Finland in "Confessions of A Shopaholic"

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" was released in the US in 2009, was recognizably successful and recieved good ratings. The movie portrays a hopelessly shopping-addicted Rebecca Bloomwood (played by Isla Fisher). This character is exactly what I would think of as a Shopaholic; extremely girly with a love of pink and/or animal printed clothing. Eventually, however, Bloomwood winds up in excessive credit card debt and has to resort to making absurd yet humorous excuses to escape her creditors. As she portrays the classic perky and loveable (but maybe just a tad dim-witted) girly girl, her excuses and avoidance attempts are naturally seen as funny to an American audience.

And what does this have to do with Finland? ...

Throughout the film Bloomwood uses Finland repeatedly as a diversion to throw people off. When one of her friends asks why her excuses usually involve Finland, her response is: "No one ever checks up on Finland" .. which, unfortunately seems to be true for most Americans.

Another point in the movie depicts an encounter between Bloomwood and a Finnish man, who, in Finnish, tells her that it's nice to meet another Finn. Not understanding a word (though claiming to be fluent in Finnish), Bloomwood yells back in English "Men like you are the reason I left Finland!"

This is funny for Americans, I feel, because most of us have HEARD of Finland, know it exists as a country, but know little to nothing about it as a leading nation in modernization and innovation, equal rights, the environment, etc. etc. I feel that the idea that "no one ever checks up on Finland" rings true for most Americans, which is why it is funny to us: a shame that it is so overlooked, but funny still because of its irrelevance to our own culture.

Women's Rights

Another one of the subjects I touched upon briefly in a previous blog is that of Women's Rights/Gender Equality. One of the most admirable things I find about the country of Finland is the fact that women in society are one hundred percent completely equal to men. The nation has always been very liberal with regards to the rights of women, and in 2006 Finland celebrated its Centenarry of full political womens rights. It was the first country in the world to grant universal and equal voting rights to women in 1906 and furthermore, one year later in 1907, nineteen female politicians were elected into Parliament.

The workforce in Finland has always been about half and half, though women recieved about 2/3 the salary that men did for a while. Today however, the workforce is still split evenly as is average annual income between males and females. Half of the nation's doctors are women, and a series of laws passed in the late 70's and 80's provide women with rights that I realize, my own culture (American culture, which prides itself on equality) has never and seemingly will never consider.

In 1972 the Council for Equality was established in order to support women's rights. A series of laws were passed that granted parents equal rights for custody of their children. in 1985 a law was passed that granted citizenship to any child born of a Finnish woman and in '86 another law gave women the ability to choose their children's surnames.

I find that these allowances go further than the american definition of equality. I feel as though in America, if this were the case, it would be seen as an unfair advantage to women to have these liberties.

I read that since the mid 80's the nation has devoted itself to equalizing men and women and has made incredible advances. In '88, the Population Crisis Committee out of Washington deemed Finland one of the best/safest places for a women to live. A very close second to Sweden but beating out the US which came in third.

As mentioned earlier, Finland's current president is a woman, though she is not the first to be in office, and May 8th is celebrated annually as Women's Day in Finland.

America is the land of the free, exhibits democracy and equal rights for all, but is not necessarily a world leader in this department. Finland which has had women holding high-up political titles since 1906 has all the while exhibited more equality and less discrimination, but remains overlooked by Americans. We who do not notice how culturally advanced this nation is remain to think of it (if we ever do think of it) as sparse and far away, with little involvement in world politics and no real credible contributions to the world as a whole.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder, more commonly known as "Winter Blues" is seen around the world but notably more prevalent in countries that share latitudes close to the Arctic Circle. In Finland, 9.5% of the population suffers from Seasonal Depression, coinciding with other elevated rates of the disorder in Northern Alaska, Sweden, and other Scandinavian nations with the exception of Iceland. Looking into this a bit more I found out that there us evidence of this resistency being a specific genetic trait held by the Icelandic people and not mainland Scandinavians. Hence, the genetic heritability of SAD has caused researchers to study its effects in parts of the world where during the winter months there are very few hours of daylight.

This natural phenomenon makes me question if the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder in Finland and other Scandinavian nations has affected the culture. Going back to the topic of music I wrote about earlier, some claim that the depressive atmosphere of the winter months is what fuels the angsty rock music that has become so popular.

Treatments for the disorder have been/are being developed and are commonly employed in the nations whose people are the most affected. One such development is Light Therapy, where patients are subjected to UV light in order to recieve the Vitamin D essential for healthy brain function.

I even stumbled across a company from Northern Canada specializing in saunas that come equipt with specialized lights in them. The website provides a writeup on the effects of SAD and how it can drastically effect the lives of those who suffer from it.

(http://www.greatsaunas.com/info/sad-seasonal-affective-disorder-and-infrared-saunas.cfm)

Suomirock

In an earlier blog I mentioned the immense popularity of heavy rock/metal in Finland/Scandinavia. Looking into the history of this particular genre as it gained popularity I saw that like the evolution of rock in the US many different types of rock music had come in and out of style since the 50's. From progressive rock to hard rock to the late 70's when punk rock was at its peak in Finland, I can see how today the countries thousands of popular rock bands are inspired by various sounds of the past. Finnish bands of the rock/metal genre categorize themselves as "Suomirock" which factors in nationalism to the modern music culture of Finland's young adult population.

I stumbled upon this website:

http://www.metalfromfinland.com/

It's literally a database of all of today's popular Finnish rock bands. Not only that, the site provides tour dates, biographies, pictures, sound and video clips, information on upcoming concerts/events, an online store, and most interestingly a complete history of Finland as a nation. This page provides information on Finland's rise as it seperated from Russia and declared independence as well the countries involvement in both World Wars. Furthermore it covers geographical features, politics, religions and popular tourist attractions.

This sticks out to me, because it proves that rock music and heavy metal is a noted part of Finland's modern culture. As Finnish metal has been recognized as some of the best in the world it is clear to see that it's millions of avid native listeners take pride in their country because of it.

As I kept trying to find out more about Finnish metal I came across two popular rock festivals that take place annually in Finland: Ruisrock, and Provinssirock. Viewing both of the websites shows how popular these events are. Both employ native Finnish bands every year but invite bands from all over the world to play too. Artists from the US, Austrailia, UK, and Germany (to name a few) are always present. This year, the German rockband Rammstein, which has gained some popularity in the US, is headlining the Provinssirock festival, and Regina Spektor a singer/songwriter who has become well known in the US is playing at Ruisrock.

(http://www.provinssirock.fi/etusivu_en)

(http://www.ruisrock.fi/index.php?browser_id=27&id=10)

Helsingin Sanomat Article

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Boys+behaving+badly+end+up+being+ostracised+and+marginalised+in+Helsinki/1135256586325

I found this article from the International edition of the Helsingin Sanomat very interesting. Keeping in mind the cultural practices of the Finnish general public, I can see a connection between these ideals and how rule-breaking is handled. Because Finnish culture promotes doing the right thing and following the rules, when somebody knowingly and exceedingly causes trouble it is not handled well. The article mentions that in the 70's and 80's any type of destructive behavior was dealt with, whether it meant that parents of unruly children were notified or a rule-breaking citizen appropriatly punished. Nowadays however, the article emphasizes the complete rejection of rule-breakers (focusing particularly on adolescent boys). This raises the question of whether Finnish culture has evolved even stricter ideals with regards to doing the right thing, or whether citizens have let go of these ideals somewhat, not wanting to deal with social problems unless absolutely necessary.

Finnish Music

The music scene in Finland is truely one of a kind. Modern music consists mostly of heavy rock and roll and death metal. Several Finnish bands have made it onto the International Music Scene and Finland is home to several large Metal Music Festivals. Probably the most noted Finnish band to gain recognition in America would be H.I.M., an abbreviation for "His Infernal Majesty". Labeling themselves as "Love Metal" the music is edgy and dark, but melodic. A sort of sad undertone with lots of references to religion, particularly a sort of darkened Christianity are found throughout the lyrics of their songs. Much of Finland's youth listens to this type of music, other popular musicians including The Rasmus, Nightwish, Children of Bodom, and Hanoi Rocks - all music that has migrated to The States, but recognized by a small fraction of our poplation.

A question arises in my head as to why this type of music is so popular in a country that strives for good and just? Not to imply that all Metal/Hard Rock listeners aren't good people, but rather that this music implies a connection to evil-doing in that it is a gothic way of musical expression. It doesn't seem to fit with what society at large practices uniformly, as a culture. Perhaps it is only an American idea that Death Metal is "wrong'" or "bad" to listen to, and this type of music to the Finnish youth is no different that what Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are to us. Either way it is a unique characteristic of the country and it hasn't gone unnoticed. The Finnish band H.I.M. has guest starred and appeared on American Television on the shows Jackass and Viva la Bam, both two successful programs broadcasted by MTV. Some of the episodes were actually shot in Helsinki and other parts of Finland which gained the country some notoriety among America's youth.

The Finnish People/Gender Equality

From what I've heard the Finnish are a proud people who play by the rules. It is an unthought of, no question way of life for Finns, that one must strive to work hard and to practice respect. I have heard of people saying that Finns are so set in their ways to abide by the law, that in the city, even if there were no cars within eyeshot, a Finn wouldn't even think about crossing the street until after sign changed to "walk" .. These ideals are so engrained into the lives, and personalities of the Finnish population, that evidently Finland has been found "the least corrupt country" since 1998. I read this on a website that stated that these facts were via the Berlin based organization, Transparency International.

I believe that these underlying ideals of encouriging a society to do right and abide by the law is a contributing factor as to why Finland is so advanced, in more than one way. A very tech- savvy nation, it is the home of Nokia among many other large corporations exporting the latest and greatest new devices. But in addition to its sucsessful engineering and manufacturing industries, Finland has set an example for the world regarding Gender roles and equality. Women and Men coexist truely equal with one another. Finland's workforce is split 50/50 working men and women. There are more female doctors in Finland than male doctors. Also, Finland has already had 2 female Prime Ministers - (the current, Tarja Halonen, appeared on The Conan O'Brien Show for striking a shocking resemblance to O'Brien himself).

So why in Finland does it appear that the oppression of women is completely erased? America prides itself on it's support of equal rights, yet men on average earn a much higher salary than women do here. Furthermore, the idea of a woman president is still somewhat of a shakey subject, though we are making strides towards acceptance of a more completed idea of women's equality.

I admire this culture a lot for it's ideals. It has also been suggested before that Finnish are amongst the most friendly and hospitible people you can find on the earth. Though a lot of Finn's are known to be shy and inhibited upon introduction, in most cases when they open up to new people they are positive and friendly. In a Finnish household, guests are held in high esteem and treated like royalty. It is just a way of life, a way of behaving that goes without saying.

Environmentalism

Also a world leader in the world's current attempts to "go green", Finland is a big advocate for the preservation and conservation of the earth. For me, this is the reason why I even began to look into the Scandinavian culture, and I have wished to study abroad there. Maybe because Finland is not as heavily industrialized as America, that they are working hard towards keeping the world clean. Many of Finland's natural uninhabited landscapes are amazingly beautiful and remain abundant, and they are appreciated by their onlookers. A common theme that I have come across with the native Finns, in reading, is their devout appreciation for nature and the natural world around them. I have to think that the ancient tradition of enjoying a sauna must be a good representation of this continual tie with nature, as it is a favorite activity among the Finnish that has been around for centuries. It is usually a social experience, and most saunas are planted somewhere in the woods. Anyways, having seen a multitude of pictures in books and travel guides, I would have to agree that the natural landscapes should be protected, simply because of their unspoiled beauty. A study abroad program in Finland is something I've considered going, as it is such a leading place in the environmental field. Though it is an extremely different culture I believe it is a culture I might be able to benefit from.

Sisu

One very particular aspect of a Finnish person's daily lives that struck me, is "Sisu". It's a word that means perserverence and inner strength. Finn's live by it, seemingly, in sort of an unspoken way. Though the word is known, it appears that it's meaning is more often seen in the actions displayed by a Finn than within his or her conversation. A specific way of living seen across this culture includes having the guts to face a challenge, not back down, and face the enemy. As I have done a bit of research on the country, I have come across this concept many times. I think that a clear divide in culture between America and Finland is demonstrated by it's wide acceptance throughout its native land. Not to say that all Americans have no ability to persevere or don't appreciate the concept of inner strength, rather, it isn't understood as part of being an American.

Finland The Country

What can be said of a Scandinavian Country such as Finland, Sweden, or Iceland? I've kind of noticed that Americans don't think much of the Scandinavian countries. When the average American thinks of taking a trip to Europe, in most cases, the first thing popping to mind would be Paris or Rome, London or Amsterdam. Possibly even central Europe ... Germany, Poland, Switzerland. I don't think I've ever heard someone tell me that their family is planning a trip to Helsinki or Stockholm. Perhaps it is because the far reaches of Northeastern Europe are thought to be a world away. I've found that most people know that it's cold there, that they have all or no sunlight depending on the time of year, and most importantly that it's where Santa comes from. But little information is commonly known amongst Americans regarding the cultures of Scandinavian countries. Having looked into study abroad options in the country of Finland, I have found this culture interesting, very different from my own ... but also very high-functioning. A world leader in public education systems and environmentalism, I find this country fascinating and wonder why in America it is so overlooked?