Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Qupperneq 26

26The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 16 — 2013 Film
Still from 'The Icelandic Shock Station'
For the first 80 years of the 20th centu-
ry, only about twenty feature films were
produced for the domestic film market.
The Icelandic film industry was virtually
non-existent and creative screen art-
ists had to find their outlet in television
or abroad. In the late 1970s funding
finally became available through the
Icelandic Film Fund (IFF) and in 1980
a few feature films were produced and
screened in Icelandic movie theatres.
The production of these films marked
an important change in the Icelandic
film industry and the event is com-
monly referred to as The Icelandic Film
Spring.
In the years that followed a few Ice-
landic films were produced every year.
Thematic and stylistic tendencies were
established and progressed rapidly
during the 1980s. A common theme
in the spring-films was the conflict
between the more old-fashioned agri-
cultural society and the modern city life
developing in Reykjavík at the time.
This theme echoed a trend that could
be traced back to mid-century Icelan-
dic literature and reflected the identity
crisis of a newly independent nation
coming to terms with its new role in
the international (or at least Western)
community.
Films in tune with British sex com-
edies also flourished. Men were usually
placed at the centre of the narrative,
relentlessly pursuing women for sex.
The earliest films of "ráinn Bertelsson
are an excellent example of this tradi-
tion. Women were rarely at the centre
of the narrative, but repeatedly pre-
sented as objects, often shown naked
for no apparent reason. Obviously,
many of these films ignored the sig-
nificant social changes Icelanders had
seen in the previous decade. Women’s
liberation had taken place. In the 1980s
women demanded (and had become
legally entitled to) equal pay. Funded
childcare had been established and an
all-female political party was founded
and participated in parliament from
1983–98.
On top
Although many comedies (and most
films in general) focused on the male
experience, a couple of mainstream
films focusing on women and address-
ing questions of gender and gender
roles were produced in the 1980s.
These films are ‘On Top’ (Icelandic:
‘Me! allt á hreinu’) and ‘The Icelandic
Shock Station’ (Icelandic: ‘Stella í or-
lofi’).
Ágúst Gu!mundsson’s ‘On Top’
(1982) is a play on the battle of the
sexes and displays the confusion of the
male members of pop band Stu!menn
when the women in the band refuse to
take to their orders and form their own
band called Gærurnar (“The Sluts”).
The rivalry is ignited when the romantic
relationship of the two lead singers falls
apart after a power struggle. Stu!menn
is presented as a conservative and un-
imaginative band while the members
of Gærurnar are cool, use slang and
play cutting-edge punk rock. Gærur-
nar, whom the audience is more likely
to favour, are driven by obvious artistic
integrity. Stu!menn, on the other hand,
seem jaded and are unable to find their
creative force until challenged by the
women.
When explored in a wider context,
‘On Top’ represents gender related
changes in Icelandic culture. New
trends in music and cultural life also
play an important role as women are
shown actively taking charge of their
lives and not only making their own
music, but also making more modern
music than men. Women’s liberation is
successfully pared with radicalism in
the film. Importantly, the film also pres-
ents the often-ignored male identity
crisis as the traditional social hierarchy
is deconstructed and rebuilt in favour
of equal opportunity. ‘On Top’ is also
part of a persistent discourse in popu-
lar music culture on the dichotomy of
the established musicians versus the
new and vibrant ones. Although the
film may be very funny and poignant
to a non-Icelander, the symbols of Ice-
landic culture might be hard to decode
without an extensive knowledge of Ice-
landic culture and language.
Stella
The story of the resourceful housewife
Stella, in ‘The Icelandic Shock Station’
(1986), is one of the most popular films
ever produced in Iceland. Stella takes
her children on a vacation while her
alcoholic and adulterous husband is
confined to a hospital bed after a freak
accident. Stella hilariously takes charge
of the situation and hijacks his plans
of taking a foreign business associate
fishing and accidentally kidnaps an un-
suspecting Swede whom she thinks is
her husband’s fishing partner.
The film is directed and produced
by women, "órhildur "orleifsdóttir and
Gu!n# Halldórsdóttir, respectively, and
focuses on the female experience in a
society where women’s independence
is definitely encouraged, but still very
conditioned. Each time Stella breaks
the rules she gains inside knowledge of
male culture. In an early scene she fixes
an electronic device and meanwhile
overhears a group of men discuss-
ing their infidelity and other indiscre-
tions. In another scene she denies her
drunken husband sex, which results in
him burning his buttocks and breaking
both his arms, thus opening up an op-
portunity for Stella to go fishing with
his alleged business associate. Her
take-charge attitude and positive dis-
position allows her to tap into powers
previously unknown to her and explore
a way of life she never knew. Like the
women in the all-female band in ‘On
Top,’ Stella’s most truthful expression
stems not only from her autonomy, but
also from her actions that relate with
the recent changes in contemporary
culture in Iceland.
Both films give the Icelandic wom-
en’s rights movement a voice while
also addressing important questions
regarding gender and identity—for
both men and women. It is important to
note that the women’s liberation move-
ment is not only a formal institution of
feminists and bureaucrats. It is some-
thing that resides in anyone partaking
in cultural life and therefore everyone
can relate to it on some level. One can
speculate that the popularity of these
films is to some extent due to their hu-
morous yet profound connection to so-
cial reality.
Icelandic comedy films from the 1980s are a staple of Iceland’s cultural life. Most Iceland-
ers have not only seen these films, but also know them by heart. To watch them almost
30 years later can be somewhat daunting though. Many of these films are no longer
funny; some are still funny, but represent a somewhat problematic worldview. Others are
simply hilarious and are still able to address something real in Icelandic culture. Their
longevity is sometimes owed to their cultural significance and their role in the collective
cultural memory of Icelanders. What’s particularly interesting is how these comedies
used social criticism to build a strong foundation of laughs for years to come.
A dinner or lunch at the elevated fourth floor of Harpa concert hall is a destination
in itself. Relax and enjoy fine Italian cuisine complemented with a spectacular
panoramic view of Reykjavík and the surrounding horizon.
UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
AND A VIEW LIKE NO OTHER
Kolabrautin is on
4th floor Harpa
Reservations
+354 519 9700
info@kolabrautin.is
www.kolabrautin.is
Nota!
Words
Helga "órey Jónsdóttir
It’s Funny Because It’s True
On social criticism in Icelandic comedies from the 1980s