We wrote a few months ago on the occasion of the launch of his CINEDU platform. greek cinema center, which allows all educators in the country to select films from a quality catalog to creatively integrate them into the next curriculum topics. So did a 4th grade teacher who showed her class the short film “Boys in the Shower” by Swede Christian Zetterberg, only to be accused (by the child’s parents) of showing young students an “erotic film”. , homosexual content”.

Then the news, in true Greek style, became the subject of discussion and debate on morning TV panels, “news” sites and social media, with the vast majority of journalists adhering to the basic rule that… they hadn’t seen the film in question. speech, forcing Zetterberg to say it was “shockingly wrong” misinformation. Of course, if anyone bothers to do so, they will end up with a film that is only 9 minutes long, which nevertheless exemplarily sums up the problem of “forced” masculinity that boys of this age constantly face.

twelve-year-old Viggo and Noel they hear the hockey team coach imperiously asking, “Are you humans or mice?” and challenge them to become tougher to meet the demands of the sport and by extension society. The next scene is at Noel’s house where the two friends are teasing each other, posing in front of a mirror and wondering when they will finally grow their first body hair to become normal “men”. A little later in the sauna, they face off in a bra de fer, and after the game ends in a rather funny kiss with closed lips, which is interrupted by laughter. “So we are real men now?” one of them asks innocently. And it’s all.

It’s worth noting that Noel’s father suspects what’s going on and reacts badly, as do the affected parents in Greece. Viggo again sees nothing wrong. To be honest, we’re just dealing with a (multi-award-winning) film and the serious issues it covers. Indeed, on the YKK platform, this one belongs to the category reserved for high school students. On the other hand, in the country of production, Sweden, the film is classified as “over 9 years old”, while for the European Children’s Film Union, which also gave it the top honor in their respective awards, it is classified as “over 12 years old”. In any case, the film is clearly not about love. It also cannot “confuse” any child of the 21st century, except for those minds that operate with stereotypes and prejudices of other times.