Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Blaðsíða 12

Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Blaðsíða 12
FROM REYKJAVÍK & NOW AKUREYRI IN NORTH ICELAND! +354 497 0000 • WHALESAFARI.IS • INFO@WHALESAFARI.IS CLOSER TO NATURE Daily Departures at 10:00 & 14:00 WHALES, PUFFINS & REYKJAVÍK DEPARTURES 2016 - 22.990 ISK Sept 1st - Sept 30th. Oct 1st to Oct 31st. 10:00, 14:00 10:00 WHALES, EYJAFJORD & AKUREYRI DEPARTURES 2016 - 19.990 ISK. Sept 1st - Sept 15th Sept 16th - Sept. 30th. 10:00, 14:00 10:00 “...BEING ON THE SMALLER RIB BOAT MEANS YOUR ARE DRAMATICALLY CLOSER TO THE ANIMALS..” Reviewed 16 September 2015 “THE ONLY WAY TO SEE WHALES” Reviewed 10 August 2015 str and gat a HOF Lundargata Fró ðas und Eið sva llag ata Gra nuf elag sga ta Hofsbot Brekkugata Hafnarstræ ti Gil sba kka veg urOd dag ata Skipagata G rerárgata Grundargata Hriseyjargata TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI OUR LOCATION IN AKUREYRI Æg isg arð ur Gei rsg ata Geirsgata No rð ur stí gu r Nýlendugata Mýrargata Hlé sga ta Rastargata Vesturgata Miðbakki Suðurgata Ægi sga rðu r Ægi sga rðu r TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI Re yk jav ík O ld H arb ou r OUR LOCATION IN REYKJAVÍK The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 14 — 2016 12 Writing in ‘A Defence of Iceland’ in 1593, Arngrímur the Learned argued that “we are seriously to consider, what things, and how true, writers have reported of Iceland.” Made up of nearly thirty chapters, the document attempts to dispel foreign myths about Iceland by essentially shit-talking Eu- ropean countries and bigging the is- land up in order to convince foreigners of Iceland’s physical and cultural prox- imity with the so-called “civilised” world. Today, this inferiority complex en- dures, a hangover of 1,000 years of colonial rule by the Norwegians and later, the Danes, the British, and the Americans. While the Danes could hardly be said to have been oppressors, the fact that the Kingdom of Denmark “inherited” de facto rule over Iceland after the death of Olav IV in 1380, and later, stripped Iceland of its political and economic autonomy in 1660 under Frederick III, was pivotal in stimulat- ing the independence movement. Ask many Icelanders back home about what they think of the Danes, and you’ll be lucky if they don’t spit at you. Danish is, after all, still taught as a second language in Icelandic schools. The idea of a distinctive Icelandic national “community” is much older, however—as Arngrímur’s text attests. Like many other nationalisms, it was from the beginning linked to a my- thologised concept of an enduring, dis- tinct Icelandic population. Arngrímur the Learned, then, fired the first shot in the centuries-long PR campaign to put Iceland on the map as a cultured, Western civilisation—and the likes of Inspired By Iceland and the tourism board owe him much more today than they might think. Icelanders on display W hen burgeon ing independence movements began to spring up—with mixed success—across Europe and the so-called New World in the late 19th century, this idea of a distinct Icelandic identity was supercharged by the ideas of home rule and popular sovereignty. Much of the literature of the time attempts—with some suc- cess—to enhance popular perception of Iceland. Like the Irish, the Greeks, or the French, Icelanders of the independence movement believed their people had enough golden ages, foreign oppres- sors, and unique heritage to justify being seen as their own nation. Ice- landers at the time—but in particular the academics, polemicists, and art- ists living in Denmark—went to great lengths to demonstrate that they were civilized Europeans deserving of a unique nation-state among those of mainland Europe. It’s tempting to view this fight for a national identity in purely political terms—but, of course, no 19th century nationalism was complete without its corresponding ethnic component. Strøget, Copenhagen’s tourist- packed central shopping street, is dis- similar from Reykjavík’s Laugavegur perhaps only in scale and price. Ice- landers frequently fly to Copenhagen just to shop here—with cheap flights and better retail offers ensuring that a 2135 km journey remains a more entic- ing option than driving to Kringlan. Walk far enough down Strøget, and you will eventually arrive at Tivoli Gar- dens: Denmark’s most popular tour- ist attraction and the second oldest amusement park in the world—and one with a particularly sinister connection to the history of Icelandic nationalism. In the late 19th century, “colonial exhibitions” were very popular among the Danish public, and in 1905, Tivoli was to play host to one of these exhi- bitions of colonised people and arte- facts—with “live exhibits” of people from Greenland, Iceland, and the West Indies. At the time, the announcement of the event was met with ferocious opposition from Icelandic intellectu- als, leading to large protests across Copenhagen. The protests were not aimed at the colonial exhibition as such, nor the humiliation faced by the people being “exhibited” in cages for the pleasure of the jeering Danish crowds. Far from it. In fact, the protestors were most upset about the fact that Icelanders would be exhibited with those they saw as “savages” (in their own words). These protests spoke to a deep anxiety about Iceland being classified alongside non- European, racialised Others. Inside Iceland's complicated relationship with the Danes Kingdom Come ANALYSIS Words CIARÁN DALY Art LÓA HLÍN HJÁLMTÝS- DÓTTIR Share: GPV.IS/DK14 “Arngrímur the Learned, then, fired the first shot in the centuries-long PR campaign to put Iceland on the map as a cultured, Western civilisation—and the likes of Inspired By Iceland and the tourism board owe him much more today than they might think.”
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