Friday 25 October 2013

Volvo, Welfare, Alcohol, Cold, Blonde and Blue-Eyed: The Swedish Stereotype and a Tribute to Ingrid Bergman

In 2003, the Council for the Promotion of Sweden decided to launch the Study of Sweden's Image Abroad and included 23 countries and the city of Brussels in its study. Knowledge and attitude differed from country to country, the content of the stereotypes varied as well ranging from "welfare model and gender equality" in Spain to "god-fearing, suicide prone and promiscuous" in the US. In general, the attitudes were rather positive.



According to the study, the most common perceptions and clichés about Sweden are 1) welfare, 2) music, literature and films such ABBA, Astrid Lindgren and Ingmar Bergman, 3) beautiful women and sexual lieberation, 4) nature, 5) cars, particularly Volvo, c) sports, 7) IKEA, 8) good neighbours (coming from the Nordic countries), 9) the cold, 10) sparsely populated country, 11) neutrality, 12) meatballs, 13) alcohol, 14) Nobel, and 15) high taxes and extensive prohibitions.



Positive attributions to the Swedish are: open, well organised, efficient, punctual, thorough, law-abiding, well educated, knowledgeable, pro-technology, modern, honest, reliable, correct, skilled in languages, urbane, nature-loving, peace-loving, faithful friends, friendly, kind-hearted and possessing strong work ethic.
The negative ones are: gloomy, lacking in humour, rather boring, coldly remote, introvert, too controlled, provincial, impolite, boorish, naive, insensitive to the subtleties of the English language, know-alls, impious, depressed, shy, and inclined to drink.



Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden (2003) Images of Sweden abroad. A study of the changes, the present situation and assessment methods (via)

Photos of Ingrid Bergman via and by Bob Landry for Life Magazine (1941) via and via

9 comments:

  1. Exceptional photos, exceptional woman. Lovely, Laura.

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    1. Good morning, Erin, and many thanks. An exceptional actress, indeed.

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  2. I never came across a single one of these photos. Wow. Thanks!

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    1. I like them because they are a little bit different (probably because one doesn't come across them so often). Many thanks for your lovely feedback, Derek. And have a nice day!

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  3. A beautiful set of photos, indeed! What a radiant beauty.

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  4. She was a true beauty, full of talent.

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    1. ...and powerfull. Cray Grant once said: "There are only seven movie stars in the world whose name alone will induce American bankers to lend money for movie productions, and the only woman on the list is Ingrid Bergman."

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    2. What an interesting and inspiring quote ... also from a diversity point of view. Thank you, Kenneth! Thank you, Tim!

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