmas/ Niko – lentäjänpoika. Directed by Michael Hegner, and Kari Juusonen, Cinemaker, 2008.
Forbes, Bruce David. "Introduction: Finding Religion in Unexpected Places." Religion and Popular Culture in America, edited by Bruce David Forbes, and Jeffrey H. Mahan, University of California Press, 2005, pp. 1-20.
Higginbotham, Elizabeth. "Foreword." Cinematic Sociology: Social Life in Film, 2nd ed., edited by Jean-Anne Sutherland, and Kathryn Feltey, Sage, 2013, pp. ix-xi.
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Janson, Malena. Bio för barnens bästa? Svensk barnfilm som fostran och fritidsnöje under 60 år. Stockholms Universitet, 2007.
Laine, Tarja. "Generosity and Hospitality in Christmas Story." Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 3.3 (2013), pp. 297-303.
The Magic Reindeer/Niko 2 – lentäjäveljekset. Directed by Kari Juusonen, and Jørgen Lerdam, Anima Vitae, 2012.
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Miracle/Mirakel. Directed by Natasha Arthy, Nimbus Film Production, 2000.
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Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale/Rare Exports. Directed by Jalmari Helander, Cinet, 2010.
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Through a Glass, Darkly/I etspeil i engåte. Directed by Jesper W. Nielsen, 4 1/2 Film, 2008.
Wagner, Rachel. "Bewitching the Box Office: Harry Potter and Religious Controversy." Journal of Religion and Film, 7.2 (2003), Accessed 2 November 2016.
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We Can Be Heroes!/Bäst i Sverige! Directed by Ulf Malmros, Film Väst, 2002.
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Six years after independence, South Sudan remains one of the world's most fragile states, unable to emerge from cycles of violence. About half the population—that is, about 6 million of 12 million people—are food insecure. A famine was declared in February 2017. And though the famine was contained (thanks to massive humanitarian support), food insecurity remains at extremely high levels.
About 2 million South Sudanese have fled the country and another 1.9 million are internally displaced. The economy is estimated to have contracted by 11 percent in the past fiscal year, due to conflict, low oil production, and disruptions to agriculture. The fiscal deficit, inflation, and parallel market premium have all soared.
This macroeconomic collapse has crushed the livelihoods of many South Sudanese.
© Sven Torfinn / Panos Pictures. Used with the permission of Sven Torfinn / Panos Pictures. Further permission required for reuse.
Most parents in Africa will tell you that their children's education is the most important investment they can make. Over the past decade, great progress has been made in terms of getting children into school, with countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Rwanda and Zambia recording primary net enrollment of over 90 percent. But across the continent, primary school completion and youth literacy rates remain unacceptably low.
Do changes in the CPI provide a reliable yardstick to measure changes in the cost of living?
This blog is the latest in a series of posts reflecting on the findings in the 2016 World Bank Poverty in a Rising Africa report, released in its entirety this month. We look forward to your questions and comments regarding this and other blogs in the series.
The consumer price index (CPI) is the most commonly used measure of inflation in the world, and Africa is no exception. But do CPIs reliably reflect the actual change in the cost of living? And if not, how does this affect our understanding of how poverty has evolved in the region?
The CPI is derived from a fixed and supposedly representative basket of goods and services provided in the domestic market to measure a cost-of-living index. To keep up with changing consumption patterns, the basket weights need to be updated regularly. But often they are not. Most get updated every decade or even less frequently, so they become less and less representative of the items that consumers actually purchase.


To help you find the Best Eczema Products, TopConsumerReviews.com provides you with an in-depth comparison of Dove and Revitol.
What's the best Eczema Relief product? Scientists are still unsure what causes this skin condition. Also known as atopic dermatitis, some theories suggest that an individual starts with a genetic predisposition to develop the disorder, which can then be triggered by stress or other factors. In fact, more than 35 million Americans suffer from eczema. Eczema symptoms include itchiness, swelling, redness and dryness.
In severe cases the skin can become crusty, scaly and cracked - even leading to bleeding. Obviously, these symptoms can be painful as well as embarrassing. From office workers who don't want to be embarrassed at work, to brides who want clear skin in their wedding photos, to people who want to go to the beach without calling attention to their skin condition, individuals suffering with eczema are often desperate for a solution.
Dove is a household name for general beauty and skincare products - and well-known for its efforts to show that people are beautiful no matter their size, color, or shape. Their eczema products are a fitting component to helping you feel good inside and out.
As part of Dove's DermaSeries, their Eczema Relief Soothing Body Lotion is clinically proven to reduce itchiness. Like many reliable eczema lotions, Dove's main active ingredient is colloidal oatmeal. The formula's other ingredients are fragrance- and steroid-free, which should give you relief from itchiness, dryness, and irritation while being completely hypoallergenic. It should be applied in the morning and evening, and then as needed during a typical day.
Shipping is free for most customers. And, if Dove's eczema relief doesn't help your symptoms ease, you can return it within 30 days of purchase for a refund.
The only downside to buying the Dove DermaSeries Eczema Body Lotion, compared with our top choice? You get less. Where our first-place winner comes in an 11-ounce jar for under $17, Dove's lotion will run you $10.34 for a 6.8-ounce tube. Yes, if you do the math, they're almost equal - but you'll have to click that "buy now" button less often with a larger container.
Customers have good things to say about Dove's eczema lotion. Most people comment that it's been more effective than prescription-based products, and better than many competitor products. For some, the lotion seems to be almost too mild - so if you have particularly sensitive skin, this could be a good choice for you.
Overall, Dove's Eczema Relief Soothing Body Lotion is affordable, effective, and backed by a company you already know and trust. We recommend that you consider this product for eczema relief.
Revitol offers a variety of creams to fight numerous conditions ranging from Eczema to Stretch Marks. The company was founded in 2002.
If you have any particular sensitivities, you should be sure to read the full ingredient list on the Revitol website.
The cream is applied twice daily or as needed, and according to Revitol, the product has been clinically shown to give users visibly healthier skin within three days of use.
Revitol is much more expensive than many of the eczema products we reviewed. They don't specify how much product is in each tube, but you'll spend $39.95 for just one - which the company says should last you a month. You can save money by buying more: a 3-tube package costs $79.90, while 5 tubes sell for $119.85. All purchases include free shipping.
While Revitol does have a 90-day money-back guarantee, it only applies to unused and unopened items. In other words, if you buy a tube for $39.95 and find that it doesn't help your eczema - or worse, that it exacerbates the symptoms - you aren't eligible for a refund. That puts Revitol at the bottom of the rankings among eczema products - because most of their competitors allow you to try their products and get a refund if it doesn't work well for your skin.
Additionally, when we Googled Revitol's toll-free number, it came up as the contact information for a number of other product sites - and many of those sites and businesses had very bad ratings at the Better Business Bureau.
For all of these reasons, we recommend that you consider an eczema product among the higher-ranked choices in our review: Revitol just doesn't seem to deliver what it promises.
Because the cause of eczema is still unknown, most products focus on calming irritated skin and keeping it hydrated. Some also try to block any environmental irritants or triggers from passing through the skin and causing further issues. These products typically come in lotion or cream form, though a few make use of essential oils or tablets to take another approach.
Cost. What will you spend to get a month's supply of the lotion or other product? Does the retailer offer free shipping or any other discounts?
Effectiveness. Does it work? How long will you need to use the product before your eczema symptoms improve? How long will those results last?
Reputation. What do other people say about the product? Does the business have a good overall track record?
Return Policy. If the eczema product doesn't work for you, can you get your money back? How long do you have to try the product before deciding if it is helping you?
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best Eczema Products available today. We hope this information helps you find the relief from eczema symptoms that you've been looking for right away!


READ between the WINES event is to raise much needed funds for our library while featuring not only our area's restaurants, caterers, bakeries and wineries but our library and the Village of Grafton.
Last year the Friends, thanks to the generosity of our Sponsors, were able to give the library a check in the amount of $8,650.00 which was deposited in the Community Foundation endowment fund insuring our library's valuable place in our community. This year we are offering any business or individual willing to provide a sponsorship the choice to either have their gift go towards the endowment fund or directly to library programming. The Friends are a 501c3 not for profit corporation so all gifts are charitable and tax deductible.
The proceeds from ticket sales, Chinese raffle tickets, Silent Auction items and a gem auction provided by Village Jewelry and Repair enable the Friends to advocate and provide financial support to our library. Ticket holders not only enjoy all the above but delicious samplings from our restaurant, caterers and pastries vendors but receive a commemorative laser engraved wine glass with a wine ticket for 7 free wine tastings all while listening to live music this year provided by Stan Miller, a well known vocalist and saxophonist who has been entertaining for many years, has appeared at the Cleveland House of Blues and been featured numerous times on Cleveland's Fox8.
This year we are offering an early reduced price ticket to our membership. The price of tickets will be $30.00 pre-sale for our members from 8/28 to 9/6. These tickets may be purchased at the library. After 9/6 tickets may be purchased for the pre-sale price of $35.00 with the tickets being $40.00 at the door the day of the event.
We look forward to seeing you again this year at the 2014 RBTW event.
Stan Miller has been a saxophonist for over 50 years and vocalist for the last twenty years. Though specializing in the 'Standards', his repertoire has grown to include everything from 'Billy Joel' to 'Billie Holliday'. He features many songs by Sinatra, Nat 'King' Cole, Johnny Hartman, and Mel Torme. His instrumentals include Swing, Be Bop, Straight Ahead Jazz, Smooth Jazz and Contemporary. He released his first CD, "Let's Fall In Love" in 2006 and plans another soon.
Photos from our Read Between the Wines event in 2014!