Learn about the top five most important pop culture icons in Norway
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| Filip: "Hei alle sammen!" |
| Jasmine: “Hello everybody! This is All About Lesson 10, the Top 5 things you need to know about Norwegian pop culture. Jasmine here. |
| Filip: Filip here. And welcome back to NorwegianClass101.com. |
| Jasmine: Filip what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Filip: In this lesson we'll look at Norwegian television, Norwegians abroad, music, sports, and international pop culture. |
| Jasmine: That sounds like a lot. Where should we start? |
| Filip: How about popular TV? |
| Jasmine: Sounds great. But we should say that as popular culture changes quickly and often drastically, this lesson focuses on the most recent trends in pop culture. |
| Filip: That's right. Please keep in mind we recorded this lesson in 2012. |
| Jasmine: Okay! So, Popular TV. In Norway the main form of entertainment is television. |
| Filip: And there are three major TV broadcasters, NRK, TV2, and TVNorge. |
| Jasmine: These three companies operate about three to five channels each, along with external companies and cable companies. You'll generally find around twenty channels that are operating in Norwegian. |
| Filip: Yes. Most of these send the daily digest of news, movies, talk shows, TV series, and the like. |
| Jasmine: But the interesting part is what Norwegians like to watch. |
| Filip: Norwegians love watching American TV series. Popular series include Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory, Glee, Jersey Shore, and more. |
| Jasmine: These shows are usually lagging a bit behind on the TV so many Norwegians tend to watch them on the net as well. |
| Filip: Yeah, other than that, reality shows are also popular. And Norwegians have their own versions of Idol, Survivor, the X-Factor, So You Think You Can Dance, and other shows currently popular internationally. |
| Jasmine: Content among the TV channels can also vary a bit, but in general it includes kids and variety programs in the morning, |
| Filip: General entertainment programs, movies, and re-runs in the afternoons. |
| Jasmine: And news, drama series, sports, films, and talk shows in the evening. |
| Filip: Okay! Our next topic is popular Norwegians abroad. |
| Jasmine: Oh. An interesting topic. Norwegians often occupy surprising roles on the international scene. |
| Filip: From athletes like cross-country skier Marit Björgen and footballer Ole Gunnar Solskjær… |
| Jasmine: To World Idol winner Kurt Nilsen and bands like AHA, Röyksopp, and Annie, Norwegians are everywhere on the international scenes. |
| Filip: With that short introduction to Norwegians abroad… |
| Jasmine: You might have heard about famous Norwegians through history as well. |
| Filip: Explorers like Thor Heyerdahl and Roald Amundsen extended many borders previously thought impossible to people. |
| Jasmine: There are also famous scientists and historians like Niels Henrik Abel and P. A. Munch. |
| Filip: Or infamous traitors like Vidkun Quisling. |
| Jasmine: But let's not forget those who put Norway on the map a thousand years ago and whom Norway is probably most famous for. |
| Filip: The Vikings! |
| Jasmine: Yes, they don't exist anymore except for in the Norwegian legacy and blood. Still, they are a large part of what sums up the general impression of Norway. |
| Filip: Yeah. The first thing most people think of when they hear the word "Norway" is "Vikings." |
| Jasmine: And let's not forget that they were the first explorers of America. Long before Columbus set foot there. |
| Filip: But not only the Americas. They have found traces of Vikings all the way down to the tip of Africa and as far east as Turkey and Azerbaijan. |
| Jasmine: Very cool. What's next? |
| Filip: Popular music |
| Jasmine: Hmmm. What I have heard is that Black Metal is the most popular genre to emerge from Norway. |
| Filip: True, the dark land of Norway has given birth to some of the murkier pits of metal with bands like Burzum, Emperor, Mayhem, Immortal, and Darkthrone. |
| Jasmine: Yeah, I used to listen to a lot of black metal, but I was surprised to learn that Black Metal is Norway's largest cultural export. |
| Filip: For more popular music Norwegian musicians cater to almost every taste. My favorite band being Röyksopp, an electronica duo, and Jaga Jazzist, a self-explanatory name actually. A Jazz group. |
| Jasmine: I like Klovner i Kamp. They make hip-hop, and Kings of Convenience who play more alternative music. |
| Filip: Other bands are, for example, TNT, Annie, Turbonegro, Datarock, or Madrugada. |
| Jasmine: All great artists. So with that, let's talk about sports |
| Jasmine: Popular Sports |
| Filip: Well what is Norway's trademark? |
| Jasmine: Um, cold? Snow? |
| Filip: Yes, and that means winter sports. |
| Jasmine: That's right. Norway is big on winter sports and every year they are topping the lists of gold medals in Winter Olympics. |
| Filip: Norway excels in skiing, ice skating, bob sleighs, and curling. There's even this saying that Norwegians are born with skis on their feet. |
| Jasmine: Yeah, Norwegians really like to ski, huh, although I swear I saw more people going Snowboarding when I went to a ski resort last time. |
| Filip: Oh yeah, young people like Snowboarding and let's not forget that Norway has the world's best Snowboarders too, Daniel Franck and Terje Håkonsen. |
| Jasmine: Both have left an incredible influence on the snowboarding culture, especially Terje Håkonsen defining what is possible to do with a board on snow. |
| Filip: But, it's not only winter sports that Norwegians like. We are great fans of football also known as soccer and handball. |
| Jasmine: Right, Norway has been in the premier league with teams from both men's and women's soccer. And their Women's league handball team is ranked amongst the top in the world. |
| Filip: Right. Football and handball are just as popular among Norwegians as winter sports. Norwegians are glued to the television every year during the World Cup, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, and World Championships. |
| Jasmine: Yeah, Norwegians love sports. And let's not forget Tour de France where Thor Hushovd is an incredible participant. |
| Filip: Or WRC where the Solberg siblings have been stealing gold since they started their careers. |
| Jasmine: So, if you're in Norway you better be prepared to be bombarded with sports from every discipline. |
| Filip: Yeah, it's hard not to be interested in sports in Norway. |
| Jasmine: So what's next? |
| Filip: International pop culture |
| Jasmine: Hmmm. Filip, what's your favorite cologne? |
| Filip: Armani. It's Italian. |
| Jasmine: And what's your favorite brand? |
| Filip: Fred Perry. It's British. |
| Jasmine: And your favorite food? |
| Filip: Mexican. |
| Jasmine: That's what I thought. As you can see, international culture can be found all over Norway. |
| Filip: Yes, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Prada, and Dior are all very well-known in Norway. There's no brand that doesn't sell their goods in Norway. |
| Jasmine: Well, except for food. I couldn't find one Starbucks nor Dunkin' Donuts anywhere. |
| Filip: Well, Norwegians are begging for both to open business in Norway. So it doesn't mean we don't know what it is. |
| Jasmine: Norway is as up-to-date on international culture as any other European country. |
| Filip: True, I mean, isn't that just logical? |
| Jasmine: Well sure, I mean, not every country in the world is right? |
| Filip: I'd say the whole world is becoming one global village. |
| Filip: Well, that's our Top 5 pop culture topics. |
| Jasmine: Thanks for joining us, and make sure you join us for the next lesson too. Bye everyone! |
| Filip: "Hade Bra!" |
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