Iceland review - 2014, Síða 50

48 ICELAND REVIEW
EnDlEss Elf fAscinAtion
Many foreigners find iceland’s relationship
with elves so amazing that locals eagerly use
it for marketing purposes. Hafnarfjörður
has now officially become ‘The Town of
elves’ as stated on a sign upon entering
the town while driving to the capital from
Keflavík international airport.
Meanwhile, icelandair, one of the coun-
try’s biggest companies, plays a classy video
about iceland’s wonders on the screen in
front of every seat onboard its aircraft. To
many people, these are probably some of
the first things they learn about the nation
and country. on the backdrop of awe-
some landscape shots, a number of ‘facts’
are listed, among them, that more than 50
percent of icelanders believe in elves. But
where does this ‘fact’ come from?
a 2007 study from folklorist Terry
Gunnell at the University of iceland found
that 37 percent of participants said elves
possibly exist, 17 percent found their exis-
tence likely, 13 percent said elves could
not possibly exist and five percent had no
opinion on the existence of elves.
spEAkinG of cock-AnD-bull
stoRiEs…
Myths of a more serious nature have been
presented as facts in iceland lately. Prime
Minister of iceland Sigmundur Davíð
Gunnlaugsson maintained at the meeting
of the Progressive Party’s central com-
mittee on July 11 that 99 percent of meat
produced at large-scale farms in the U.S.
contained growth hormones.
inevitably, representative of the U.S.
ambassador to iceland, Paul Cunningham,
was quick to object, commenting in
Fréttablaðið some days later that studies
have shown on more than one occa-
sion that meat and meat products made
in the U.S. are safe. The news story
went on to explain that Costco Wholesale
Corporation from the U.S., which has
expressed interest in opening a branch in
iceland—the reason for the PM’s state-
ment—carries organic meat that doesn’t
contain growth hormones and has been
certified by the U.S. Department of
agriculture.
The Progressive Party’s politicians have
a habit of making false statements, it seems.
MP for the party, vigdís Hauksdóttir, said
in a debate on Stöð 2 television in February
that Malta was not an independent state
and Sveinbjörg Birna Sveinbjörnsdóttir,
who secured a seat on reykjavík City
Council in the municipal elections in May,
commented to visir.is during the party’s
campaign that there were no churches in
abu Dhabi. according to Google Maps,
there are 13 churches in abu Dhabi.
kEEpinG onE’s fActs stRAiGHt
i guess most of us are guilty of making
sweeping statements sometimes without
checking the facts first, thereby contrib-
uting to resilient rumors, and could ben-
efit from learning more about a topic
before engaging in a discussion about it.
it’s important for everyone to keep this in
mind, especially politicians commenting on
serious issues as their false statements can
easily prove harmful to a lot of people.
The tourist industry as well should be
careful not to paint too farilytale-like a
picture of a destination and further ste-
reotypes. i believe most tourists would
rather experience authenticity than leave
with the feeling of having visited a theme
park. Keeping one’s facts straight can truly
be tricky and there are often many truths
to a story. But we should at least make the
effort and not spread tröllasögur if we can
avoid it. *
mYthS
The tourist industry as well
should be careful not to paint too
fairytale-like a picture of a
destination and further
stereotypes.