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Robert Eggers’ The Northman has been widely praised for its stunning visuals, compelling performances, the creativity of its reimagination of Skakespeare’s Hamlet story (itself inspired by Saxo Grammaticus’ Amleth), and for the rich and engrossing world it creates, but criticism has also described the plot as rote, shallow when it tries to be profound, and nihilistic. (more…)
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Gregory Hood was Greg Johnson‘s guest on the latest broadcast of Counter-Currents Radio, where they talked about the new movie The Northman plus YOUR QUESTIONS, and it is now available for download and online listening.
Topics discussed include:
00:01:57 Overview of The Northman‘s themes
00:06:12 Destiny and fate vs. the modern notion of choosing your identity
00:13:49 Odin and the Indo-European Männerbund (more…)
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Recently, a friend who has rubbed elbows with the highest echelons of haute cuisine recommended that I see Babette’s Feast, a 1988 Danish film about a French lady chef coming to a quiet Danish village. This film has apparently been a cult classic among chefs ever since it came out. Being something of a gourmet, I was intrigued by the idea of a film about food, and of course much of my work within the Dissident Right has focused on observing the contrasts and tensions between the Northwestern, Eastern, and Mediterranean poles of European civilization. (more…)
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Like many children, some of my most vivid early memories center on the Christmas season. Preparations always began immediately after Thanksgiving. My mother and I would drag the dusty boxes of decorations down from the attic, while my father ascended onto our rooftop to string up the lights. A few weeks later we would go to the tree farm, ideally on a cold and overcast day, where my sister and I would run around searching for the ideal Christmas tree to be felled by my father’s handsaw. (more…)
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An interesting incident occurred in Sicily recently: A Roman Catholic bishop was accused of telling a group of schoolchildren Santa Claus does not exist. The Church has since apologized for these remarks, explaining to outraged parents that the cleric’s intention was direct children away from the consumerism of contemporary Christmas celebrations and towards veneration of the historic Saint Nicholas. This incident provides an opportunity to reflect on the figure of Santa Claus, how he emerged in Northern European and Anglo-American history, and his role in contemporary Christmas festivities. (more…)
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The year was 939 AD, the setting near the city of Simancas. Count Fernán Gonzalez, a commander of free Spain, rode at the head of an army whose mission was to strike a blow against the Saracen invaders of Al-Andalus. Still, they were outnumbered and desperate. Fortune, it seemed, would favor the Moors on this day. But as the Count’s troops prepared to clash with their foe, a miracle occurred. (more…)
“Off with her head!” An original illustration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1864)
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The Sphinx-riddle. Solve it, or be torn to bits, is the decree.
— D. H. Lawrence
A question, readers: what is the most profound of all human activities? With the previous sentence, I’ve already provided the answer, for it is the question itself — the thing that drives all exploration and philosophy. How can philosophy (or any knowledge) exist without first the riddle, the profound need for the answer? (more…)
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Richard Rudgley
The Return of Odin: The Modern Renaissance of Pagan Imagination
Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2018
Richard Rudgley is a British author who has published several books offering unconventional interpretations of the ancient and prehistorical eras of Northern European history, as well as works on psychedelics. (more…)
Ernest Wallcousins, Helgi Returns to Valhalla
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Part I here, Part VIII here, Part X here
In our last installment, we explored the career of the legendary Norse hero Helgi. Chapter Nine of the Volsung Saga is devoted to Helgi, and it constitutes a rich and entertaining digression from the main story. At one time, Helgi must have been a very important hero. The anonymous author of the Volsung Saga draws on two poems concerning Helgi compiled in the Poetic Edda: Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I (The First Poem of Helgi, Killer of Hunding; henceforth HH I), and Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II (or HH II). (more…)
