Crime Drama Ckntaxts

Nordic Noir:

History:
Nordic Noir began with a series of books written by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö collectively titled The Story of a Crime in which police detective Martin Beck struggles not only with the solving of crimes but also his own internal struggles. The series depicts a more gritty and realistic idea of police work than anything that had come before. This has been noted as a key factor in the success of the series. Undoubtedly this was the start of Nordic Noir. Since then titles such as "The girl with the Dragon tattoo" have been highly successful due to their similar take on the genre.

Conventions:
Scandinavia has been noted as being an almost perfect place to commit a murder. With nights that can last the majority of the day in winter and vast empty spaces with no humans for miles one could be mistaken in thinking that these countries were designed specifically to commit such an act. In the Nordic Noir genre this often manifests itself with murders taking place at night in remote snowy countrysides. The presence of night time is certainly clear in The Bridge where many scenes are shrouded in darkness. The idea of an unemotional and cold detective is not limited to The Bridge. Characters such as Martin Beck (The Story of a Crime) and Lisbeth Salander (The Milennium series) both portray similar characteristics to those displayed by Saga Noren in The Bridge. It is likely that this is a depiction of the apathy that is felt by many people in the Scandinavian countries.

Culture:
The culture of the Nordic countries varies between each country however from an outside perspective the whole of Scandinavia is seen as being forward thinking and progressive. The liberal attitudes that are particularly prominent in Sweden are what led to the creation of Nordic Noir. The Martin Beck stories much like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were written in response to the rise of fascist groups in countries like Sweden. These stories have a clear agenda which aligns itself with the outside perspective of Sweden.