Pretty Much 100% Scandinavian

“My grandparents all came from Sweden, . . . from Denmark, . . . Finland, . . . Iceland, . . . or Norway.” As generations pass, though, how can I think of myself as Scandinavian? Especially how can I think this, if I speak only English and have never been to any part of Scandinavia? Between 1850 and 1930, North America drew almost 3 million people from Scandinavia, as most North Americans refer to the five Nordic countries. What has since become of all those immigrants? As the 21st century begins, a third of the population of Minnesota alone identifies itself as stemming from Scandinavia, even seeing themselves as being “pretty much 100% Scandinavian.” The film explores the experience of immigration, the process of Americanization, the importance of landmark institutions such as churches and colleges, the power of family and community, the vitality of arts and craft, the matter of language, and the enjoyment of humor — it’s a rich journey, fueled by gallons of coffee.

Get set for a film whose content is sneaky, self-effacing humor and whose cast includes Ole and Lena, those mainstays of Scandinavian American jokes! Award-winning Swedish filmmaker Stefan Quinth and former American Swedish Institute staff member Dr. William Beyer have searched Minnesota and neighboring U.S. states for what has tickled the funny-bones of Scandinavian Americans. Jokes, stories, stage performances—it’s all here and it’s all funny. Vaudevillians such as Swedish immigrant Hjalmar Peterson or “Olle i Skratthult” and the Olsen sisters from Norway provide context for contemporary musicians, authors, and comics such as Norwegian Americans Leroy Larson, Art Lee, and Janet Letnes Martin; Swedish American Merrilyn Belgum; and Finnish American Carl “Kip” Peltoniemi. There’s also plenty of room for a variety of neighborhood storytellers and jokesters with roots in the Nordic countries.

“Give me enough Swedes, snuff, and whiskey, and I’ll build a railroad to hell!” Great Northern Railway tycoon James J. Hill is said to have boasted admiringly of his immigrant workers. Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians, and Swedes—all earned reputations for good, hard work while settling into the United States. Saga 3’s interviews, historical photos, and footage of contemporary Scandinavian Americans at work show why the reputation has been rightly earned. Here you’ll hear the sounds, see the sights, and smile at the sly humor of Scandinavian Americans farming, logging, milling, commercial fishing, doing domestic work, and following religious vocations. You can relax: these people are working enough for both of you!

The descendants of U.S. immigrants from Scandinavia aim their arts and craft toward everyday elegance. Their goal is the practical beauty so prized in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This is the fourth film in the light-hearted yet authoritative “Pretty Much 100% Scandinavian” series by award-winning Swedish filmmaker Stefan Quinth and Dr. William Beyer, former administrator at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Saga 4” introduces the places and people in the U.S. Upper Midwest that draw on Scandinavian traditions to create arts and craft of practical beauty. Institutions such as Vesterheim (the Norwegian American museum and cultural center in Decorah, Iowa), events such as Nisswa-stämman (the annual Nordic American folk music gathering in Nisswa, Minnesota), painters, writers, weavers, potters, wood carvers, instrument makers, a story-teller, a Saami lithographer, a “langeleik” (Norwegian dulcimer) player, a “kjolväska” (Swedish skirt purse) seamstress, and that grand Icelandic American man of letters, Bill Holm—all absolutely stunning stuff, however practical and everyday!