Blackeberg pictures in context

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Låt den rätte komma in
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broken1
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by broken1 » Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:08 am

Yes, and thank you once again! Reading the description of the lighting etc. for the playground scenes confirmed what I felt TA was going for visually -- to give the viewer the feeling that although Eli and Oskar are literally right in the middle of an entire apartment complex, they are actually totally alone. I think I'll start a thread under the film topic so as not to derail this one further than I already may have done.

Again, my thanks to you.

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intrige
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by intrige » Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:55 am

drakkar wrote: The playground in the novel refers to the playground actually existing outside Oskar's/John's apartment today, and I agree - being a real playground/courtyard adds immense power to the story just by standing in it. I've said this before - another striking factor is the short distances the story unfolds within, The LTROI universe is so tiny, and this also adds greatly to the feel of innocense embedded in the horror of the story.
Ah yes, it really hits home because on Oskar's PoV his wolrd is very tiny. He had lived his whole life in Blackeberg. Even though he had been in stockholm and been with his dad out in the country his life was in uber tiny Blackeberg. Kind of like a wolrd is for a child. I remember the path from my home to my school, and ofc my home and my school, was ly intire life. My wolrd was so tiny, just like Oskar's wolrd. Then I got into new schools as I got older, and my wolrd slowly grew bigger for each time. Oskar had not done that yet in the novel, and will not explore the wolrd as a growing person like I did, but rather as a kid with Eli. Still as a child. Kinda interesting, instead of a world made of a path, or a small earia, his world will by the end of the book no longer have a geographical location. It will instead be a person, Eli. The wolrd of a traviler and the person close. Interesting.
:D
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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:46 am

I have to say, I think this is one of the all-time great threads of this forum. 8-)
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drakkar
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by drakkar » Mon Sep 15, 2014 8:26 am

intrige wrote:Ah yes, it really hits home because on Oskar's PoV his wolrd is very tiny. He had lived his whole life in Blackeberg. Even though he had been in stockholm and been with his dad out in the country his life was in uber tiny Blackeberg.
This is contrasted by the comparable much longer distance Håkan carries Jocke'a dead body to get rid of it. Eli also has way larger radius of activity - the old lady lives say 2 km away, and Eli also flies to Danderyds hospital some 10 km flight.
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by dongregg » Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:57 pm

This goes here. It creates a great context for understanding the Blackeberg that John grew up in.
dongregg wrote:
StefL wrote:"[JAL speaking here.] "I’m fascinated by the social democratic project. The overhead large decisions and how they were to be implemented in society. The long bench and the great decisions. Blackeberg was thought of as an ABC city, but it ended up with mostly B and C, not that much A."
Curious about what JAL meant by "ABC city," I found an article on JSTOR (free with registration) that completely illuminated the origin of planned city centers such as Vällingby (and Blackeberg). The article takes one through the inception of the idea, the exciting start of these centers, their decline, re-envisioning, and current renewal efforts. You will read that, following the heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Vällingby (and by extension, Blackeberg) went into a decline that led to poor maintenance of apartment buildings, empty commercial properties, and an aging population. The lack of maintenance, I imagine, is what Lacke is moaning about as he rambles on in Gösta's living room.

You can find the article here, but you must register (free and quick) to get the whole article. Oh, ABC city means Arbete, Bostäder, Centre. Work, Housing, and a Center with public and commercial services.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2 ... 4630713887
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by metoo » Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:20 pm

dongregg wrote:Oh, ABC city means Arbete, Bostäder, Centre. Work, Housing, and a Center with public and commercial services.
Some nit-picking: it's centrum, not centre. ;-)
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by dongregg » Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:58 pm

metoo wrote:
dongregg wrote:Oh, ABC city means Arbete, Bostäder, Centre. Work, Housing, and a Center with public and commercial services.
Some nit-picking: it's centrum, not centre. ;-)
Isn't it a great article!? It was written in English by two Swedish writers, so they must have mixed up centre with centrum. Easily done in most European countries where English is learned at such and early age. Except for their one mistake, didn't the Swedish authors do a great job of explaining what we see on LTROI as the Blackeberg of 1981? BTW, I usually write center, not centrum or centre. Most of us ICs (ignorant colonials) use American English rather than British English or Latin.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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metoo
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by metoo » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:20 pm

I should have added that in Swedish, it's centrum.

When writing in English, I always try to keep with British spelling, for a couple of reasons. One is that it's what I was once taught, another one that I like it better. Colour is just that little bit nicer than color... :)
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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drakkar
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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by drakkar » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:32 pm

metoo wrote:I should have added that in Swedish, it's centrum.
Yes, this is Blackeberg spelling. :mrgreen:

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Re: Blackeberg pictures in context

Post by dongregg » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:48 pm

metoo wrote:I should have added that in Swedish, it's centrum.

When writing in English, I always try to keep with British spelling, for a couple of reasons. One is that it's what I was once taught, another one that I like it better. Colour is just that little bit nicer than color... :)
Agreed. British spellings have a certain charm.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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