By Viktoria Arfeldt 

A Student in University English Class S38, KHU

 varfeldt@gmail.com 

Globalization has had major impacts on entertainment culture worldwide, both positive and negative, and Norway’s experience in recent decades serves as a notable example. Until the early 1980s, all Norwegian television programs were broadcast on a single government-owned broadcasting channel, which required a subscription fee. However, in the following years, a few more channels were opened to the public for free. With the advent of the global Internet, this expansion of choice accelerated. Nowadays, the variety of entertainment available, and the methods of consuming it, have exploded.

                 Globalization and the rise of online media platforms and streaming services like Netflix and YouTube have greatly changed how Norwegians consume entertainment and the type of entertainment they are exposed to. Previously, movies and television programs were all broadcast on public TV or in cinemas, but nowadays people can conveniently enjoy entertainment using their smartphones, iPads, or computers using online platforms. Platforms like YouTube exposed Norwegians to entertainment from all over the world for free, which led to a massive increase in the popularity of both Japanese and Korean entertainment in Norway. Moreover, streaming platforms like Netflix offered an alternative to traditional cable and satellite TV, while also providing a larger variety of international entertainment. For example, Korean dramas and movies were previously unknown to the general Norwegian population, but Netflix options like Squid Game caused a massive increase in consumption of Korean entertainment.

Globalization has also allowed Norwegian entertainment to gain some popularity abroad. Entertainment that was not in English often had a hard time gaining popularity internationally, and since Norway is a very small country with a population of only five million, Norwegian entertainment was confined to a very small audience. However, globalization caused a rise in the popularity of foreign language films and TV shows worldwide, including Norwegian media. TV shows like Skam and Norsemen were huge hits internationally, and a Norwegian movie called The Worst Person in the World was even nominated for an Oscar this year. This has incentivized the Norwegian media industry to keep expanding and producing entertainment, even in the native Norwegian language. Although the incentive is there, Norway’s entertainment industry is still very small on a global scale. This makes it difficult to produce at the same pace and quality as larger, international entertainment industries, which could make the popularity of Norwegian shows increase at a slower pace than other international shows. However, the growing popularity of Norwegian media has led to the Norwegian entertainment industry gaining a positive reputation abroad, which has led to more Norwegians being offered job opportunities internationally and in Hollywood. 

Many domestic entertainment providers are having difficulties keeping up with the trends of globalization. Cable and satellite stations have been struggling because they are losing revenue as people are increasingly moving away from the traditional forms of consuming entertainment. Many of the broadcasting stations produce their own shows, which have ended up being canceled due to low viewership or lack of funding. The domestic entertainment providers are not able to keep up with the competition of global providers, and the competition is not likely to stop anytime soon. This has been most impactful on older generations who aren’t accustomed to using online platforms or streaming services and are losing variety in their entertainment. In addition, the entertainment companies have begun copying international hits in order to try to save their channels’ viewerships. Norwegian entertainment is fairly unique, raw, uncensored, and often contains a lot of dark, dry humor. For example, the show Norsemen portrays a Viking clan dealing with issues that are common in our modern society, such as gender equality and family issues, but in the barbaric, violent manner that one would associate with Viking behavior. It portrays things that Vikings were notorious for, such as rape, pillaging, and murder, but uses dry humor to show how grotesque and absurd it was for such things to be considered normal at the time. But as Norwegian entertainment producers are increasingly copying the premise of international shows, some of the entertainment is starting to lose that unique, Norwegian feeling. 

 Globalization has mostly had a positive effect on Norwegian entertainment by providing faster, more convenient ways of consuming media while offering a wider variety of international media. It has also allowed Norwegian entertainment to be enjoyed internationally, breaking it free from the previously limited audience in Norway. Meanwhile, however, domestic entertainment providers struggle to compete with the trends of globalization, causing a shutdown of productions and loss of variety in Norwegian entertainment, and as globalization and access to international media continue to expand, Norwegian entertainment is in danger of losing its originality and authenticity.