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Chapter 8. The politics of identity and visuality

The case of Finnish war children
  • Anna-Kaisa Kuusisto-Arponen
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Abstract

During World War II, Finland evacuated 70 000 to 80 000 children to other Nordic countries. This forced displacement has had long-standing effects on individuals’ and communities’ sense of belonging. In my article, I ask how the spatial trauma of the early childhood displacement becomes visualised. What kind of embodied practices and visual narratives of displacement are found among Finnish war children? Embodied spatial experiences are sought in war child Pekka Suokas’s childhood drawings from the years 1944–1945. The collective dimension of spatial belonging is analysed in the visual narratives and practices of war children. I conclude by discussing how the visual representations aim to challenge the hegemonic national identity discourse of the Finnish war.

Abstract

During World War II, Finland evacuated 70 000 to 80 000 children to other Nordic countries. This forced displacement has had long-standing effects on individuals’ and communities’ sense of belonging. In my article, I ask how the spatial trauma of the early childhood displacement becomes visualised. What kind of embodied practices and visual narratives of displacement are found among Finnish war children? Embodied spatial experiences are sought in war child Pekka Suokas’s childhood drawings from the years 1944–1945. The collective dimension of spatial belonging is analysed in the visual narratives and practices of war children. I conclude by discussing how the visual representations aim to challenge the hegemonic national identity discourse of the Finnish war.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Approaches to visual communication and the question of power
  5. Chapter 1. Images 11
  6. Chapter 2. The critical tradition in visual studies 39
  7. Chapter 3. The map, the mirror and the simulacrum 55
  8. Chapter 4. Disenchantment with politics and the salience of images 69
  9. Part II. Case studies
  10. Chapter 5. Organising political consensus 91
  11. Chapter 6. Walls, doors and exciting encounters 113
  12. Chapter 7. The politics of visual representation 151
  13. Chapter 8. The politics of identity and visuality 181
  14. Chapter 9. Visual politics and celebrity humanitarianism 199
  15. Chapter 10. The economics of gay reality television 225
  16. Chapter 11. Mending endings 245
  17. Chapter 12. Representing the state of exception 269
  18. Index 291
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.44.11kuu

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Approaches to visual communication and the question of power
  5. Chapter 1. Images 11
  6. Chapter 2. The critical tradition in visual studies 39
  7. Chapter 3. The map, the mirror and the simulacrum 55
  8. Chapter 4. Disenchantment with politics and the salience of images 69
  9. Part II. Case studies
  10. Chapter 5. Organising political consensus 91
  11. Chapter 6. Walls, doors and exciting encounters 113
  12. Chapter 7. The politics of visual representation 151
  13. Chapter 8. The politics of identity and visuality 181
  14. Chapter 9. Visual politics and celebrity humanitarianism 199
  15. Chapter 10. The economics of gay reality television 225
  16. Chapter 11. Mending endings 245
  17. Chapter 12. Representing the state of exception 269
  18. Index 291
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