Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 63

DREYMAR UM BILAR Á OYCGJUM
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values that characterize car cultures of the
Faroe Islands. Another important origin of
this article's data is readers’ letters and news
articles printed in Faroese newspapers
during the last decade. Most of this written
material gives factual documentation of
tragic road accidents in the Faroe Islands.
This article does not give a thorough analysis
of the meaning and value of cars in the
youth cultures and everyday lives, rather, it
investigates some facets in a complex and
ambiguous relation - the relation between
young people and motor vehicles.
The Faroese youth research tradition is
young and quantitatively limited (Gaini,
2008). No study of the meaning of motor
vehicles in youth cultures has been conduc-
ted before my above mentioned project
2006-08. It is therefore difhcult, almost impos-
sible, to give a reliable historical overview of
car cultures of the Faroe Islands. The
unfortunate shortage of social data from the
Faroe Islands makes most new research enter-
prises pioneering. Texts are therefore more
pragmatically explanatory and discursive than
comparatively analytical and theoretically
definitive. The holistic approach given un-
covers general trends in the Faroe Islands
anno 2009, albeit without the ambition of
establishing a paradigmatic core reference
text for future research within youth studies.
Theoretical framework
The text is theoretically anchored in the
work of Ulrich Beck, who concentrates on
the risk and risk society concepts (Denney,
2005). The aim is not to examine Beck’s risk
society theory, but to use 'risk' as an
analytical tool and conceptual approach to
a complex cultural field in contemporary
Faroese society. Risk is a relational concept
knit into specific social contexts. The
understanding of risk, its value and
consequences, depends on the knowledge
and identity of the interpreter. Risk for
whom? Risk considered necessary? Risk
considered rewarding? Risk signalling total
freedom? Risk and security, relevant subjects
in post-9/11 political discourse, are always
related to the notions of freedom and self-
determination (op cit). It has for generations
been common sense to claim, that risk
behaviour is the brand of the youth. The 'live
fast die young' cliche romanticizes high risk
in modern youth lifestyles.
As observed in the field, young people in
the Faroe Islands discuss the local car
cultures with direct or indirect references to
risk behaviour. The cultural models that
young people have internalized through
education and social interaction shape their
understanding and interpretation of risk
behaviour. High risk behaviour, considered
destructive and irresponsible, is usually
rooted in cultural and social models hard to
change. In debates and research on AIDS, it is
often pointed out how difhcult it is to
change some groups of young people
regarding their sexual behaviour and
attitudes. Oppositional subcultures might
even take risks in order to contest
mainstream society’s moral 'panics’. In other
words, the risk behaviour functions as a
symbolic defensive weapon that has a
boomerang effect - you put your own
health and welfare at risk.
The text also attempts to clarify the
difhcult shift from tradition to (late)
modernity in the Faroe Islands through the
windscreen of the car. The image in the