Culture From Your Country

[Cecilie]

I love learning new things. Especially about other countries and cultures. So I had what I think is a great idea of us sharing a taste of the culture from our own country. I just thought that there's so much great literature, music, movies and art that most people haven't even heard of. And I sure don't want to miss out on that! Now, I understand the consept of 'lost in translation' (so I left out poetry), but it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't enjoy it, right? And for those of you who's either American or British (which is most of you) it would be cool if you knew some lesser known authors etc. since people all over the world have a good understanding already of American and British culture. (So no Beatles  

[Tank]

I love travelling (and haven't done a tenth of what I would like to) because it shows me how peculiar I am and how my culture is not the same as others. I love The Netherlands. The Dutch have such a wonderful attitude to living. So tell us about Norway.

[pinkocommie]

Well, I love the culture of my region, the pacific northwest, so here's some stuff unique to my area.  

[philosoraptor]

H.P. Lovecraft is one of my favorite American authors.  He is somewhat similar to Poe, with more of a scifi-esque edge to his writing.  While he has a pretty big cult following, most people don't know who he is.  His writing has inspired some mainstream elements of pop culture, though.  The Reanimator movies are based off his writing, and the frequently referenced Necronomicon of horror lore was his creation as well.

You can read some of his work here.  Cool Air is one of my favorites.

[i_am_i]

Being a jazz musician I will, of course, say that jazz is one of the most profoundly influential offsprings of American culture, specifically black American culture, that this country has given to the world. It's the one I most relate to and the one of which I am the most proud.

It's ironic that it is now Europe and Japan that place the greatest value on jazz while America all but shuns it. It's also the main reason that I intend to move back to Europe as soon as I can!

Oh, and both sides of my family are from Norway. I have many relatives there. Norway has a thriving jazz scene.

My father's family comes from Stavanger and my mother's family from Bergen, where you live. My last name is Norem and my mother's maiden name is Lonning.

I've been to Norway and it's very beautiful, particularly the fjords.

[Cecilie]

Norway (Officialy 'Kingdom of Norway)

Learned something there already did ya?
Anyways, here goes.

Literature
Like everywhere else in the world, there has been some great literature coming from Norway. Most notable is Knut Hamsun with his book "Hunger" and Sigrid Undset with her trilogy about Kristin Lavransdatter "The Wreath", "The Wife" and "The Cross". (Both of them won the Nobel Prize in Literature) Another book which has been a huge international success is "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_(novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Lavransdatter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie's_World

Playwrights
Norway has had some great playwrights. Most famous is Henrik Ibsen who wrote "Peer Gynt", "A Doll's House", "Ghosts", "The Wild Duck" and "Hedda Gabler" among others. Ibsen alongside Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Jonas Lie and Alexander Kielland makes "The Great Four (The Four Greats)" .

Art
I'm sure you've all seen "The Scream":

But do you actually know who painted it? It is by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.
Other paintings by Munch:



Music
Depending on your taste of course. We've got everything (even an own genre which you've never heard of  ). Though Norway is known for its heavy metal. Most famous composer however is Edvard Grieg (he's even from my city). You've all heard something from Grieg. Even if you don't realise it. Here's a couple of samples:
[youtube:16221bq2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAbwMGZtIsY[/youtube:16221bq2]
[youtube:16221bq2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI[/youtube:16221bq2]

Movies
Lastly, movies. Norway has made some pretty decent horror movie like "Villmark", "Cold Prey", "Dead Snow" and "Rovdyr". Other than that the biggest Norwegian movie would have to be "Max Manus" (English title: Man of War) which is based on the real events of the life of resistance fighter Max Manus during World War II.

So, that was just a small taste of the Norwegian culture. Hope you enjoyed it. And thanks for sharing as well!

[Cecilie]

Oh, and both sides of my family are from Norway. I have many relatives there. Norway has a thriving jazz scene.

My father's family comes from Stavanger and my mother's family from Bergen, where you live. My last name is Norem and my mother's maiden name is Lonning.

I've been to Norway and it's very beautiful, particularly the fjords.

I didn't know that! Do you speak any Norwegian at all?

[i_am_i]

Oh, and both sides of my family are from Norway. I have many relatives there. Norway has a thriving jazz scene.

My father's family comes from Stavanger and my mother's family from Bergen, where you live. My last name is Norem and my mother's maiden name is Lonning.

I've been to Norway and it's very beautiful, particularly the fjords.

I didn't know that! Do you speak any Norwegian at all?

Sadly, no. My parents wanted their children to be real all-American. There was a lot of that going on back then.

My grandparents, see, they never really learned to speak English. My family is from a very Norwegian part of Iowa, where everyone was a farmer and everyone spoke Norwegian. My parents wanted their children to be immersed in American culture, so there was no Norwegian culture around when I grew up, just a few knick-knacks from the old country.

[KDbeads]

Hmmmm, I've lived in so many different cultures in the US, hard to pinpoint one.  I'm kind of a mismash of everywhere I've lived.  I'll see what I can come up with

[Cecilie]

Oh, and both sides of my family are from Norway. I have many relatives there. Norway has a thriving jazz scene.

My father's family comes from Stavanger and my mother's family from Bergen, where you live. My last name is Norem and my mother's maiden name is Lonning.

I've been to Norway and it's very beautiful, particularly the fjords.

I didn't know that! Do you speak any Norwegian at all?

Sadly, no. My parents wanted their children to be real all-American. There was a lot of that going on back then.

My grandparents, see, they never really learned to speak English. My family is from a very Norwegian part of Iowa, where everyone was a farmer and everyone spoke Norwegian. My parents wanted their children to be immersed in American culture, so there was no Norwegian culture around when I grew up, just a few knick-knacks from the old country.

Oh. Something to do before you die then: Experience May 17th (in Norway).

[i_am_i]

Oh. Something to do before you die then: Experience May 17th (in Norway).

Well, I'll tell you something that I did do. When I was living in England I was invited to a Norem family reunion, held on the island of Sjornoy in the fjords. All the little girls were wearing tradition Norwegian costumes. Everybody there looked like me! It was quite an experience. I saw the brightly-painted tiny little church where my father's parents were married, was shown the graves of some of my ancestors and spent an evening with distant cousins on the old Norem farm. It was quite something and I remember it fondly to this day.

I very much intend to go back someday, absolutely.

[Cecilie]

Remember this? (For you who were alive at the 80's)  

[youtube:2nxcm104]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EXxMlIExpo[/youtube:2nxcm104]

[KDbeads]

Well to give you a little insight to where I live now.... this is our former sheriff.  
[youtube:1lkwcaa3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCG9sIFRqx8[/youtube:1lkwcaa3]

I think Buster (new sheriff) is still keeping with the pink for most inmates..... I think, have to ask my deputy friend.

[Whitney]

[youtube:2h8qkoba]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwxOhe5Yjqg[/youtube:2h8qkoba]

I think he does a pretty good job of describing what "proud texans" think of texas.  But he forgot to mention that she knows she ain't an ape.

[KDbeads]

Yes, lets not forget the blue bonnet fever every spring!!!
We have people from all over TX and all over the world come to this area in the spring to see the blue bonnets.  It's truly amazing for this many people to inundate a little sleepy town just to see a blue flower.