Norway, we are not creatively brain dead. Still there isn´t much international success for any Norwegian cultural contrition. Why is that? Perhaps this song can answer that question.
We have a problem with ambitions and we have a problem with finding real innovating talent and then supporting them international. TO be honest, I don´t think we wish people success, especially internationally.
We have a lackluster ability to disagree with any new thinking, and everything is rigid and bureaucratic. And so this happens:
It has happened before.
but the song that became famous was:
Although this example is abit more iffy as Trine Rein did not write that song, as was the case with Donkey boy and Ambitions, but we really thought that Trine Rein would breakthrough internationally with this song. But no…
So let´s see the few times we have had success abroad. A-ha and Aqua. They have one thing in common, they are by most international standards a “one hit wonder“.
Why is that?
I don´t know, but I have an idea (“hush! Be quiet!”). The first time they succeeded it was luck (as most breakthroughs) but afterward they needed support by PR and Norway have no clue how to make anything stick abroad. A-ha made their breakthrough song Take On Me, and then they were for all intents and purposes forgotten abroad.
So does anyone remember their second song?
Probably not… it has it´s commercial appeal (although not as great as their first song) and that´s when Norwegian ambitions should have stricken. Let´s help these guy by hyping them, giving them financial and moral support. But Norway was just waiting for them to fail so they could come back to the cold north in shame. Then we could have a confirmation that there is no need to try. We are bound to fail. Let´s not have any ambitions, those are bad for you. And so then there are hundred thousand changes, but everything stays the same.
The same goes for Aqua, and they aren´t even really Norwegian (only the female singer is), but do to our lack of recognitions from other things we needed to make Aqua Norwegian. Because we have a little problem…
Those fucking swedes again!
They know of promotion!
They know of production and success!
ABBA, Ace of Base, Roxette, The Sounds, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Knife, Robyn, Millencolin, The Cardigans, Günther and the Sunshine Girls, Rednex. The list is endless. And that´s only musically…. In other cultural arenas they have: Stellan Skarsgård, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman, Stieg Larsson (the most overrated, over-hyped author in resent years, which goes to show and prove my point.) etc. etc. etc. The Swedes may be spineless and decadent, but they sure knows how to pat each other on the back (be that for their international successes or handing over Jews to Nazis)

Has anyone heard of Morten Abel? Famous Norwegian popsinger with hits like Lydia, Be My Lover, Doberman, Tulipz, and... ehm... Birmingham Ho. He also had hits with the band The September When, especially Bullet me and She cries like a baby. No? But Abba you know of?
Soo… The Norwegians become… not jealous, but… sad? We wish every country (even those fucking swedes) to succeed, but many of us also want´s to make something of ourselves (No this is not contradiction, it’s a paradox about the human condition. We wish people well, but not better than ourself. We wish people to succeed but only before they do). AND WE HAVE ALL THE MONEY! But we keep holding eachother down. Telling ourselves that the good children keep quiet. But no art is made in silence… or at least no art worth noticing;)
“No man´s an island“, the saying goes and although we want to believe that we can make it on our own, most times it´s the support of others that has made people a success. Support gives people faith and belief in oneself, but when a culture is based on a belief that only state and city hall should change things then the people of that culture stagnate and rotten, with the consequence of low self esteem, depression and low moral (a great place to make art, if only we believed in ourselves enough to bother).
So that´s my opinion about why Norway is as unimportant culturally as anything else. Our lack of ambitions. The lack of ambitions I would suggest is caused by our political system that only gives credit to 1. dimensional “good guys” who talk the talk of the biggest political party.
But that is a subject for another time.

Blog 2.0 ´´wow, you seem to know alot about the fading ambitions of a culture. It´s like you were the genesis of that Ambitions song.´
A nightmare on Elm Street – Remake (2010) movie review.
6 OctSoo…
I saw it, the A nightmare on Elm Street – remake (2010) and I instantly started hating it, but at the end credits I had seen some moments that was far better than the original. Here are some differences for good and bad.
What was better than the original:
1) Story explains why the kids suddenly falls into sleep:
A very annoying thing about the original series was that the kids fell into sleep for all kinds of reasons. They could have fallen asleep at a Acid vs Metal concert when on speed. It have always felt forced, like “now someone has to die, make them fall asleep NOW!”. The last part of the film had a much more logical or at least explained constant falling asleep through story telling.
2) Krueger looks better in this movie
In A nightmare on Elm Street part 3 we had stopped seeing Fred Krueger as a menace and threat and more as a creative killer of annoying teens. He became cartoon, but in the original Elm Street he was suppose to be scary. But he did´t look like a burn victim, he looked like someone made of plastic (like a melted, rubbery Chucky.) In this movie, Krueger looks like he got burned. In short he looks more scary and menacing. I also like the explanation of why he killed children in life, but now only kills teens (as that seemed to be a plot hole in the original, although understandebal.)
3) Everything looks better
Well post-production can pretty much fix anything except acting talent and give something a soul. Some of the transitions between dreamscapes, bloody deaths and surprises where visually realistic, believable and pretty. Everything production value was far better in this film than in the original.
What was worse:
1) The characters are 1. dimensional:
I don´t remember if the Wes Craven´s version had any more depth to the characters, but I am pretty sure that the story went a little slower before massacre starts. The characters in this movie are so boring and uninteresting that even with all the crazy effects I just don´t get involved. Hollywood have forgotten that with scary, as in funny, the pauses increases and emphasizes the feelings.
2) With all the effects, why not make the dream events more dreamy?
The dreams weren´t very surreal. There where some events, but they still felt way to real (fillmed in studio to represent) to be dreamy.
3) Not much new to tell
Yes the effects where good, Krueger looked better and was more evil than in all the original, but something was not there. It felt like “A nightmare on Elm Street” for the new generation (who are soulless retarded with no opinion, taste or mind) but in the last 26 yeas nothing new could be added to a movie with lots of fans. I mean, come on, there had to be some fans who interrupted more to this movie than this. Some creative person who saw something else to focus on. But no, this movie, although not a completely identical plot as the original, feels futile and like a gold encrusted fruit.
In conclusion: This movie is like all other remakes, darker visually, darker plot wise (more or less explicitly states that Krueger was a pedophile), better effects but… It´s soulless. Not made by a fan or a visionary, but a person and company who want´s to earn more money on a franchise (“dah!“). Hollywood deserve to die. They are old and unimportant. Krueger kill Hollywood though the American dream for me.
Blog 2.0 - The scary part is that we are told ``Not to fall asleep´´ but our eyes gets heavier and heavier though each minute of film
Tags: A nightmare on Elm Street, Anti-culture, anti-youth, Children, Dark, do not tell the teacher, elitist, Freddy Krueger, Freddy Kruger, Happy-Go-Crazy, Hollywood, Postmodern, USA, Whore