Nordlit

Preface, Nordlit 51, nr. 2, Perspectives on Scandinavian Humour

Anders Mortensen — 2023-11-29

Nordic Humour

Lita Lundquist — 2023-11-29

Starting from my former empirical studies but supplemented with fresh fictional “data” from Lars von Trier’s latest TV series Riget Exodus (2022), I first describe how Danes use humour in very characteristic ways, also in cross-cultural professional settings. Next, I explain not only Danish humour but all national humour with the notion of humour socialisation, which integrates and combines national humour with the national language on the one hand, and the specific national process of civilisation on the other hand. Moving to Nordic humour, I focus on how Danes and Swedes perceive each other’s humour, and then explain divergences between the humour of these two Nordic countries. These differences, I conclude, are the result mainly of differences in their respective civilising processes, while I am waiting and hoping for deeper comparative linguistic studies of the use of ‘humour warning signals in Danish and Swedish.

Swedish Student Humour in the 1720s

Lars Burman — 2023-11-29

Johan Risell (1697-1724) is almost unknown today, but acknowledged in his time for his vivid imagination and ability to convey emotions. He died just after the Great Northern War. His works were scattered, and less than ten poems were known. The present article is a step in reclaiming Risell’s place in Swedish literary history.

”Staden Åmåls och des Inbyggares Beskrifning” (”A depiction of the town Åmål and its inhabitants”) is one of the poems which were known, though it was not printed until 1873. The article shows that the satire was circulated in manuscript to expectant readers during the 18th century. Since it was considered to be a disreputable pasquil, not least by the citizens of the little countryside town Åmål, it was held back from the public. The aesthetically refined literary critics of the early 19th century considered it to lack in taste, and were unable to see its qualities.

In the article the Åmål poem is studied from literary, biographical and sociological perspectives. Its relation to the genre “encomium urbis”, and to the literary town praises of Sweden’s “Era of Greatness”, is described. Risell died young, and it is maintained that his satirical poem is to be understood against a backdrop of early student culture. Risell’s poem is given a fuller context since the article’s author can draw on a hitherto unknown manuscript containing more then 50 new poems by Risell.

«Lutefiskens lengsel mot havet»

Hadle Oftedal Andersen — 2023-11-29

In this article, I investigate works of fiction by three prominent authors affiliated with the zeitschrift Profil in the 1960s: Dag Solstad, Einar Økland and Jan Erik Vold. The texts I focus on, are all humorous, and this humour is used to criticise poetic practices different from the Profil-group’s own poetic program. The criticism is aimed at the idealistic tradition, moralistic literature, national romanticism, use of particularly ‘poetic’ motives, symbolic language and elevated, poetic language. Along with analyses of the Profil writers’ own texts, I also look at examples of these criticised ways of writing, by Paal Brekke, Arnulf Øverland, Erling Christie, Tore Ørjasæter And A.O. Vinje. And I point at two international sources of inspiration, Werner Aspenström and Lewis Carroll. The overall point is that the Profil writers don’t focus on one main opponent, but instead reach for a big variety of literary practises in their humorous interaction with tradition.

Humour in the Stories about Buster Oregon Mortensen

Cecilie Takle — 2023-11-29

This article examines humor in three different versions of the story about Buster Oregon Mortensen, from 1979, 1984 and 2021. I perform a comparative analysis as a thematic close reading of the three works with a particular interest in humor in relation to power balance and themes perceived as difficult or taboo.

”Han talte de om som en hjälte” – Performative Masculinity in the TV-series SMASH and Pistvakt

Jonas Lindkvist — 2023-11-29

”Han talte de om som en hjälte” examines the use of parody and satire in the Swedish comedy series S*M*A*S*H (1990) and Pistvakt (1998–2000) as well as the feature film Pistvakt – En albinovästern från de vita vidderna (2005). By analyzing how the series illustrates performative masculinity from the definitions of Judith Butler in Gender Trouble (1990), conclusions on whether they destabilize normative heterosexual masculinity are drawn. S*M*A*S*H shows two normative ideals for masculinity, the finance mogul that the characters fail to reach, and the elite athlete that the characters discard. Pistvakt shows several different normative masculinities, but also destabilizes normative masculinity mainly by illuminating the performativity of the construction of masculinity by making the character Sven-E a parodically unattainable super hero representation of masculinity.

A Sweden in Miniature, a Sweden in a Funhouse Mirror. Slyngstad Events as Social Satire on the Late Folkhem Period

Magdalena Żmuda-Trzebiatowska — 2023-11-29

The novel Slyngstad Events (2002) by Unni Drougge can be classified as a tall tale, i.e. a fictional, humorous story that is mostly meant to entertain. At the same time, the book contains a great deal of contemporary criticism: Åsabygden, a fictional area in Skåne where the story is set, suffers from the same problems as the late-modern Swedish welfare society in general and can be regarded as a Sweden in miniature. By analysing the novel's strong and expressive characters, I want to show that the novel is not just an entertaining tale, but can be regarded as a social satire in which the individual actors represent different ways of life and values, but above all different weaknesses and shortcomings of citizens in the welfare state. In a broader sense, Slyngstad Events also appears as a story about a Sweden that is no longer a happy folkhem and a model country, but is being transformed into its opposite, a bizarre monster country, something I develop by interpreting the novel against the background of the various historical accounts of the Swedish folkhem.

«Jag är inte riktigt mig själv. Och det är jag glad för»

Anna Smedberg Bondesson — 2023-11-29

In Kristina Lugn’s poetry collection Hej då, ha det så bra! (2003), as well as in the posthumous ”Inte alls dåligt” (2022), her own poetics is pushed to its extreme. The non-literality of the metaphor as well as the absurdity of the literality is laid bare. According to Lars Elleström, Lugn’s poems accentuates ”man’s concrete physical, and thus also mental, conditions” (Elleström 2006, 28). In my article, this reasoning applies not only to the bodily metaphoric, but to the entire literal language.

Ann-Helén Andersson formulates in her PhD thesis ”Jag är baserad på verkliga personer”. Ironi och röstgivande i Kristina Lugns författarskap that ”In Lugn’s texts, the comic can be seen as an element within a dominant ironic tendency.” (Andersson 2010, 115). Using Luigi Pirandello’s essay L’umorismo (1908) and the concept sentimento del contrario, I will instead argue that Lugn’s literal language, the object of my analysis, opens for a humorous, rather than ironic, effect which can make reality appear a little more tangible and graspable – in all its horrific absurdity.

Humour and Feminist Activism in Literature and Other Media

Ester Jiresch — 2023-11-29

Bianca Kronlöf recently debuted as a writer with a manifesto against men's violence. Even though this work figures as a contribution to societal debate, it clearly exhibits traces of Kronlöf's feminist humor. Liv Strömquist is known for her feminist satires in form of graphic novels, in which she associates humor and biting feminist criticism with historical, philosophical and sociological theories. In my text, I examine the specifically feminist in their humor and how they utilize it to promote their (feminist) goals. Furthermore, I will answer the question of whether humor is an adequate means for feminist activism.

While recent studies in feminist theory are acknowledging the importance of feminist humor in jokes, stand-up and literary works, there have not been many studies on graphic novels yet. By paying special attention to such lesser researched media, as well as the combination of different media by the activists, I will show how these cultural practices are a rich medium for ambiguous articulations of humor as multi-leveled cultural expression and an excellent vehicle for feminist ideas.

Can You Joke about Anything? Freedom of Speech, Entitlement and Context in Humour

Christian Liliequist — 2023-11-29

In this article, humour about sensitive and taboo subjects is analyzed from three perspectives: freedom of speech, entitlement, and context. Freedom of speech, in the form of the right to joke about anything, can be seen as an important principle in humour discourses. In debates about humour, it is common to refer to freedom of speech in defense of what has been criticized. In my empirical material, however, a principle of entitlement is also articulated that concerns what kind of jokes you have the right to tell depending on who you are. The principle of entitlement contravenes the principle of freedom of speech. Finally, the context of a joke is also important for what you can joke about. When a comical expression is recorded and spread through social media and/or streaming services to another audience than that it was originally meant for, there is a risk that some individuals and/or groups in society will interpret it in another way and perceive it as offensive.