Abstract
This article examines how magic and nature become representations of both “the Sami” and “Sami shamanism” in animation films Frozen 2 and Klaus, in the television crime series Midnattssol (Midnight Sun) and in three Eurovision Song Contest contributions partly by Sami artists, containing joik. With a methodological ludism approach and with material theory, the article asks how “the Sami” and shamanism are made relevant as spiritual or religious categories within popular cultural products, and how (and why) spirituality is being constructed and communicated on a more general level in a time of eco-crisis, where there is a growing global interest in perceived shamanistic and animistic perceptions of the world, nature, and ourselves.
Highlights
The last decade has seen an increase in the use of Sami religion and culture as a resource in popular culture products
I will highlight the semiotic resources they offer and answer the “how” and “why” nature, magic and eco-crisis become relevant for understanding the materializing of Sami shamanism in/as popular culture
We see that the (Sami) magic and religion that become evident in these popular culture products, come very close to Drooger’s definition presented above—belonging and separation being important
Summary
The last decade has seen an increase in the use of Sami religion and culture as a resource in popular culture products. The playful and/or fictional dimensions in the mediated representations of religion (the adding of an extra dimension) have serious and even somber aspects to them, due to the minority position of the Sami as indigenous people, highlighting power aspects of the belonging and separation-dimensions of this intricate web of religion in/as popular culture This will be evident and discussed when analyzing the material. Seeing how popular cultural products like the ones I will present, deal with the materiality of reality, and how, where, and why spirituality is addressed, put the semiotic resources, the ludic “as if” attitude and the aesthetics and sensational aspects of religion to the forefront. I will highlight the semiotic resources they offer and answer the “how” and “why” nature, magic and eco-crisis become relevant for understanding the materializing of Sami shamanism in/as popular culture
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