The Hunt (For Social Progression)

For my Themester activity, I attended a mini-lecture and presentation of the 2012 Danish film, The Hunt. Though the film was almost entirely in Danish (with English subtitles), it was one of the most engaging movies I've seen in a while. 

The Hunt tells the tale of a warm and amicable small-town kindergarten worker, Lukas, who is unjustly and rashly accused of sexual assault when an upset young girl makes up a story after Lukas spurns her childish love fantasies towards him. As usual, the child is believed, and soon the entire close-knit community turns on him, metaphorically banishing him to the very outskirts of society.

            As part of the presentation, a Danish sociologist focusing on social networks gave both an introduction and a concluding discussion, in which he talked about the social phenomenon of conformity. Looking back on it now, I am immediately drawn to the parallels in conformity between The Hunt and many of Shakespeare’s works, especially Much Ado About Nothing, where again an entire group of people instantly believe a fabricated tale based off little to no evidence. While the subject of both stories are ultimately redeemed, they both have to endure great hardships, as they are based in cultures where one’s reputation is almost all they have.

            Although created more than 400 years apart, the depicted problems of conformity in these works did not change, and therefore their message is the same: conforming to major social beliefs can be hugely dangerous and often unjust.