Met a man in Iceland who had taught at the University of Minnesota but returned to his job at the University of Reykjavik and we I asked him if he preferred life in Iceland he said he'd rather live in the US.
This surprised me, but he explained life in Iceland is very pleasant--your health needs are met; you can find inexpensive housing; there is easy, available child care; the streets are safe; the whole country is safe with respect to crime; and there is an endless supply of hot water for showers and baths, BUT, like most Scandinavian societies it's all about community, fitting in, not standing out or proclaiming yourself, not showing up other people. And he said he had discovered he is not happy hiding his light under a bushel. He is a big man, and he has a lot to say and he could express all that in America.
So watching "Rita" the wonderful Danish series on Netflix has been great fun. In tonight's episode the school holds a "sports day" and the faculty informs the kids--teenagers--that in the soccer game the winning team can win by no more than 5 goals. If a team ends the game with more than a 5 goal advantage, they lose and the other team wins. All sorts of adolescent mayhem ensues. Rita, the non conformist teacher encourages the student revolt, in no small part because one of her students, who is not much of a scholar, who can read and write only at a fourth grade level in the 10th grade, is great on the soccer field and his father has brought his younger brother to watch the game. So there is an argument for allowing this kid to shine in the one realm where he can shine.
Throughout the series you follow characters who you see making mistakes, making poor choices, doing dumb and sometimes unkind things but then you see another side of them, and you see they each in their own way have their own crosses to bear.
It's a show of remarkable subtlety and the Scandinavian values are so not American. Gay kids should be accepted and celebrated by their parents; 13 year old girls are encouraged to have sex but discouraged from having babies and if that means abortion, by all means; adolescents who are unhappy with their bodies are told to love themselves to strip down and display themselves to get over their foolish self loathing.
It's another world, another way of living and thinking.
What a wonderful world we live in now in the 21st century, where we can learn from others so easily, at just the push of a remote control button.
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| Reykjavik |
This surprised me, but he explained life in Iceland is very pleasant--your health needs are met; you can find inexpensive housing; there is easy, available child care; the streets are safe; the whole country is safe with respect to crime; and there is an endless supply of hot water for showers and baths, BUT, like most Scandinavian societies it's all about community, fitting in, not standing out or proclaiming yourself, not showing up other people. And he said he had discovered he is not happy hiding his light under a bushel. He is a big man, and he has a lot to say and he could express all that in America.
So watching "Rita" the wonderful Danish series on Netflix has been great fun. In tonight's episode the school holds a "sports day" and the faculty informs the kids--teenagers--that in the soccer game the winning team can win by no more than 5 goals. If a team ends the game with more than a 5 goal advantage, they lose and the other team wins. All sorts of adolescent mayhem ensues. Rita, the non conformist teacher encourages the student revolt, in no small part because one of her students, who is not much of a scholar, who can read and write only at a fourth grade level in the 10th grade, is great on the soccer field and his father has brought his younger brother to watch the game. So there is an argument for allowing this kid to shine in the one realm where he can shine.
Throughout the series you follow characters who you see making mistakes, making poor choices, doing dumb and sometimes unkind things but then you see another side of them, and you see they each in their own way have their own crosses to bear.
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| Iceland |
It's a show of remarkable subtlety and the Scandinavian values are so not American. Gay kids should be accepted and celebrated by their parents; 13 year old girls are encouraged to have sex but discouraged from having babies and if that means abortion, by all means; adolescents who are unhappy with their bodies are told to love themselves to strip down and display themselves to get over their foolish self loathing.
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| City troll |
It's another world, another way of living and thinking.
What a wonderful world we live in now in the 21st century, where we can learn from others so easily, at just the push of a remote control button.
Phantom,
ReplyDeleteI watched the first two episodes of "Rita" last night and agree wholeheartedly the show is great, so am happy to hear your report that the quality of the show continues into other seasons... What is so interesting and entertaining about foreign shows and films is they have a different take on society and life than most US productions..That's not to say HBO and Netflix etc aren't producing high quality shows here in the US, but you're right-it's still pretty wonderful that watching a show from a faraway land is so easy..and I've never minded subtitles, like them actually, they keep you alert-no multi tasking with subtitles..
As for "Rita", how can one not be captivated by a woman who's answer to why she became a teacher is "to protect students from their parents"...
Maud
Maud,
ReplyDeleteYes, that was the line which nailed it for me.
I've mentioned this to a few teacher friends of mine and they all said they would watch that show just to see such a woman.
She has plenty to do protecting students not just from their wacko parents but from other teachers. Oddly, there has been far less student upon student attack--it's mostly the adults who pose a problem for the students.
Phantom