Hollandse films met een Hollands hart. Nationale identiteit en de Jordaanfilms 1934-1936

Abstract

“A Dutch film with a Dutch heart”, was the slogan used to promote DE JANTJES (Jaap Speyer,1934), the first successful Dutch feature sound film. Two other so called Jordaanfilms, BLEEKE BET (Richard Oswald & Alex Benno, 1934) and ORANJE HEIN (Max Nosseck, 1936) followed. These films were adaptations of theatre plays with the same names by Herman Bouber. This thesis asks three questions: What kind of representation of ‘Dutchness’ did these films offer to Dutch audiences? How did reviewers respond to these films? How successful were these films compared to other contemporary productions in the Dutch cinemas? The answers to these questions are set against the background of Dutch society in the 1930s which was characterised as being separated into four so called pillars: Protestants, Roman Catholics, Socialists and Conservatives. Each of the three questions requires a different analysis and methodology. The question of representation is answered with the help of a comparative analysis of the original Jordaan plays and their filmic adaptations. The sense of national identity that spoke from the three Jordaan films shows the following characteristics: - political neutrality; - a sense of duty and devotion to duty that is expressed on the level of personal, social and economic relations; - a desire for a good and simple life within one’s own social peer group. The question of the reception of the Jordaanfilms is answered with a qualitative analysis of their reviews. A striking aspect in the reactions to the Jordaan films, and especially DE JANTJES, was the high appreciation of the Dutch language. Even in the areas of the country where the spoken language differed greatly from the Dutch as was spoken in these films, such as Limburg and Friesland, local reviewers were convinced that the spoken Dutch gave the audience the possibility to immerse in the film and to truly understand it. One can conclude from this that the Dutch language was a binding force. The question of the success of the Jordaanfilms was answered with the help of a quantitative analysis of the film program information of 40% of the total number of Dutch cinemas spread through the Netherlands. As there was no box office information available, John Sedgwick’s’ relative popularity measure (POPSTAT, Popularity Statistics) was used to calculate the success of the films. (Simply put: many screenings in big cinemas generate a higher POPSTAT than few screenings in small cinemas.) This proved that Dutch films were very popular amongst Dutch audiences: six of the top ten of most screened films in 1934-1936 were indigenous productions, THE SAILORS being the most popular one. The analysis in this study, combining solid empirical data with more ephemeral cultural and social aspects, gives a multifaceted image which provides an answer to the question how and why these films reached a high level of success in their time. The result of this method in this study of the reception of the Jordaanfilms may be regarded as a proof of the productivity of this combination.