The Icelandic Mafia
A High-Context Culture Documentary
There are so many information options available to us today, but some fads still dominate the choices. The combination of mass-produced technology, acceptability of new ideas and increased population, among related changes seems to have provided an acceleration beyond so many some of us have seen in our lifetimes — and these decades that’s saying a lot.
But trying to garner attention or empathy for one’s cause out of all those in the world…maybe at least the hyperactive among us should be grateful that’s one area that’s stayed (relatively) stable over these times, busy to the point that we don’t notice how inured we may have become to the change tempo of runaway trains. In reaction, some people might have given up on superlatives or sensationalism, even those with a lucrative or recognized knack in that area, just as I’d long since given up trying to be a math superstar as I wanted to experience what was out there in a way that was different, even though the chance my routes would lead to victory were uncertain, like those of so many professions.
And maybe the maker of The Icelandic Mafia | Documentary (youtube.com), rather than partaking of the celebration sometimes so alluring to successful filmmakers, found even more fulfilment in focusing his energy presenting his facts earnestly and unembellished. Granted, these events are much more recent than those of Ken Burns’ The Civil War, but despite the obvious devotion to detail the latter brought to his photographic presentations, being a fan of less-celebrated alternate approaches, I couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t capitalize on the footage of authentic re-enactors once I’d learned it was available. I trust Burns is celebrated enough that he won’t mind the gravity of this contrary opinion after all that work.
Whether you see a documentary, television sitcom or a book with an unusual subject, perhaps you can’t help but notice that part of its unusualness consists of not encouraging you to regard its content a certain way. That invites freshness, even if some can’t resist spelling it out for you. I’m not inclined to give those who fret over society an even break; even if such people are sincere I’d rather set a low-key example for the frenetic.
Those of you who are familiar with the expression high-context culture may have an increased appreciation for it as you train yourselves to be on the lookout for it, without habitually craving more explicit instructions. Of course you’d then have to, in one way or another, accept that not everyone in a society might be catered to as others want. But what about your rights?Does every watcher of TV need to be hit over the head with an accurate description of every show’s genre, given that details are given for so many?
Even if the subject of Nordic hoodlums leaves you cold, may I suggest you look underneath the surface for subjects not apt to be highlighted in a documentary? From the study of seal language and migration to the interaction of gangsters and Mormons in Mexico, you’ll be sure to feel rejuvenated by keeping your mind alert to new discussions in a way that novelty is defined as a balance between satisfying ever-increasing demands and the reassurance of long-forgotten classics. The part of me that wants to make the most of unmined values sometimes has to assert itself over the temptation to feel the warm glow of new recognition, but we writers have to have a place for that — even if they can’t resist being inconspicuous.