En spegling av verkligheten: en tvärvetenskaplig studie av film i kulturhistoriska utställningar

The aim of this master’s thesis, as suggested by the title, is to study the usage of film in cultural history exhibitions. The subject arouse from queries such as: why are films so often included in cultural history exhibitions? And what do the films provide the visitors with? The thesis sees a distinct difference between the use of film in cultural history museums and the use of film in art museums or galleries. In art exhibitions film is most likely to be used as, and considered as art opposed to a tool for storytelling or information, which is more likely to be the case in cultural history museums. Furthermore, the field of study aimed at film as art or as part of art exhibitions is far more explored than that of film as part of cultural history exhibitions. In order to study films in cultural history exhibitions the following questions were asked: What purpose can film have in cultural history exhibitions? What do the films portrait for the museum visitors? How are the films integrated in the exhibitions? And what intentions do the curators and film directors have with the films? The examination of these questions took place through case studies at three different cultural history museums, and in addition trough interviews with the curators and film directors behind the exhibitions and films. The studies are performed at one municipal, one regional and one national museum, more precisely Trelleborg’s Museum, the Regional Museum in Kristianstad and the Naval Museum in Karlskrona. Since one hypothesis is that films in cultural history exhibitions have an educational purpose, the thesis is based on an interdisciplinary study between film studies and museology, mainly documentary film theory and museum pedagogy. The exhibitions contain different types of films, which give the study a varied basis. For example all three exhibitions contain archival footage. The Regional Museum and the Naval Museum have both employed documentary filmmakers to make films especially for the exhibitions. At Trelleborg’s Museum they have made an interesting fictionalisation where three industrialists are allowed to speak to each other through an animation of their portraits. Both archival and fictional, as well as documentary film, raises questions about how they reflect history, or a story, and why. Of course, the onlooker’s perception of the films varies based on his or hers own previous experiences.