Presentations and A Doll House

As they were last time, the presentations were fun and informative. I loved this format and I feel like I learned so much about so many different topics. I really think that these helped me understand all of Scandinavia better, from design and innovation to love and preservation of nature to even such little things as cuisine. I think that through these presentations I was able to make up my own themes of what we have covered this year.

The guest speaker for A Doll House was amazing. I think that the one thing from this class that I will appreciate are all of the unique and interesting speakers I had the opportunity to hear. They provided a personal and inside look to all the country and helped me understand everything a little bit better. I actually really enjoyed reading A Doll House. I thought it was going to be dull and boring, but it was actually quite fun to read. I also really enjoyed the speaker, because she gave insight to a lot of things that I would not have picked up on by myself. Overall, I feel like the speakers helped me understand the themes and culture of Scandinavia better.

A Doll House

I really enjoyed reading the Doll House in class on Monday and the great analysis from Kate Mendelhoff, our guest lecturer. It was the first time I read any drama whatsoever since high school, and hearing the dialogue out lout definitely helped reveal the powerful last scene in act 3. Having Kate there to breakdown the whole play, as someone who has directed in the past was a very cool perspective to see. Nora had seemed to play helpless just to live the life of grandeur given to her by her selfish husband, Torvald. She is almost treated like a child, and in the final act she finally garners the strength to come out of her shell and pursue her own personal interests. She questions her religious and moral duties, claiming "before all else, I am a human being". This was a very strong message to send during this the 19th century, and it seems Ibsen tended to push the limits in his work. I thought it was interesting that he had no intention of promoting women's rights, yet the play still ended up sending a pretty iconic message. I also thought the Germans were huge pricks for completely changing the ending (and in turn his message) without telling Ibsen. If I was a playwright, I would consider something like that as the ultimate insult to my work.

Icelandic Week/Presentations/A Doll House

Icelandic Week, which I realize was a little while ago, was very interesting to say the least. The movie 101 Reykjavic was odd but also funny in the weirdest ways possible and I really enjoyed it. I have to admit that Iceland is probably the Scandinavian country that I know least about, so even watching that movie, I was able to learn a little bit. What I thought was the most interesting part of that movie that actually had to do with Iceland, was that fact that although the main character may have not had the ideal life, he was able to live off welfare and not be stuck on the streets begging for food.

The guest lecturer was amazing, as per usual. She was able to clear up any questions we had pertaining to the movie or the culture in general and tell us a little bit more about the culture and history of Iceland. I'm beginning to notice that as a whole, Scandinavia seems more laid back then the majority of Americans and I kind of envy that.
The presentations given in class were very interesting. I loved listening to everyone, and whether it was the cuisine, or the natural parks, I feel like I learned a lot about Scandinavia.
The recently assigned reading, A Doll House, was very interesting to read and I enjoyed Nina and Ben reading the lines towards the end of class. It is astonishing to think about how radical that theatrical piece was for its time. Although I am not a theater/artsy type of person, I definitely respect great writers such as Ibsen.

A Doll House / Final Thoughts

It was cool to gain one last flavor of the culture of Scandinavia in the final regular class of the semester. I was hoping we would get to talk more about Ibsen's personal life, as it had an interesting impact on his writings. It was nice, however, to hear some of the lines recited, since it helped us better understand the play.

Hard to believe the semester is coming to a close so soon! Johanna brought up a good point in class today, we all see Scandinavia in a very positive light. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing, but I'm sure we can agree that Scandinavia has many good practices and the five countries we have looked at are world leaders in many different aspects.

The Cuisine

I thought David did a nice job showing us the variety of foods one could expect around Scandinavia. I recently saw an episode of frozen planet and human planet where shark and whale meets were cut and wrapped in skin/blubber and then buried.  They would then dig it back up in the winter when food was not as plentiful.  It was a way to preserve the food for months at a time and to ensure the family would never be without food....cool how these customs and techniques develop and are still around in present day.

A classic Jewish meal nowadays are bagels and lox. Lox were introduced to the Jewish people while in Scandinavia and then exported to the US during mass immigration.  I think that this is a unique 'traditional' food we share and a great cultural connection we share!

Otherwise, Scandinavian food is clearly under-rated.  All across the world you can see Italian, Japanese, French and Latin foods, but Scandinavian foods are not that prominent.  I look forward to indulging in some good classic and modern Scandinavian foods.

In other words, from everything we've learned...! cant wait to travel to the north!

Presentations - Round 2!

Once again we covered the whole spectrum across the presentations that we saw in class over the past two weeks. From beer to Christianity, from sports to immigration, from national parks to nautical culture, we heard it all! Again, I feel that these are really helping us to understand scandinavian civilization in the present and in the past, and these five countries are world leaders in many aspects. It is pretty cool to see the grand impact and the tremendous initiative that these countries have, considering how small they are. It is also kind of unique how they all have distinct characteristics, yet many similarities as well. It is sad to see this class coming to a close, but I know that I will walk away with a much better understand and appreciation for Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

Iceland Week

I learned a lot during icelandic week. I like the fact that during the week, we first started with the film Reykjavik 101, and got a touch of Icelandic culture, along with a humorous odd film. Then when Mrs. Gunnarsdottir came to present, she covered a lot about the country's detail. From my second paper, I noticed that Iceland prohibited alcohol almost thru the entire 20th century. I found it interesting, that iceland has one of the highest depression rates considering the liveliness and partying of the small country. I would sometime in the future like to visit the middle of the country, where no people live, and all nature, ice, and volcanoes reside.

-Dylan

Icelandic Week

I learned a lot from the week on Iceland, because I had known very little about Icelandic culture to begin with, particularly modern Icelandic culture, which I knew nothing about. I thought it was really interesing learning about the delayed road contruction, and belief in magical creatures, particularly when it was mentioned that several people had died during its construction and how this coincidentally aligned with these supernatural beliefs. The film we watched was also very interesting, and added to my understanding of Icelandic culture, atleast through the portrayal of general beliefs and perspectives.

Icelandic Week

I thought learning about Iceland was very interesting, particularly how the culture has managed to survive despite many challenges. In particular, the small population size and geographic limitations of the island. I was really surprised that buildings can only be several stories tall, and must be heavily protected against the elements, and that the entire interior of the island is uninhabited. 101 Reykjavic was an interesting movie. I thought many of the themes were unique and the characters were pretty funny. Despite only seeing a bit of the movie, Augusta seemed to think some of the characters were somewhat representative of Icelandic people; particularly how open everyone is with each other.

Iceland

For the majority of my life I knew Iceland as the habitable island next to Greenland.  I always found the irony of Iceland and Greenland to be a 'fun fact'.  That fact being that even though Greenland sounds warmer...its not.
Through this class and week, my eyes have been opened.  I knew that Iceland would be beautiful but had no idea that the center was uninhabited and all the cities surrounded the island on the coast.  The fact that one small island has beaches, mountains, plains, snow/ice, volcanoes and caves baffles me!  How cool!

The film 101 Reykjavik provided the perfect look at life in Iceland.  There are many similarities and lots of differences to here, but what we share is unique.  I liked how open there society is to everything...sex, drugs, sexual orientation, class differences.  It, like Scandinavian, is a model of how the world can co-exist with many different types of people.   The film was also just generally hilarious!

Our guest speaker really reinforced the themes the movie laid out.  She did a great job connecting the winter lifestyle to the crazy partying, late nights, open sexual landscape, and drug use....while I would never want to go in the winter, Iceland is now a top summer destination for me.  The rafting, kayaking and general adventuring is too good to pass up!  

Iceland Week

Out of all the Nordic countries, I would say that Iceland is by far the weirdest. I had no idea that it was so much different from the rest of Europe. The craziest thing about their culture istheir religous beliefs and how they've taken different parts of other religions to sort of form their own. I thought the coolest part of it is their belief in elves and especially the story of how the elves stopped the construction of the highway around the country. I thought it was funny that Agusta seemed kind of embarassed by her fellow Icelanders beliefs.

Icelandic Week

Out of all of the countries we have talked about so far, I knew the least about Iceland. So far, I think that I learned the most new and interesting facts about Iceland. Iceland seems like a very fun country and it has definitely been added to my list of places I would love to visit.

I really enjoyed listening to the speaker on Wednesday. I liked the format and how we could ask questions and she was really open to talking about anything. She gave a really different perspective I thought.

101 Reykjavic is the kind of movie where when it ends you sort of wonder what just happened. I thought it was refreshingly honest and showed that Icelanders are able to make fun of probably the worst aspects of their country and also displays their dry sense of humor. I don't think there a lot of of countries that would like a movie released that portrayed their country negatively or in any way controversial. I give major props to the movie for that aspect alone.

Icelandic Humor

101 Reykjavic had a special brand of humor; it was dark, understated, and reflective on Icelandic society.  I might be wrong, but I got the feeling that the whole situation with Lola and her baby was meant to be a hilarious irony as opposed to an uncomfortable dramatic plot line.  Overall, it appears that the Icelanders choose to find many of their daily issues humorous -- not a laugh out loud kind of funny, but certainly a dry kind of humor.

101 Reykjavik

This movie was so crazy...but it really does show how liberal Icelandic culture is.  It all made more sense once we talked with Augusta.  It was both a combination of "This guy's situation really sucks!" and "This guy is crazy...".

Putting myself in his shoes, I would probably react the same way.  Frankly, when he decided to kill himself with AIDS, it was probably a top 3 funniest moments in the class so far.  It was a good movie and I really liked it.

Reactions to Icelandic Week

After Icelandic week, I am more intrigued than ever by Icelandic culture. The movie was pretty eye opening in terms of the party seen, and the openness and relaxation about people's sexuality and sexual practices. It disturbed me a bit about the characters lack of care about AIDS and other STDs, and Agusta seemed to indicate that this was still a common occurrence, and not just something "in the movies". Iceland, nevertheless does seem to be a fun place. Agusta's lecture only reinforced this when she spoke about New Year's Eve and the nightlife in Iceland. I am amazed at how the country has grown given its unpopular climate, and lack of resources. However, it does seem as though Icelanders really know how to have a good time!

Reaction to 101 Reykjavik

Wow, that was quite the movie! Obviously I was struck by many of the scenes, just like everyone else, but 101 Reykjavic was pleasantly entertaining. Even though for a while I was unable to see a concise plot to the movie, it did paint an interesting picture of Iceland for us. I am glad that we were able to have a guest today to tell us what is normal and what is abnormal for the culture and citizens of Iceland. I was very surprised to learn that many people live with their parents longer than Americans typically do. It makes sense, however, due to the high cost of rent in Iceland. I did not realize that earthquakes were so common, but hey, that means I'm learning something, right? Iceland week did not disappoint.

Reaction to Wenche's Lecture

I really enjoyed Wenche's lecture last week as well. After reading all of the previous posts, it seems she touched on a lot of issues that left people thinking after class. Drawing contrasts between Denmark and America definitely highlighted the inequality that we face in our country, on multiple levels. As she got into the discussion about gender equality, and other "taboos" that exist in our society, it was obvious that these topics tend to make people uncomfortable - most of us were kind of avoiding eye contact and twirling in our chairs if I remember correctly. I know that Wenche's enthusiasm was sort of unexpected, but regardless I thought that we could have engaged in a much better discussion had we given her more feedback. These are real issues that exist in our society, but we can't really address them if no one is willing to argue about them. If you look at our bipartisan system, and how candidates right now are focusing their platforms on merely opposing Obamas, it definitely narrows the window of important issues that will actually ever be discussed in the political setting. You don't hear any discussion about gender inequality (which is still clearly an underlying problem for women in politics), education, or class inequality. These could provide some reasons as to why our government has such a low approval rating - I definitely dont have much confidence in my governments ability to make progress on any of these issues in the near future. Denmark's striking contrast in approval rating, and their ability to talk to one another (even over serious topics) with respect, may be some reasons as to why they are generally a happier nation. They have a system that provides so much more for all their citizens, and a functioning government that can adjust when new issues are acknowledged.

Wenche is Awesome

Like many of my classmates, I really enjoyed Wenche's presentation and felt it brought up many crucial world issues. I think health care was most relevant because it is an issue many American's still debate about. I agree with the Danish system that protects the welfare of all citizens, regardless of income level. Particularly, having dentists employed at schools seems like a good idea, because dental health is integral to all other aspects of physical well-being.

-Dylan

Reaction to Danish Week

Our speaker from Wednesday, Wenche, brought up some interesting and very real problems with our country. Undoubtedly, she gave us a lot to think about, and as I left class, I was considering the different aspects of said problems.

One huge and obvious difference between the United States and Scandinavian countries is the size. In most ways, our country is bigger, so helping 'the many' and instating solutions that will be all encompassing is more difficult than in a country with only several million people. Not everyone can agree, and not everyone is in a position where they will be affected by government legislation.

As college students, while we are not directly affected by many of the problems Wenche mentioned, I feel we are aware of them, and it can be very frustrating to think about when no solution is clear. There is no simple solution, and the only thing we can do is try (both collectively and individually) to fix these problems one at a time, by getting involved in our government, coming up with ideas, communicating with each other, taking a stand in our everyday lives, etc. etc. It's a process, one that will likely take many years.

Mifune Reaction

I really ended up enjoying this Danish film.

The strict set of rules that are a part of Dogme films gave Mifune a disticntly different flavor than that of an American film. One of the stipulations of the Dogme is that no artificial lighting may be used. Another is that no sound outside of what can be recorded with equipment on set may be added. That really impressed me because it seems like it would be a very limiting factor.

Also, the rare instances of music in the film (like the living room scene with the man playing the guitar) were made all the more special because they were part of the story. It was almost like a breath of fresh air. Music is something an American film viewer takes for granted because it often informs how we are supposed to feel about a particular scene or gesture.

Overall, I really enjoyed it.