Sweden
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Literature
Swedish authors of worldwide recognition include Carolus Linnaeus (the father of botany and modern taxonomy), Emanuel Swedenborg, August Strindberg and Astrid Lindgren, the author of the Pippi Longstocking books.
Science
Some well-known inventions and discoveries, historical and modern, were made by Swedes. Some notable figures are Alfred Nobel, Anders Celsius and Lars Magnus Ericsson
Cinema
Swedish twentieth-century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg received Academy Awards, and actresses Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Ann-Margret, Lena Olin, Zarah Leander, and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad. The actors Max von Sydow, Stellan Skarsgård, Dolph Lundgren and Peter Stormare are also worth mentioning. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström have received international recognition.
Sexual revolution
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Sweden was seen as an international leader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality having particularly been promoted. At the present time, the number of single people is one of the highest in the world. The early Swedish film I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin". Sweden has also become, in recent decades, fairly liberal regarding homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Fucking Åmål. In the absence of legislation on same-sex marriages, Sweden has a civil union for same-sex couples ("registered partnership").
The sexual revolution, together with sexual content in mass media (notably films 491 and I Am Curious (Yellow), together with the broad entry of women in many lanes of professional life (including the priesthood) in the 1960s and 1970s provoked a moralist counter-movement including the Christian Democratic party, but this trend has had scant political success. While the label "Swedish sin" is no longer quite appropriate, the acceptance and lack of ingrained shame in the face of sexuality is still a striking facet of Swedish attitudes.
Related
Europe - Scandinavia - The Stockholm syndrome
music
Writers
Astrid Lindgren - August Strindberg
Film
Persona (1966) - I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) - Language of Love (1969)
Actresses
Anita Ekberg - Christina Lindberg - Essy Person
Film directors
Mac Ahlberg - Lukas Moodysson - Ingmar Bergman - Vilgot Sjöman - Bo Arne Vibenius
Culture and mass media
Cultural influence from the United Kingdom and the United States has been obvious since the war. Imported and indigenous subcultures rose, with the rockabilly-inspired raggare and anarchist progg cultures as notable examples. (Before the world wars, Swedish culture was more inspired by Germany). Swedish film and music achieved international fame with names like Ingmar Bergman, Sven Nykvist, Lasse Hallström, Birgit Nilsson, ABBA, Entombed, The Cardigans and Roxette. Currently, Sweden is the only non-English-speaking country in the world with a net export of music. Most Swedes are today proficient in English, a great deal of Swedish-produced popular music has originally English lyrics, and English language branding is very common.
See also culture of Sweden.
