ABSTRACT
National cinemas, it has been argued (Higson 1989, 1995), are to an important extent thematically defined, yet little has been said about what exactly constitutes the relevant themes. My aim here, then, is to identify some of the key features of themes of nation. In the course of my discussion, I draw on examples from contemporary Danish cinema. I argue that themes of nation are topical, rather than perennial, and involve a process of marking and flagging that distinguishes them from instances of banal nationalism. I further contend that agents engaged in the construction of a national cinema emphasise a loose sense of aboutness which is constitutive, not of themes of nation, but of banal nationalism.
