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| Fri 18 Sept MMXV |
without political filth oozing out of their sickly pores.
"Norway Again Embraces The Vikings, Minus The Violence"
From the article :
"In a country that awards the Nobel Peace Prize each year and delights in its reputation for tolerance, the rebranding of Vikings from violent thugs to peaceable craftsmen is part of a broader resurgence of interest in a historical period previously embraced mostly by far-right nationalists.
It has helped make pride in the Viking Age respectable at a time when Norwegians, like many other Europeans, are looking to the past to shore up identities shaken by alarm over immigration and the impact of globalization.
A Norwegian publishing house has started a new Internet magazine called “The Happy Viking,” a Norwegian film director has just made what is billed as a Viking blockbuster due for release early next year, and attendance at museums displaying Viking ships in Oslo and Lofoten has surged.
Even so, Norway, still somewhat squeamish about celebrating a part of its history hijacked by the Nazis, lags behind foreigners in plundering the Viking past for inspiration and cash. The television series “Vikings” is an Irish-Canadian production, and the fantasy drama “Game of Thrones” was made for HBO.
Lars Ueland Kobro, a tourism investment adviser, told the Norwegian state broadcaster NRK that Norway needed to overcome its lingering inhibitions and embrace the business opportunities offered by the Vikings. He said it was now “time to invest in large Viking experience centers in Norway.”
Others, however, like Anders Kvale Rue, a Viking fan who leads a group of amateur enthusiasts from around Seljord called Olaf’s Men, cautioned that Vikings, particularly their symbols and taste for violence, remained a touchy subject for some.
“Before the Second World War, the whole nation was proud of our Viking heritage. But after the war it was banned from the public arena for more than 50 years,” he said. “We can still feel the negative effects today. Some people feel disgust with the Viking Age and think that it is connected to racism.” "
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