Kitchen Stories Charette

 Kitchen Stories (2003), directed by Bent Hamer, is a Swedish film that follows the story of a scientific study to observe how single males in Sweden interact with the household, in order to better market household goods to them. The scene in the movie that I find most compelling is when Isak (played by Joachim Calmeyer) climbs up into the observer chair that is almost always manned by Folke (played by Thomas Norstrom). Throughout the film Folke is supposed to be observing Isak from the chair with no interaction, including no speaking. Isak, who is a constant resistant to Folk and the scientific study had up to this point done many things to disrupt the study through non-compliance, finds himself empowered in the chair as he is exalted for just a moment from the subject of the observation to the seat from which he is being observed. This scene is one of the key moments at which the barrier between the two begins to erode. Much of the movie highlights how understanding one another, creates a sense of belonging and comradery. The power dynamic between the two and the feeling of being 'the other', erodes away as the two become more familiar. This leads to a bond between the two that ends in an unexpected friendship in more than one way.  

This film, while had a slow start, and required extra attention as the movie was filmed in Swedish, became quite interesting and thought provoking. The director Hamer does a fantastic job of allowing the two actors (Calmeyer and Norstrom) to utilize the minimalist setting to convey many emotions, comedic breaks, and whimsical interactions without the use of many props. The film reminds me of other similar settings such as The Lighthouse or My Dinner with Andre, all of which primarily focus on the interaction of two individuals, and through these interactions, creates a story with depth and sophistication. Having such minimal character interaction and being in a stationary setting requires the actors to be the driving force behind the evolution of the tale. The way that such character development occurs in a film that just surpasses the two hour mark is an impressive feat. All things considered Kitchen Stories was an intriguing watch, which I would happily recommend to those that are looking for a thought provoking film driven by the talent of actors even with minimal dialogue. 

Isaks resistance to the study during the first portion of the movie is a clear distrust in the 'higher authority'. He feels that his not only has his his personal space, and sovereignty been breached, but also his personal autonomy. While Folke is merely a representative of the higher authority, Isak has a keen distrust. Isak, unaware that Folke himself is also the subject of constant surveillance as the strict rules for the observers are closely monitored. As Isak does everything he can to breach the study and break the relationship, he and Folke inevitably become closer. "One of the problems associated with the gesture of dissolving anything in relations is the inability to account for singularity. While individual objects do exist for Foucault and Latour (instead of being fully dissolved into a global system of relations), they nonetheless appear individual only as individual sets of relations -- an idea widely used as an analytical tool in current relational anthropology" (Pyyhtinen and Tamminen). To use this concept to dissect the relationship that exists between Isak, and Folk, it can be seen that the two cannot be viewed exclusively as individuals. This is one of the vital flaws of the scientific experiment. By attempting to force the two to be in contact while having no interaction, creates an unobtainable standard that not only leads to the failure of the study, but does not take a holistic view of the relation of a bachelor in the household, which is the primary demographic of the study.  

Kitchen Stories also is a great case study that illuminates the existence of biopolitics. During the course of the film it is illustrated through the scientific study of the daily life of the bachelor and more vitally, the attempt to regulate it. The Home Research Institute's goal to optimize kitchen use, parallels with a broader effort to manage and control behaviors for perceived efficiency and productivity. This initiative is similar to Foucault's concept of biopolitics, where he asserts that the state (in this case higher power being the Home Research Institute) exerting power over individuals lives, in order to manage them in a way that benefits the collective body even at the expense of the individual (Lemke). Folke is tasked with tracking a set of data points on Isak as he goes about his daily life. This strips Isak of identity and reduces him to merely a set of figures that could be optimized rather than an individual. "The examples of ethical issues from history and the scarcity of contemporary examples demonstrate that regulations for the humans participating in research have evolved in a way that minimizes the probability of harm to subjects choosing to participate in research. These examples also reinforce the importance of individual responsibility to faithfully execute the requirements of their assigned roles" (White). While it appears that in contemporary science the likelihood of human abuses during the course of study has been reduced, it still begs the question of-- is it possible to perform human study without stripping away the subjects individuality? Additionally, is it an inevitability that when performing human studies that given a social setting, that the uncontrollable nature of human interaction will be just that, uncontrollable? It is interesting to consider as well that while the goal of the study in the film was to analyze how to optimize efficiency in the home for the single male, could they have actually learned more about the prototypical bachelor by observing the interaction and developed relationship between Folke and Isak, rather than how many times Isak used the sink or sat at the dining room table. 

Works Cited

Lemke, T. (2001). “The birth of bio-politics”: Michel Foucault’s lecture at the Collège de France on neo-liberal governmentality. Economy and Society, 30(2), 190–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140120042271

Pyyhtinen, O., & Tamminen, S. (2011). We have never been only human: Foucault and Latour on the question of the anthropos. Anthropological Theory, 11(2), 135-152.

White, M. G. (2020). Why human subjects research protection is important. Ochsner Journal, 20(1), 16–33. https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.20.5012