The language of the complex image Roy Anderssons's political aesthetics

Departing from the opening scene of Roy Anderssons’s 1991 short Härlig är jorden/World of Glory, the article gives an overview of the director’s political aesthetics outlined in his book Vår tids rädsla för allvar (‘Our Time’s Fear of Seriousness’, 1995/2009).Through the use of static long shots, stylization and the condensation of time and space Andersson attempts to activate reflection upon existential questions such as solidarity, mutual support and the individual’s responsibility. In this scene from World of Glory Andersson links these ideas with a critique on Swedish passivity during the Holocaust.