“In search of a tale they can live with”: About loss, family secrets, and selective disclosure

Presenter Information

Peter Rover

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

January 2012

End Date

January 2012

Abstract

Several authors have written about family secrets focusing on the questions “who knows the secret?” and “who does not know the secret?” In the present study we have qualitatively analyzed the film “Familiegeheim” (Family Secret) by the Dutch director Jaap van Hoewijk. The documentary film tells the story of van Hoewijk's own family in which the suicide of the father is kept secret from the three children. Our analysis of the film highlights the complex ways in which families deal with sensitive issues like loss, grief and suicide, and questions the usefulness of the concept of family secrets to capture this complexity.

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“In search of a tale they can live with”: About loss, family secrets, and selective disclosure

Several authors have written about family secrets focusing on the questions “who knows the secret?” and “who does not know the secret?” In the present study we have qualitatively analyzed the film “Familiegeheim” (Family Secret) by the Dutch director Jaap van Hoewijk. The documentary film tells the story of van Hoewijk's own family in which the suicide of the father is kept secret from the three children. Our analysis of the film highlights the complex ways in which families deal with sensitive issues like loss, grief and suicide, and questions the usefulness of the concept of family secrets to capture this complexity.