Norse and pagan background in Frozen 2

I have just watched the movie (a bit late, I know) and i couldn’t help but notice all the references to the scandinavian myths and culture. Almost everyone knows by now that Disney took inspiration from Snow Queen fairy tale, so obviously the movie had to have some references to its cultural roots. However, I felt like the first installment lacked some representation. I mean, except for the fjords surrounding Arendelle, the clothing, the trolls and some younger futhark runes that appeared for like half a frame, there’s not really that much elements. The movie looked like, dare I say, your generic classic tale about some European princess that happens to live in the cold. I like to think that Disney is aware of that and they decided to dive deep into the norse setting of the story in the sequel.

The major force that drives the plot forward is the voice that calls for Elsa throughout the movie and in the song Into the Unknown. The concept of that voice is based on the “kulning” practice, which is a traditional herding call used by scandinavian farmers to call for livestock from the top of the pastures. Kulning has a deep cultural and musical importance, as it has inspired the famous norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to write some of his classical compositions.

Now let’s talk about the spirits. The most iconic one for me was the water one, and it’s based on shapeshifting water spirits from germanic mythology. In their scandinavian rendition, they have many names, and can be called nøkk, näcken or näkki. Being shapeshifters, they could take on many forms, and when they transformed into animals, the most common form was of a brook horse, called bäckahäst or bækhest. The horses would appear near rivers during foggy weather, and would try to drown anyone who tried riding on them, but they could be harnessed if the rider had the ability to do so. This is exactly what Elsa does! Fun fact: the modern name of the nøkk comes from the old norse word nykr, which means “river horse”.

And then we have the earth giants, which are an obvious reference to the well known Jötnar! In norse myths, giants come in all sizes and types, and Frozen 2 decided to go for the ones who are in fact giant, and bound to the earth element instead of fire and ice. Giants in norse lore are known for being very intelligent and wise, so apparently the movie decided to take another route and resort to the “stone man who can’t talk” trope. Anyway, it’s an interesting design, and I loved their role in the story. It was really rewarding seeing Anna come that far and sacrificing everything for the sake of her people.

And of course, we have the cute salamander that was totally not made to increase the profit from plushies selling. Jokes aside, salamanders and lizards are said to be fire elementals in traditional witchcraft beliefs, and they also happen to be part of norse mythology in the form of serpents and dragons, like the famous Níðhöggr, the Midgard serpent Jörmungandr and the former dwarf turned dragon Fáfnir.

There’s also the air spirit, which probably was inspired by the sylphs, air elementals that also come from traditional witchcraft beliefs.

I liked Frozen 2 way more than the first one, and the more darker and mature themes, along with all the cultural and mythological references were the main reason. You can see the producers really put their hearts on that movie, and every little aspect of it was very well thought so it could have a solid background and was able to fit well into the narrative. While the first movie was about coming to terms with who you really are, the sequel is about accepting change. Just like the world is bound to be reborn after the Ragnarök, our fate also is to change. Anna and Elsa embrace it, and even though it may seem bad at first, they do it because it’s necessary.

My headcanon is that Frozen 2 is an obvious allegory of the impeding doom of the Ragnarök (Arendelle’s destruction by the flood) and the rebirth of the world after it (the kingdom being ruled by Anna and Kristoff), and I really find that beautiful.

swimming solo | itseriksen

Location: Bogstadvannet, Norway

It gets funnier and funnier the more you look at it lol (Norwegian Doctor, Health Minister, and PM)

I have never heard a Swedish person speak Swedish

i love Iceland even more now

when you’re fed up with your optimistic neighbor

Just another day in Norway

NORGE FOR FAEN

Harry Potter Vocabulary

magi - magic

Galtvort - Hogwarts Griffing - Gryffindor Smygard - Slytherin Håsblås - Hufflepuff Ravnklo - Ravenclaw Valghatten - The Sorting Hat Diagonallmeningen - Diagon Alley en gomp - a muggle Humlesnurr - Dumbledore Rumpeldunk - Quidditch Fnattbussen - The Knight Bus Ukruttkartet - The Marauder’s Map

ei heks - a witch en trollmann - a wizard en/ei ugle - an owl en/ei padde - a toad en drage - a dragon en enhjørning - a unicorn et spøkelse - a ghost en skytsverge - a patronus

en tryllestav - a wand en sopelime - a broom  en/ei usynlighetskappe - an invisibility cloak en trylleformel/formel - a spell en malacrux - a horcrux en gullsnopp - a snitch

Some characters with very different names

Gygrid - Hagrid Humlesnurr - Dumbledore Professor McSnurp - Professor McGonagall Noldus - Dobby Lulla Lunekjær - Luna Lovegood Stønne-Stina - Moaning Myrtle

The Books

Harry Potter og De Vises Stein - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry potter og Mysteriekammeret - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter og Fangen fra Azkaban - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter og Ildbegeret - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter og Føniksordenen - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter og Halvblodsprinsen - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter og Dødstalismanene - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Norwegian prisons are nicer than my apartment.

holy shit dude

I was really shocked by this and dubious, so I decided to read further. There’s a great article about this here: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35813470 As it turns out, this is more like a halfway house. Prisoners usually begin their term in a prison more like one we’d typically recognize - bars on the windows, locked in their cells. But the emphasis there is on successful reintegration into society.  As their sentence progresses, with good behavior, they can move into a facility more like this, where their freedoms are still restricted, but they can do things like network with people outside of prison, search for employment, cook and clean and look after themselves, and begin making plans for their reintegration into society.  As a result, Norway has one of the lowest rates of recidisvism. 20% as opposed to America’s 76%.  It seems like a shocking idea to us because of where and how we live, but apparently, Norwegians are addressing the real problem. When you take people who can’t function well in society, and then…help them do that?…they….do. Without the crime-ing. 

Turns out treating people like human beings makes them more likely to act like human beings….

But won’t that incentivize some people to go back there since they get treated so well and get a nice room versus the streets?

If you read the post above, it says Norway’s recidivism rate - that is, the rate of released criminals who go on to be arrested again - is 20% versus 76% in the United States, so for the most part, no.

Isn’t that white-lined black cross on a red field flag a Nazi flag? Are we going to talk about how wonderful it is a Nazi gets a nice halfway house?