Words by

Úlfar Gunnarsson

A short while ago, I was at these concerts in the heart of my hometown, Akureyri. These concerts took place in Populus Tremula in an area known as the Listagil or “Art Canyon” and they were actually not that bad. This was during the world-famous Halloween Weekend, and lots of people there were wearing costumes. One of the members of the first band spoke to the crowd, explaining that he didn’t see the) “need” of wearing a costume, and that he didn’t care anyway because he wouldn’t be part of the American “low-culture” known as Halloween.
I started to wonder, “What is low-culture?” Is it the type of culture that the cultural elite loathe because it’s no match for a bunch of old paintings that haven’t really done anything for anyone? Halloween gives you candy, what does Mona Lisa give you?
Also, Halloween came from Celts and Gaels in the British Isles and is a universal culture; it’s not just American.
I have watched these cultural fascists preach about right and wrong, good and evil for a while now, and I must say that we are beyond good and evil. I’ve seen the culture-elite brand a lot of things as low-culture activities so now I ask, what is good culture? Halloween, sports in general, popular pop music, fast food, and even movies are among the things that have been listed as bad culture here in Iceland. Renaissance paintings, independent music, modern art. classical music, are among the things I have seen marked as good culture.
Akureyri is one big cultural segregation, and the void between is filled with prejudice from both sides. There is no in between; either you are a part of what the elite calls “low-culture” or you are a part of the common man who looks at the elite as ‘weird’ or ‘abnormal’.
I am not some anti-culturist, I just don’t see any difference between these culture classes that people have made up in their minds, because really, it’s all the same crap, Halloween, underground music scenes, classical music, overused television sitcoms. Things come and go, they always have and they always will and it’s all the same shit anyway. Pick what you like and don’t be ashamed of it and don’t look down on others for picking something else, because, truthfully, that tells people more about you than them.