Learn about the top five most important pop culture icons
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Anna: Hello everybody! I’m Anna. |
| Becky: And I’m Becky! Welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is All About, Lesson 10: Top 5 Things you Need to Know about Danish Pop Culture. |
Lesson focus |
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| Anna: In this lesson we’ll look at the top five pop culture topics in Denmark. |
| Becky: Sounds great. What are they? |
| Anna: Danish television, popular Danes abroad, music, sports, and international pop culture. |
| Becky: All right. Let’s get started with popular TV in Denmark. |
| Anna: The largest broadcasters in Denmark are Danmarks Radio, or just DR for short, and TV2. On the 1st of november 2009, Danish television started switching from analogue to a digital broadcasting-system (HDTV) in order to receive not only Danish digital channels, but also digital channels from outside of the country. |
| Becky: So, what are some popular TV programs? What do Danish people like to watch? |
| Anna: Danish people like watching crime and drama series, sitcoms, documentaries, reality shows, and a variety of contests, some with celebrities as contestants. |
| Becky: Many of the concepts for contests and reality and game shows are not of Danish origin, though. These include “Who wants to be a millionaire?”, “X Factor,” “Paradise Hotel,” “Master Chef,” and so on. But you have Danish versions of these popular shows, right? |
| Anna: Yes, for example, “X Factor” has been the most popular talent show since 2008. |
| Becky: Ah yes - the one that originated in the UK. All right, let’s continue with our next topic – popular Danish people abroad. Today, Danes are most successful abroad in design and architecture and sports. But recently, actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau have also put Denmark on the Hollywood map. |
| Anna: The most well-known in terms of work is probably Jørn Utzon, who is the architect behind the Sydney Opera House in Australia. |
| Becky: Have any Danes ever won a Nobel Prize? |
| Anna: As a matter of fact, yes - in 1922, Niels Bohr received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics. |
| Becky: Right. And I heard that he wasn’t just a physicist, he was also a philosopher and a footballer. |
| Anna: That’s true! A multi-talented man! The third person is Søren Kierkegaard. |
| Becky: It has been said that he’s the father of existentialism. His work was complex and contributed to the modern understanding of such concepts as irony and anxiety, while critiquing the case for an absolute framework of knowledge, as made by such philosophers as Kant and Hegel. He is definitely considered to be the greatest Danish philosopher of all time. So Anna, these are all men. What about any famous women? Like the Queen. |
| Anna: Yes, the Queen is of course very important. Not only is she the Queen but she has an artistic side. She has produced ballets and collages, designed costumes for a full length movie, and robes for the Danish church, and created wall tapestries. |
| Becky: Wow, she sounds busy. |
| Anna: Another great Danish woman would be Karen Blixen. She was an acclaimed author and wrote the book Out of Africa. |
| Becky: That’s the old movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. I think it won seven Oscars, right? |
| Anna: Yes, that’s right. The movie is based on the book, and in the movie they use actual recordings of Karen Blixen's voice. |
| Becky: Ok, what’s our next topic? |
| Anna: Popular music in Denmark. |
| Becky: This is an interesting topic. Are pop and rock popular among Danes? |
| Anna: Yes, they are. The pop music scene in Denmark is highly influenced by the US, but when it comes to Danish artists, they are most likely to have a breakthrough in the rock genre. |
| Becky: So only American pop has made its way into Denmark? |
| Anna: No, every now and then especially Swedish songs and artists from the UK become popular in Denmark, but aside from that it is extremely rare that other European artists gain popularity. Except one-hit wonders, of course. |
| Becky: I see. So, how about sports? |
| Anna: Well, soccer is the most popular sport among Danish people. The Danes are crazy soccer fans, and there are daily radio broadcasts dedicated to soccer. |
| Becky: Whenever the Danish national soccer team is playing, the match will be broadcast on the main television channels, and most of the nation will be watching either at home or at a pub. |
| Anna: But actually, daily sports news programs cover details of soccer competitions in all parts of the world, such as the Premier League, Champions League, the La Liga, Serie A, and so on. |
| Becky: And of course you’ll see news about the Danish national soccer team any time you turn on the TV and in any kind of newspapers you read. But Anna, how about sports besides soccer? |
| Anna: Well, Danes just love handball, cycling, tennis, and badminton too! In fact, Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki was ranked #1 in the women’s singles in 2010. |
| Becky: All right. And now we are getting to the last topic of this lesson – International pop culture. |
| Anna: Well, the Danes are very up to date on international pop culture because of globalization. We are well aware of modern music, movies, shows, and fashion trends all over the world. |
| Becky: Do you listen to Lady Gaga? |
| Anna: Yes, we do. And also many other famous artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and so on. |
| Becky: So, this must mean that whatever is popular internationally is popular in Denmark too. The whole world is definitely becoming one global village now. |
| Anna: It’s true. Well listeners, that’s our Top 5 pop culture topics. |
| Becky: Yeah, and we hope you had fun learning about Danish culture with this lesson! |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, so we’ll see you again in our next lesson. Thanks for listening, bye! |
| Anna: Until next time! Farvel! |
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