Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.07.2015, Page 2

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 2011
Our track of the issue this time around is
a live recording from Grísalappalísa’s show
at Gamli Baukurinn in Húsavík, North
Iceland, during their mega tour last year.
They’re about to release a live double-vinyl
from this tour called ‘Sumar á Gríslandi’,
which you can expect to see in stores this
autumn. The song features all of the pa-
nache, showmanship and charisma of
Grísalappalísa, which you can enjoy from
the comfort of your own home without get-
ting covered in glitter. The lyrics centre on
the relationship between parents and chil-
dren, which is oddly appropriate as the first
Grísalappalísa rugrat was born a week be-
fore this issue hit the streets.
Head over to grapevine.is to download the track.
2 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 10 — 2015
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
Published by Fröken ehf.
www.froken.is
Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association
www.saf.is
Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies.
Editor In Chief:
Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Editor:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Journalist & Travel editor:
John Rogers / john@grapevine.is
Journalist & Listings editor
Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@grapevine.is
Food Editor:
Ragnar Egilsson / ragnar@grapevine.is
Editorial:
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
Advertising:
+354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is
+354 40 3610
Publisher:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is
+354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is
Contributing Writers:
Björn Teitsson
Bob Cluness
Davíð Roach Gunnarsson
Haukur Már Helgason
Göris Peerse
Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson
Joe Shooman
Karl E. Seigfried
Kári Tulinius
Lawrence Millman
Óli Dóri
Ragna Ó. Guðmundsdóttir
Scott Shigeoka
Shruthi Basappa
Editorial Interns:
Ciarán Daly / ciaran@grapevine.is
Hannah Jane Cohen / hannah@grapevine.is
Katie Steen / katie@grapevine.is
Sam Wright Fairbanks / sam@grapevine.is
Art Director:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hordur@dodlur.is
Layout:
Hrefna Sigurðardóttir
Photographers:
Art Bicnick
Baldur Kristjánsson
Hörður Sveinsson
Alisa Kalyanova
Sales Director:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is
Óskar Freyr Pétursson / oskar@grapevine.is
Distribution manager:
distribution@grapevine.is
Proofreader:
Mark Asch
releases:
listings@grapevine.is
Submissions inquiries:
editor@grapevine.is
Subscription inquiries:
+354 540 3605 / subscribe@grapevine.is
General inquiries:
grapevine@grapevine.is
Founders:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken
ltd. Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly
from May til October. Nothing in this magazine may be repro-
duced in whole or in part without the written permission of
the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around
Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes,
Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations along road #1, and all
major tourist attractions and tourist information centres in the
country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles
in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions
expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’).
On the cover:
Illutration by
Bobby Breiðholt
www.breidholt.com
Iceland, Best In The World!
Five and a half years ago, I fulfilled my childhood
dream of moving to Iceland, a country that I had
idealized for as long as I could remember. My sto-
ry is not unlike those that other expats tell, except
that, unlike most, I am also Icelandic by blood.
Growing up in California, I had always identified,
proudly, as an Icelander.
Upon moving to Iceland in the wake of the fi-
nancial crisis, however, I slowly discovered that
the country had a lot more problems than I had
previously considered based on my annual visits
during the best time of year (read: summer). I also
came to realize that the kind of blind patriotism
that I had felt was actually fairly characteristic of
the nation as a whole, and that might in turn have
contributed to the financial crisis.
I enrolled in a master’s programme at the Uni-
versity of Iceland, including one that led me to
discover that the Icelandic media systematically
ignored negative reports from external rating
agencies in the lead-up to the financial crisis. Lat-
er that semester, the Special Investigative Com-
mittee published its great big report investigating
the crash, which incriminated the media, among
other parties. In many ways, the report argued,
Iceland’s media functioned as a cheerleader for
the banks as they grew to ten times the country’s
GDP and nearly bankrupted the country.
This winter, I took a few months off from
Grapevine to finally finish the master’s thesis that
I started so many years ago now. For my thesis,
I decided to study the media’s habit of enthusias-
tically reporting on damn near every mention of
Iceland in the international media. This tendency
seemed worthy of investigating, as it seems like
another form of cheerleading, emblematic of a
nation dogged by codependency, a nation that’s
continually stunted by its propensity to sweep un-
der the rug uncomfortable or difficult facts while
trumpeting every small victory as yet another
confirmation that it is Bezt í Heimi (“Best in the
World”)!
As I delved into my research, it became read-
ily apparent that—regardless of how trivial—any
mention of Iceland in an international media out-
let is considered newsworthy in Iceland. Head-
lines, in particular, seem to express the sentiment
“We are liked” or simply “We received attention.”
From an outsider perspective, this feels peculiar.
Comparable headlines—that the USA is being no-
ticed and/or liked or disliked by other countries—
are hardly common in major US newspapers.
It seems to me that it would be worth consid-
ering what this tendency says about us Icelanders
and the problems we face, and that the media, in
particular, might consider whether its time is per-
haps better spent on other tasks.
Turn to page 21 to read about my findings.
Anna’s editorial TRACK OF
THE ISSUE

A RARE,
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME
OPPORTUNITY
Visit the largest man-made ice caves
and tunnel in Europe
You can choose from various
tours and book online at
www.intotheglacier.is
Grísalappalísa
“Þurz”
Download the FREE tracks at www.grapevine.is
Comic | Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir