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To Kill a Child

Name: To Kill a Child
Director: Gösta Werner
Released: 1953
Duration: 10 min

Representation Score

1.1/10

Minimal

1953

Director

Gösta Werner

Runtime

10 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

To Kill a Child is a period-specific drama that reflects the social constraints of 1953. The narrative prioritizes conventional domesticity and homogeneous social structures, offering minimal engagement with the overlapping aspects of identity. The film operates within established social hierarchies, focusing on a rural Swedish idyll. It presents a traditional family unit and a heterosexual couple without disrupting established cultural norms. Because the story centers on a mid-century nuclear family, it lacks the diversity of identity or perspective found in more contemporary or subversive cinema.

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Category Breakdown

Does To Kill a Child have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a nuclear family and a heterosexual couple. There is no evidence of non-straight identities or critiques of the assumption that everyone is straight.

How does To Kill a Child portray gender?

Limited

Roles align with mid-century domestic archetypes, featuring a mother and father in a traditional breakfast scene. The film does not challenge traditional gender roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is To Kill a Child?

Minimal

Set in a rural Swedish village, the cast appears ethnically homogeneous. There is no indication of racial blending or non-white characters.

How does To Kill a Child represent religion and culture?

Limited

The narrative reinforces mid-century Western values through a traditional family structure. It lacks elements of secularism or the deconstruction of institutions.

Does To Kill a Child include disability representation?

Minimal

The story contains no mention of characters with visible or invisible disabilities. No information is available to assess this category.

Present on Screen

Provides a clear, authentic depiction of mid-century Swedish rural life and domesticity.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight characters.
Relies on traditional gender roles without challenging them.
Shows minimal racial or ethnic diversity within its homogeneous setting.
Does not engage with disability or diverse cultural perspectives.

Official Synopsis

In a Swedish village, situated in a rural idyll, a father, mother and little daughter are preparing breakfast on a Sunday morning. The family is looking forward to the boat trip that is to follow. The little girl's thoughts are already completely on the water. But there is no sugar in the house, so the mother sends her little daughter to the neighbor across the street to quickly get some. Two villages further on, a young man is filling up his car with gas so that he can drive to the Baltic Sea with his girlfriend. In their convertible, the young people feel blithe and free on the country road and race towards the village where the little girl is just crossing the street with the sugar to return home.

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