Saturday, March 07, 2009

Emil


There is something about this show that fascinates me. Perhaps it is because it is far more honest than any American show of its kind. It is set in Sweden when the economy was terrible and people were emigrating to the US. The adults get drunk at parties, and Emil's father is borderline abusive when he loses his temper at Emil.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I of course grew up with the show. And sure the dad gets a bit too upset but he never lays a hand on Emil. And he does show a lot of love too. My sister used to start crying when they showed a close up of Emil´s fathers face when he yelled Eeeeemil! She was about 5 at the time.

I love what Lina says when she feels sorry for the poor Americans and to not send Emil over there since they haven´t done anything wrong why send such a menace.

I live close to where the story is set.

filtersweep said...

True, his father never really crosses the line. The show is advertised by all sorts of situations where he yells "Eeeeemil!" so the concept sort of defines the show.

I love that show--- it is timeless. Most US shows that were from that era that were Westerns, for example, look hopelessly dated and 70s-ish. Plus, it is not subtly creepy, like Pippi.