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Dancer in the Dark

130 statements
24 feature instances
16 referencing feature instances

Dancer in the Dark	type	TVTItem
Dancer in the Dark	label	Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark	page	DancerInTheDark
Dancer in the Dark	comment	Dancer in the Dark is a 2000 musical drama directed by Lars von Trier and starring Björk.Björk plays Selma Ježková, a Czech immigrant to the U.S. State of Washington in The '60s. She lives with her son, Gene Ježek (Vladica Kostic) in a trailer home owned by town policeman Bill Houston (David Morse) and his wife Linda Houston (Cara Seymour), and works at a factory. Selma loves Hollywood musicals, and sees them at the cinema with her friend, Kathy (Catherine Deneuve). She is auditioning for the part of Maria in an adaptation of The Sound of Music, and throughout the film, she slips into daydreams in which she imagines herself and others around her spontaneously enacting musical numbers. Co-worker Jeff (Peter Stormare) pursues her romantically, to no avail.Unbeknownst to everyone, Selma is gradually going blind from a hereditary disease, and Gene will eventually suffer the same fate unless she secures an operation for him, hence she has moved to the US. All the money she has been making at the factory is saved as a fund for the operation. When Bill steals said fund so as to hide the fact that he is broke from his wife one day, things do not end well...Did we mention it's a musical?
Dancer in the Dark	fetched	2023-07-21T14:28:31Z
Dancer in the Dark	parsed	2023-07-21T14:28:31Z
Dancer in the Dark	processingComment	Dropped link to Musical: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Dancer in the Dark	processingUnknown	Musical
Dancer in the Dark	isPartOf	DBTropes
Dancer in the Dark / int_1ba8eb64	type	Visual Pun
Dancer in the Dark / int_1ba8eb64	comment	Visual Pun: Selma lying on birch logs in the "Scatterheart" sequence. In Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese, "Björk" means "birch".
Dancer in the Dark / int_1ba8eb64	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_1ba8eb64	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_1ba8eb64
Dancer in the Dark / int_1fb947b6	type	Just Train Wrong
Dancer in the Dark / int_1fb947b6	comment	Just Train Wrong: This locomotive◊ appears in a scene in the movie. The Great Northern never used NOHAB engines, which were built for the European market, but the film-makers thought it was the closest they could get to an American-style diesel.
Dancer in the Dark / int_1fb947b6	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_1fb947b6	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_1fb947b6
Dancer in the Dark / int_23e32a30	type	Genre Deconstruction
Dancer in the Dark / int_23e32a30	comment	Genre Deconstruction: A very acidic one, of the "integrated" musical that had characters break out into song in ways that were "integrated" into the narrative as plot points, usually in a manner that resolved the immediate conflict. Here, the songs are all in Selma's head, and as such they do NOT resolve things. It's brought to the point of (dark) parody when, right after killing Bill, her musical number has him getting up and joining in! One gets the feeling von Trier's implying that Selma's love of musicals has stuck her head in the clouds, reassuring herself that "everything will work out" (like in a musical).
Dancer in the Dark / int_23e32a30	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_23e32a30	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_23e32a30
Dancer in the Dark / int_29f44d3a	type	Adam Smith Hates Your Guts
Dancer in the Dark / int_29f44d3a	comment	Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: The lawyer presents Selma with a Morton's Fork: He has proof that she's innocent, but he'll only take the case if she pays him the money that Bill stole. Something of a Take That! against capitalism (lampshaded by the prosecutor).
Dancer in the Dark / int_29f44d3a	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_29f44d3a	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_29f44d3a
Dancer in the Dark / int_35543514	type	Just Eat Gilligan
Dancer in the Dark / int_35543514	comment	Just Eat Gilligan: If Selma had just revealed Bill's secret (and told why she killed him), she would never have been convicted.
Dancer in the Dark / int_35543514	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_35543514	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_35543514
Dancer in the Dark / int_35b241c0	type	Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
Dancer in the Dark / int_35b241c0	comment	Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: English actress Cara Seymour's North American English starts sounding suspiciously Scots-Irish when she gets impassioned in one scene. Possibly averted however by Swedish actor Peter Stormare who, while playing the implicitly American Jeff, doesn't bother speaking with anything but a Swedish accent.
Dancer in the Dark / int_35b241c0	featureApplicability	-1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_35b241c0	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_35b241c0
Dancer in the Dark / int_396e1c2a	type	Face Death with Dignity
Dancer in the Dark / int_396e1c2a	comment	Face Death with Dignity: Once Selma learns that Gene's operation was successful and her sacrifice wasn't for naught, she quickly calms down and sings one final song with a smile on her face.
Dancer in the Dark / int_396e1c2a	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_396e1c2a	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_396e1c2a
Dancer in the Dark / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
Dancer in the Dark / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: Selma is executed for murdering Bill, but just before she's hanged, she learns that the operation for Gene — for which she chose to spend her savings rather than hire an attorney to clear her name — was successful.
Dancer in the Dark / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_40cc0c7e
Dancer in the Dark / int_43b154c9	type	Not Even Bothering with the Accent
Dancer in the Dark / int_43b154c9	comment	Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Where to begin with this one? First, there's Björk using her native Icelandic accent to play a Czech character. On top of that, there's Peter Stormare speaking with his Swedish accent despite playing a character that seems to be completely American. Finally, there's Catherine Deneuve's character's French accent despite also being implicitly American.
Dancer in the Dark / int_43b154c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_43b154c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_43b154c9
Dancer in the Dark / int_5009999d	type	Painting the Medium
Dancer in the Dark / int_5009999d	comment	Painting the Medium: The cinematography alternates between the Dogme '95 style, using blurry handheld cameras to make you feel like you too are going blind, and 100 stationary cameras simultaneously shooting an uninterrupted Long Take in Technicolor, with singing and dancing (for the scenes in Selma's head).
Dancer in the Dark / int_5009999d	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_5009999d	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_5009999d
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bd689ca	type	Meaningful Echo
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bd689ca	comment	Meaningful Echo: Whenever Selma becomes frightened or frustrated, incidental sounds (pencils scratching, machines grinding) repeat in her head, and she makes a song out of that. Subverted when she is placed in a noiseless isolation cell.
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bd689ca	featureApplicability	-0.3
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bd689ca	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_6bd689ca
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bda9a30	type	Meaningful Name
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bda9a30	comment	Meaningful Name: Possibly Gene (though he may be named after Gene Kelly). The fact that he has his mother's genes and therefore his mother's sickness is vital to the plot and Selma's motivations. Selma is derived from Arabic meaning "peace", which could indicate that she is ultimately at peace with her decision. Bill could be a reference to his financial troubles. And Linda means "pretty" in Spanish, which could be a reference to her looks that make her irresistible to Bill
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bda9a30	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_6bda9a30	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_6bda9a30
Dancer in the Dark / int_6fb5cb83	type	I Gave My Word
Dancer in the Dark / int_6fb5cb83	comment	I Gave My Word: Selma's reason for not Just Eating Gilligan (see below).
Dancer in the Dark / int_6fb5cb83	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_6fb5cb83	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_6fb5cb83
Dancer in the Dark / int_a2022cc9	type	Killed Mid-Sentence
Dancer in the Dark / int_a2022cc9	comment	Killed Mid-Sentence: Selma herself, or mid-song, as it were.
Dancer in the Dark / int_a2022cc9	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_a2022cc9	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_a2022cc9
Dancer in the Dark / int_a4c37cbe	type	Mood Whiplash
Dancer in the Dark / int_a4c37cbe	comment	Mood Whiplash: All the musical numbers. Some of them hard cut to something terrible happening to Selma while she was daydreaming the music.
Dancer in the Dark / int_a4c37cbe	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_a4c37cbe	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_a4c37cbe
Dancer in the Dark / int_bc5ddda5	type	Thematic Series
Dancer in the Dark / int_bc5ddda5	comment	Thematic Series: Part of the Golden Hearts Trilogy along with Breaking The Waves and The Idiots which are not linked by narrative but by themes.
Dancer in the Dark / int_bc5ddda5	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_bc5ddda5	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_bc5ddda5
Dancer in the Dark / int_c27d3939	type	Soap Opera Disease
Dancer in the Dark / int_c27d3939	comment	Soap Opera Disease: It is never identified exactly what it is that Selma and Gene have.
Dancer in the Dark / int_c27d3939	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_c27d3939	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_c27d3939
Dancer in the Dark / int_d6f544aa	type	Struggling Single Mother
Dancer in the Dark / int_d6f544aa	comment	Struggling Single Mother: Selma lives alone with her son in a trailer park and puts all her effort into working a sucky job at a factory for his sake, saving money so he can get the treatment that'll stop him from inheriting her progressive blindness.
Dancer in the Dark / int_d6f544aa	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_d6f544aa	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_d6f544aa
Dancer in the Dark / int_dbfd6b8	type	Lyrical Dissonance
Dancer in the Dark / int_dbfd6b8	comment	Lyrical Dissonance: Come on, Selma! Just 100 steps!
Dancer in the Dark / int_dbfd6b8	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_dbfd6b8	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_dbfd6b8
Dancer in the Dark / int_e144beb6	type	Everything Is an Instrument
Dancer in the Dark / int_e144beb6	comment	Everything Is an Instrument: The song "Cvalda", in which the rhythm is inspired by the noise of factory machinery.
Dancer in the Dark / int_e144beb6	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_e144beb6	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_e144beb6
Dancer in the Dark / int_e150c4c7	type	Manchild
Dancer in the Dark / int_e150c4c7	comment	Manchild: Selma (some critics have speculated that she or Jeff may have a slight mental handicap).
Dancer in the Dark / int_e150c4c7	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_e150c4c7	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_e150c4c7
Dancer in the Dark / int_e7e558	type	The Oner
Dancer in the Dark / int_e7e558	comment	The Oner: The musical numbers are a special case, using up to 100 stationary cameras in Technicolor, then cutting between all the footage generated. The rest of the movie is filmed with blurry handheld cameras in the style of Dogme '95, to show how Selma is going blind and the musical numbers are what she sees in her head. The result is fascinating because you can tell all the footage of singing/dancing was taken from multiple odd angles of one single take. (under a desk, atop a railway car, etc.)
Dancer in the Dark / int_e7e558	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_e7e558	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_e7e558
Dancer in the Dark / int_fa8247ab	type	Death Row
Dancer in the Dark / int_fa8247ab	comment	Death Row: Selma, who is wrongly convicted and given the death penalty, is deeply distraught as she awaits her death. Although a sympathetic female prison guard named Brenda tries to comfort her, the other state officials show no feelings and are eager to see her executed. On her way to the gallows, Selma goes to hug the other men on death row while singing to them. However, on the gallows, she becomes terrified, so that she must be strapped to a collapse board. Her hysteria when the hood is placed over her face delays the execution.
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Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_fa8247ab
Dancer in the Dark / int_name	type	ItemName
Dancer in the Dark / int_name	comment
Dancer in the Dark / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Dancer in the Dark / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Dancer in the Dark / int_name
Dancer in the Dark / int_name	itemName	Dancer in the Dark

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong	seeAlso	Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Blade-of-Grass Cut / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Blindness in Media / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Consolation Award / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Crowd Song / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Death Row / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Everything Is an Instrument / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Final Speech / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Just Train Wrong / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Musical World Hypotheses / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Seen It All / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Serendipitous Symphony / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Soap Opera Disease / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	Struggling Single Mother / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	That Reminds Me of a Song / int_c18f1789
Dancer in the Dark	hasFeature	The Oner / int_c18f1789

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