Hallå allesammans! This week I’m taking a sneak peek at that most elusive concept, “culture”: specifically, Swedish culture. Some people might argue that culture is very hard to define, and it probably is, but I think “the tastes in art and manners that are favoured by a social group” sums up culture pretty well. So what are the tastes in art and manners favoured by the Swedes?
Well, first of all, the Swedes are a decent bunch. Whilst quite a lot of people in Britain can best be described as just a little bit xenophobic the Swedes, due to their policy of neutrality, aren’t really ones to hold a grudge. They did go a bit xenophobic in the late 80’s/early 90’s, but from what I can tell, so did everyone, and the xenophobic government did so badly that they got kicked out 14 years ago.
The current PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt, has been called a “Swedish David Cameron”, in the sense that he’s trying to nudge his party towards the centre of the political spectrum. He’s also been compared to Bill Clinton, and like a lot of Swedish people, is heavily influenced by American culture: he’s also supporting Barack Obama in the upcoming US elections, so he’s definitely got my vote (though as the last election was only two years ago, I doubt I’ll get that opportunity).
Basically, the Swedes have five main ports of call for cultural influence: the US, the UK, France, Germany, and the rest of Scandinavia. It used to be quite isolationist, but since it joined the EU in 1995, its links with Continental Europe have been strengthened: however, like the UK, it has refused to adopt the Euro, with the current currency being the Swedish krona (SEK): one pound is worth about twelve krona.
So that’s the cultural influences of Sweden covered, but what about its actual culture? Well, a good starting point is Sweden’s architecture: the Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, for example, is not only the longest border-crossing bridge in the world, it also includes a tunnel, and incorporates both a motorway and a railway. Simply put, it’s like crossing the Channel Tunnel with the Severn Bridge. This is just one of Sweden’s fantastic pieces of architecture, with over 70 castles, almost two dozen palaces and several cathedrals.
Music-wise, there is much, much more to Sweden than just ABBA, and death to those who say otherwise. Whilst ABBA did admittedly do much to pave the way for future Swedish pop bands, such as the Cardigans (who are famous for “Erase/Rewind” and “My Favourite Game”) and Robyn (who appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks), there are other types of music that are popular in Sweden, from folk music to jazz and from hip hop to death metal. Sweden is also the 3rd largest music exporter in the world after the US and the UK, so Swedish music is definitely popular. Moving on to media, the Swedish press seem to once again demonstrate the liberalness of Sweden, with none of the main newspapers/tabloids venturing further than centre-right. The newspaper I need to look out for at first is The Local, which reports the country’s news in English and has a rather informative website which I have already found very useful.It turns out that there are many interesting things about Swedish culture; whether it’s their love of fish, meatballs and pancakes (not on the same plate, obviously), the fact that the inventor of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel, was Swedish (and also invented dynamite), or that they have crayfish dinner parties in August. Whichever part of Swedish culture you choose to focus on, the conclusion is the same: the Swedes are a pretty cool, if slightly eccentric, bunch of people. Even if their films do generally focus on what goes on in other people’s bedrooms. Plus, I’m not sure I can completely forgive them for creating the abomination that is Pippi Longstocking either. Or am I just being trivial here?
Next week, we’re going to be taking a look at what the Swedes get up to sport-wise, and I’ll be asking myself if I should try and take up a winter sport whilst I’m there. “Tills nästa gång”, this has been…
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
No comments:
Post a Comment