#and that adventure was meant to be an in for an entire rock/metal themed campaign

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Thinking about Tenacious DND ngl

I often think about it too, bud. But without an actual group to game with, it will forever remain a big pile of half-formed ideas in my noggin

#anon asks #tenacious dnd #dunno what prompted this but sure yeah I also think about it sometimes #the only time I tried running a game the group got through one session before giving up #didn't even get to the intricate undergroud cave system i mapped out #or the several funny NPCs i had waiting for them #and that adventure was meant to be an in for an entire rock/metal themed campaign #but all we got through was a tavern visit and a small fight before they lost interest 😞

[maxerikson]

Sweden’s Pop Culture Gifts to the World

I wrote this article as an assignment for my human geography class—my final assignment, actually, for my entire first year back in college. This involves a subject that I have been looking forward to since I started taking this class: popular culture and its influence on society. What kind of pop culture am I looking at for this assignment? Swedish! I am going to look at five pieces of pop culture that originated in the Kingdom of Sweden and diffused across the globe into the lives of Earth’s peoples. Let’s start things off with death!

Death metal to be exact. Dark Tranquillity is a rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They have produced such albums like Skydancer, Projector, We Are the Void, and Atoma. The band was first formed in 1989 and throughout the ‘90s, Dark Tranquillity became one of the pioneers of melodic death metal, also known as “melodeath”. They, along with other Gothenburg bands like In Flames and At the Gates, invented this subgenre by combining the harsh screaming and growling typical of traditional death and heavy metal with melodic singing. The music of Dark Tranquillity and other melodeath bands would go on to influence the styles of other metal bands like the Thulcandra from Germany, Bury Tomorrow from the U.K., I Killed the Prom Queen from Australia, and Poison the Well and Killswitch Engage from the U.S. Gosh, just thinking about their names make me want to pull out the devil horns and bang my head!

Let’s take a break from the edginess of death metal and discuss an actor from a franchise full of blood and sexual themes, because Sweden is the homeland of Alexander Skarsgård, also known as Eric Northman from True Blood. If you did not know, True Blood is an American television series (based off a series of American novels formerly called The Southern Vampire Mysteries) on HGBO that has gained widespread popularity and earned multiple awards and nominations, some of which went to Mr. Skarsgård himself. He has also played roles in other HBO series, Generation Kill and Big Little Lies, as well as the title character in The Legend of Tarzan.

Next up we have something that is a bit more essential to human life: clothes. Sweden is the home of Hennes & Mauritz AB, also known as H&M, a clothing-retail company with stores and brands all over the world. When I said this is a bit more essential, I meant a bit, because H&M is known for its fast-fashion products—clothes designed to only be worn for a limited amount of time before being discarded and replaced by the newest release. Although H&M has performed a lot of philanthropic actions—founding the H&M Foundation, promising to remove endangered forests from their supply sources, and donating used garments—they have also been accused of several questionable labor and business practices. This includes exploiting child labor in Uzbekistan and Myanmar, unsafe working conditions in factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and racist statements.

Next up is Millennium, a series of crime novels originally written by Stieg Larsson. The series follow investigations of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The series was popular enough that the three novels written by the original author were adapted into movies. The first of these, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, would be adapted a second time by the American movie studio MGM, which also adapted The Girl in the Spider’s Web (a book written by Mr. Larsson’s successor, David Lagercrantz, nearly a decade after Mr. Larsson’s death). Not only that, but comic book adaptations were made by American publisher DC Comics.

Last but mostly definitely not least is Pippi Longstocking. I actually forgot that Pippi came from Sweden before I started doing research for this assignment, and I’ll kick myself in the bum for doing so. Pippi Longstocking first appeared in chapter books published in the late 1940s and written by Astrid Lindgren, but has gone on to appear in several movies and at least two television series. Pippi has become a cultural icon recognized around the world as a symbol of female empowerment and the spirit of adventure within children.

I wish I had the time to learn more about Sweden’s pop culture and what influences it has had on Sweden’s society and the rest of the world. Although I’m not a fan of fast-fashion, crime novels, or anything that Alexander Skarsgård has been in, I was happy to be reminded of Pippi Longstocking’s origins and I think Dark Tranquillity is pretty cool. Also, while people don’t normally think of pop culture’s influence, it can have a major impact on society. I would like to hear from all of you what pop culture you enjoy from Sweden and how pop culture in general has impacted your lives.

References:

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-melodic-death-metal-1756186

http://www.antislavery.org/english/campaigns/cottoncrimes/default.aspx

https://actions.sumofus.org/a/h-and-m-honour-your-commitments-to-protect-garment-workers-in-bangladesh

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/05/child-labour-myanmar-high-street-brands

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324787004578497091806922254

https://newsone.com/3247456/hm-apologizes-racist-tweets/

https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/pippi-longstocking-rebel-role-model/

http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/06/12/195s882731.htm

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-mystery-of-the-dragon-tattoo-stieg-larsson-the-worlds-bestselling-and-most-enigmatic-author-231910/

#sweden #pop culture #pippi longstocking #millennium #the girl with the dragon tattoo #melodeath #melodic death metal #dark tranquillity #h&m #hennes and mauritz ab #fast fashion #alexander skarsgard #true blood #big little lies #hbo