18
culture
The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk
16 - 22 November 2012
Leisure habits change as nation expands its range of pleasures Who is … Christian Wenande
“The people who use libraries use them more often. For example, when I was young I used the library to read newspapers and hile Danes are magazines and find information going to the theatre I couldn’t find elsewhere,” Elbæk and using the inter- told Politiken newspaper. “The net more than they internet has taken over some of were eight years ago, they are go- the duties, but the library has a ing to the library less and reading different role in terms of lending fewer newspapers, according to perspective and creating opinion a report financed by the Culture as a social and cultural space.” Ministry. The report, which was comThe 400piled by the conpage report sultancy firms concluded that Epinion and Pluss people are genLeadership, is the erally engaging in more activi- For example, when seventh and latest ties in their free instalment of an time, particular- I was young I used on-going study of ly in the areas of the nation’s leisure the library to read sports and exerhabits – the first cise, internet use newspapers and of which came out and computer nearly 50 years gaming, and to a magazines and find ago in 1964. lesser extent goinformation I couldn’t Since then, ing to museums, follw-up reports reading books find elsewhere have been puband visiting the lished in 1975, theatre. At the same time, however, there has been a decline in 1987, 1993, 1998, 2004 and newspaper and magazine reading 2012. About 4,800 adults and 1,500 children between the ages and TV viewing. The number of people mak- of seven and 14 were interviewed ing at least one trip to the library for the report, which also details a month also fell, from 29 per- the leisure habits of adult minor-
W
Culture Ministry would require more time to study the report’s findings, but said regardless of what conclusions were drawn, there was room for improvement.
ities for the first time ever. This year’s report is divided into three categories: use of literature and the fine arts, leisure activities, and media consumption. Elbæk indicated that the
“One challenge is still how the classical culture institutions can develop new audience strategies and become more inclusive than they are now,” Elbæk told Politiken.
Factfile | The 10 most notable developments in Danes’ leisure habits from 2004 to 2012
5. Minorities use the library more often that the general public, but are less likely to go to the theatre, museums or concerts.
1. The technological developments in recent years have altered people’s leisure habits significantly. The prevailing tendency is that involvement in traditional culture areas and media remain much the same, while new media and devices stimulate further consumption.
6. Most of the adult population can be characterised as actively or very actively engaged in art and culture, leisure activities and the media. Women are strongly represented in art and culture, and while there is not much gender difference in the area of leisure activity, men tend to be more likely to be engaged in the media.
2. Between 2004 and 2012, people generally engaged in more leisure pursuits. The greatest increases amongst adults were in the areas of music, sport and exercise, volunteer work and internet use.
7. Education and income are important factors in determining whether people engage in cultural activities. People who engage in non-cultural activities typically have little or no education and have a low income.
3. The main increases amongst children were in music, computer gaming, performance art, literature and internet use. Generally, children are more active than the adults. 4. Adult film viewing, library attendance, visits to attractions, TV watching, and newspaper and magazine reading is stable or in decline.
8. The number of people attending opera, ballet, musicals and classical music concerts or going to art museums is at its
highest level since 1964. People over 60, 15-19-year-olds and women are most active when it comes to the fine arts. 9. Children are generally active in all the main areas. Girls are more active when it comes to art and culture and media, while boys are more active in the area of leisure activities. There is also a notable connection between the cultural habits of parents and their children. 10. Half of the population feels that public culture expenditure is acceptable. The amount who felt too much was spent on culture and the amount who felt too little was spent were relatively equal. Private spending on cultural activities has fallen since 2004, largely due to technological developments and the emergence of new sports and exercise habits.
Circus of Life HHHHHH
A
funhouse mirror takes what we know and expect to see and turns it on its head − often literally − swelling it, squeezing it, making it simultaneously hilarious and disturbing. In an attempt to tackle humanity’s relationship with the Fall of Man, ‘Circus of Life’ holds that mirror to the audience, but the mirror is a little foggy. Pernille Garde’s latest work is a string of vignettes about sin told through sparse narrative and intricate dances performed by two sinewy, dynamic and often hilarious circus performers. A maddened disembodied voice, presumably “temptation”, cackles at and prods them along their path into temptation, but it’s all a bit murky. And bizarrely equivocal, really. First, we are told to behold the “disgusting creature” of a woman who is having sexual re-
lations with many, many men. Lust, presumably. Next is a spoken letter: “Dear Anders Breivik ...” It heaps admiration on him and goes so far as to say: “I wish you’d killed more people.” Most terrifyingly, the letter is written in blood. Wrath. And then a little girl is run over and left to die by 18 passers-by before somebody helps her. By then, it’s too late. Sloth. Lastly, the two performers come out and parade around in costumes of random plastic baubles before launching into a tirade against humanity’s material obsessions and inevitable environmental doomsday. Greed and gluttony. The idea behind ‘Circus of Life’ is a good one, and the choreography is like nothing I’ve ever seen. However, the vignettes are sporadic (they forgot about envy and pride), and the ghostly narrator silly and clichéd. Perhaps humanity should look in the existential funhouse mirror, but all I feel like doing is getting some cotton candy.
Anee Jayaraj
BLAM! HHHHHH
D
ie Hard’ meets ‘The Office’ in ‘BLAM!’” Or at least that’s how the Neander theatre describes its show. And those who have watched it will call it nothing less. With parkour, acrobatic stunts, drama and even some dancing, ‘BLAM!’ is an action performance that is packed with energy and theatrics. Created and conceptualised by Kristján Ingimarsson, the founder of Neander, and Jesper Pedersen, the show is back, revised and rejuvenated, playing at the Republique theatre in Østerbro until December 1. The show opens to the scene of a rather dull and dreary office where three bored and suppressed staff take to enacting action sequences from movies like ‘Die Hard’, ‘Rambo’ and this year’s ‘The Avengers’ (told you it was revised!), to name a few. What follows is an entertaining display of male egos at play, set in
Søren Meisner
Man’s fall in foggy focus More David Brent, less Daniel Craig please! Amy strada
Fie Laursen? fie laursen
Danes becoming more cultural, but some areas still lag, according to the latest review of the nation’s leisure habits
cent in 2004 to 25 percent in 2012, but that didn’t seem to worry the culture minister, Uffe Elbæk (Radikale).
Rambo started to grate a little 50 minutes in
the context of their office space, which transforms cleverly into a battle arena. Credit is definitely due to set designer Kristian Knudsen, whose creative vision enables a basic office setting to smoothly lend itself to the action sequences performed. And well done for creating a show that is truly universal. The lack of any dialogue means that ‘BLAM!’ breaks language barriers, while the circuslike performance makes it appealing to younger audiences.
However, after 50 minutes of relentless action, you start to wonder whether this is all the show has to offer, or whether there will be a surprising addition in the form of a new character or a different act that will feature another kind of performance. Unfortunately, to my slight disappointment, the action sequences continued for another 30 minutes. Because while ‘Boys will be boys’, the females in the audience will probably want a little bit more.
linn lemhag She is a 16-year-old Danish blogger who made tabloid headlines this week when she was spotted kissing Peter Birch, a reality TV star 12 years her senior How did that happen?! They attended the MTV EMA party held in Copenhagen on Monday, and seeing as Birch is currently on a break from his on/off relationship with reality ditz Amalie Szigethy, he saw the chance to switch out the old with the very, very new. Ew. It does seem a tad creepy. Laursen, however, defended their hookup, saying it was “no biggie”, and that even though she slept at his place, nothing happened. Sure … so what does this girl do? Her blog is about fashion and friends, but Laursen was essentially unknown until January of this year, when she received national media coverage when she spoke about cyber bullying on a DR1 talkshow. According to Laursen, she was the target of multiple bullies after she shared her dreams of becoming a model. Poor girl! Another blogger, Bitterfissen Bethany, called the show ‘feelings-porn’. But then again, Bethany is a self-titled bitter c**t, so you might want to take that with a pinch of salt. What’s next for Laursen, then? Apart from her blog, she’s started an anti-bullying campaign on Facebook called @Stop Mobning (Stop bullying). Despite the good-hearted philanthropy, we think (and hope?) she’s got all the makings of a future blog-star scandal queen in her: a chihuahua (named Justin after the Biebs, of course), an oversized Louis Vuitton bag, a serious penchant for the colour pink and a killer pout!
Online this week Love affair in States turning sour in Europe ‘En kongelig affære’ (‘A Royal Affair’) and ‘Kapringen’ (‘A Hijacking’) last week scooped American Film Institute audience awards – a serious boost ahead of the awards season and for their potential box office returns. However, back home ‘En kongelig affære’ was outshone by ‘Jagten’ (‘The
Hunt’) in the nominations for the European Film Awards. ‘Jagten’ picked up five including best film, actor and director; ‘En kongelig affære’ only received two – in the small-fry categories of production design and score. The awards will be presented at a televised ceremony on December 1 in Malta.
Rapper receives suspended jail sentence for assault Rapper L.O.C., born Liam O’Connor, received a 40-day suspended jail sentence for assault and battery at an Odense court last week. “I read somewhere that I risked being sentenced to four years in prison, but you know how people sensationalise things,” O’Connor, who is half Irish, told the press.
The incident occurred in early June at a music festival in the Funen town of Middelfart. O’Connor, who insisted he acted in defence of a friend, was also arrested on charges of assault in 2003. As expected, he then appeared on popular TV singing contest, ‘Voice – Danmarks største stemme’, on Saturday.
Zentropa head drops libel action against magazine Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the managing director of Danish film producer Zentropa, is dropping his libel case against Ekko. Jensen took issue with the film magazine over its claim that 750 actors were each charged 350kr to audition for ‘Klar til optagelse’ in 2009,
a film he claimed was never an official Zentropa project. Ritzau reported that Ekko apologised “if anyone was given the impression that Zentropa had received money from the open casting”, while Jensen apologised for his “at times strident accusations”.
Read the full stories at cphpost.dk