Scandinavia And The World (webcomic with yaoi bits)

[Críostóir]

Someone elseweb showed me Scandinavia And The World, a bizarre little webcomic about the stereotypes Scandinavians have about each other. The characters each represent a country, the main ones in Scandinavia proper (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland) with other Nordic countries (like my personal favorite, Iceland) frequent guest stars. Norway is the tallest, because Norway has the tallest peak.

The Danish woman who draws it is fond of manga and yaoi, and often draws with that sensibility. For example, Iceland often has "bishi sparkle" around him.

Denmark is always snuggling up to Norway; there's a certain amount of kissing and stuff. This is meant to show the attitude of the countries to each other, but...well, here's one panel where all the Nordic countries are in bed together. Click through for the artist's explanation of how this endpoint came to be.



The above is drawn in the "realistic" mode, where the characters look human. More often they're just flags with heads on them:


(Note the bishi sparkle around Iceland.)

Sometimes they represent the actual LAND MASS of the country; for example, Norway "made Denmark out of sand" because Denmark is made up of sand that was scraped down from Norway by the glacier.

It's great. Have a look.

 

[Corny]

i posted a few of them quite some time ago. i am too lazy to search for the thread now, and it didn't get much attention anyway. hopefully this thread will get more, because the comics are really awesome.
i have spend HOURS reading those comics. they can make you laugh, and they can make you think. even as an european i have learned a lot new stuff about the scandinavian relationships

 

[looseliam]

These are great!

Reading her talk about the first photo made me giggle. She sounds like a hoot!

 

[Puddle]

My sister really likes these. They're quite amusing.

 

[bulge]

I luv anything Scandinavian

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavianerna

http://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/22723/1/gupea_2077_22723_1.pdf

 

[Sam Blum]

I have not seen that before - It's very good! Thanks Críostóir. It gave me a nice smile.

 

[sokker]

OMG.. where to start, and I speak about this as a Norwegian

Scandinavia = NORWAY, SWEDEN and DENMARK. Finland is NOT a part of Scandinavia

The Nordic countries consists of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Faeroe Islands

Secondly.. what's this with Norway and Denmark being close.. WTF?!?! Yes, we were once a part of Denmark, yes, our capital was once Copenhagen, and yes, our WRITTEN languages are very similar.. even though I don't understand shit about what they're saying.. Danish is VERY hard for Norwegians to understand, they mumble when they talk. They're not talking clearly at all. They just cut off words and sentences.. it's weird. We say they speak with a potato in their throat, because that's what it sounds like. We generally say that Danish is one butt ugly language and the Swedes agree.. they think it's weird and ugly too.

Anyway.. back to my pint.. it already started out on the wrong foot if she (he?) said Scandinavia includes Finland, because it doesn't. Finland ins a part of the Nordic region, but not Scandinavia. Scandinavia is only Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Secondly, Norway and Denmark might have been close in the past, but we're not anymore. Today we're a lot closer to the Swedes, we communicate much more with Swedes than Danes. Fuck.. 50 000 Swedes work in Oslo, and take all the shitty jobs the Norwegians don't want, because the unemployment rate in Sweden is so high so they come here to work, the Swedes are basically desperate and take whatever job they can get. Norway has the lowest unemployment rate in Europe at 3 %. The salary is also MUCH higher in Norway than in Sweden. You can hear Swedish EVERYWHERE you go in Oslo.. Danish?!?! not so much. We also see more of Swedish tv shows on tv, compared to Danish tv shows, and we always compete with the Swedes in sport, and rarely the danes. It's because of the winter sport thing.. Denmark basically has no winter sports.

So again.. the part with Scandinavia is wrong, and the part with Denmark and Norway being close: history wise.. sure, but we're MUCH closer to Sweden today.

 

[Críostóir]

sokker, a lot of what you say appears as dialogue in the strip. As for Finland not being part of Scandanavia...

​

And from the commentary:

The joke behind this is that everybody agrees that Sweden, Norway and Denmark make up Scandinavia, but some say that Finland and Iceland are part of it too. Most people in Sweden, Norway and Denmark [don't] consider them to be part of Scandinavia though.
No invitation for you!

(emphasis added)

Read the strips and her discussion of them. Many of your concerns are addressed...in fact what she says about Denmark and Norway is that Denmark is always SUCKING UP to Norway, basically. She makes fun at length of the whole "it's great to be Norwegian in Denmark" ad campaign aimed at getting Norwegians to vacation in Denmark.

Sorry, but it's absolutely HILARIOUS that you're getting all hot under the collar about this. It's exactly what the artist says people do, and on exactly the same issues.

 

[TheFireGod]

I love, lovveee, LOVE THESE COMICS!!!!

The author herself did point out that the characters are more a stereotype of the people in those countries rather than the countries themselves. This would explain why there's Nazi Germany, Imperial Germany, and modern Male/Female Germany.

For example: Male USA is your typical jock that loves violence but will cover his eyes at breasts and gay sex. Likewise, Female USA is more characteristic of Paris Hilton and dumb rich girls.

And yes, as a person being exposed to all things Swedish (thank you 3 Swedes in college), I can somewhat understand Norwegian but look at Danish more as a truly foreign language.

 

[Corny]

sokker, that was cute please read the comics before your next post here

 

[Ram]

I love how America is an over-tanned dumb brute.

 

[Just_Believe18]

Cute comic strips.

 

[Sam Blum]

Sokker... Xenophobic much?

 

[looseliam]

I love how America is an over-tanned dumb brute.

You've been to Texas I take it?

 

[sokker]

sokker, a lot of what you say appears as dialogue in the strip. As for Finland not being part of Scandanavia...

​

And from the commentaryemphasis added)

Read the strips and her discussion of them. Many of your concerns are addressed...in fact what she says about Denmark and Norway is that Denmark is always SUCKING UP to Norway, basically. She makes fun at length of the whole "it's great to be Norwegian in Denmark" ad campaign aimed at getting Norwegians to vacation in Denmark.

Sorry, but it's absolutely HILARIOUS that you're getting all hot under the collar about this. It's exactly what the artist says people do, and on exactly the same issues.

Oh.. I get it now. If it's about that ad campaign.. now it actually makes sense, lol. Because if it was just about the history and similarities about Denmark and Norway the person behind the comics would be wrong, because Norway has a lot more in common with Sweden than Denmark. I don't understand the Danish language - at all. It's all mumbling to me. I can't figure out what they're saying. I try, but it's impossible. I have to ask Danes to speak slow if I'm in Denmark, it's the only way I can figure out what they're saying. Swedish on the other hand - no problems at all. Swedish is very easy to understand, maybe it's because I watch a lot of Swedish tv, and I've just gotten so used to it by now.. you hear it everywhere in Oslo too. The Swedes have basically taken over. But I am grateful, because they're desperate enough to take all the shitty jobs that the Norwegians don't want. It's kinda like the Mexicans taking all the shitty jobs the Americans don't want. The Swedes are even so desperate to get a job that they're willing to live in ghettos in Norway. I saw a documentary, and I was horrified by the conditions they were living in, like.. there were rats and cockroaches there!

sokker, that was cute please read the comics before your next post here

I will

Sokker... Xenophobic much?

I'm not xenophobic at all. Just trying to state the facts, that's all The fact is that Norway's GDP is bigger than Sweden's, even though we only have half of the population. The fact is that 50 000 Swedes work in Oslo because they can't get a job in Sweden, because the unemployment rate is so high, while Norway has the lowest unemployment rate in Europe. I love Sweden.. all Norwegian go there to buy cheap food, alcohol, cigarettes and candy, Swedes are very nice people, open, gay friendly, and the language is cute as hell. I'm just saying that when it comes to the ECONOMY they're not our "big brother" any more. They ALWAYS make fun of Norway and call us little brother and blah blah.. so yeah. Not so much fun anymore when the Swedish economy is going down the crapper and they have to travel to Norway to get a job.

 

[Críostóir]

For example: Male USA is your typical jock that loves violence but will cover his eyes at breasts and gay sex.

It's pretty fair, actually. America as a whole (as manifested by its government agencies) has that attitude. There's a case before the SCOTUS (the highest court in the US) about whether the FCC (the agency that fines broadcasters millions of dollars for a bit o' tit) really has the right to control what's considered "decent" in the US. I can't wait to see this, because it'll pit the free-market loonies ("We should let the market decide what's decent!") against the social-conservative* loonies ("Oh noes! We will all die a horrible death if BOOBIES are shown on TV!! Oh no oh no! Think of the CHILLLLLLLDRENNNN!!!"). I hope they rip each other to bloody shreds, frankly.

I love how America is an over-tanned dumb brute.

Who shouts all the time, and tries to tell everyone else what to do! Like I said, pretty fair, unfortunately.

You've been to Texas I take it?

Hey, there are over-tanned people everywhere in the US, thanks to tanning salons and bronzer. I don't think the reprehensible Snooki has ever been to Texas, for example.

sokker, that was cute please read the comics before your next post here

sokker, why do you (or anyone) care who is and is not part of Scandinavia? I can't imagine giving a flying fuck myself, but I know there are things (lots of them) that I'm very particular about that most people can't imagine caring about. I mean, what does "being Scandinavian" (or not) get you? Why do Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes particularly want to deny whatever it is to Finns and Icelanders?

I'm going to see if I can find out when "Scandinavia" began as a concept, and whether it's ever mattered to anyone in any concrete way.

___
*an American euphemism for "closed-minded, prudish, and detestably bigoted."