I mean the real Vikings...an historical mixed bag of good and evil. They were unspeakably violent and essentially invented the term rape and pillage. They were fierce and merciless to their enemies. They celebrated brutality and drank to excess. By today's civilized standards, they were as wild as the wildest beasts. They lived to fight, feast and have sex. But they weren't completely low brow. The Vikings had hierarchical societies with codes, well-established religious beliefs and kinship bonds. They were also brilliant navigators and ship builders who found the New World 500 years before Columbus.
I say the Vikings were taylor made for Hollywood because they are a lesson in contrasts and because their every deed seemed to be larger than life...of course, that's not entirely true. They did the things that every other society of their day did: farming, fishing, blacksmithing, etc. But the grand things they did were grander than those done by everyone else around them, and Hollywood loves epic
lives.
I'm surprised, therefore, that it took Hollywood this long to give the Vikings their due. I know...I know...there have been movies about the Vikings before. The one by Kirk Douglas comes to mind, as does the 2007 film Pathfinder and, of course, Thor and Marvel's Avengers. But none of these films did any justice to the real Vikings. Their depictions of the Northmen (Vikings) were as accurate as the images put forth by the NFL team from Minnesota. That's why I'm so delighted that the History Channel brought us a new series entitled The Vikings.
Admitedly, I have a few personal reasons for being excited about this new series. First, I'm half Norwegian and the Vikings have long been my people's claim to fame (and infamy). Second, my novel Long Live the King: Book One of the Charlemagne Saga explores how the great emperor Charlemagne dealt with these raiders from the north. Third, as a student of history, I've long been fascinated by these hard living people from some of the coldest places on earth.
As of this writing, the History Channel has aired four episodes of The Vikings and I've been captivated by each installment more than the last one. What is more amazing is that the show's creators are making me root for people who do dispicable things like steal from churches and slaughter innocent monks. The storytellers bring a sympathetic humanity to the characters and the actors led by Travis Fimmel and Gabriel Byrne allow us to identify with the people they portray. Above all, The Vikings offers a realistic portrayal of Viking life...not the cartoon version that popular culture has fed us for so long.
As a fan of this sort of entertainment, I can only hope that this series has a long and fruitful run. I'm anxious to see how the show's creators deal with the power struggles within the Viking community and the influence of Christianity on their pagan lives. If the show's currently high ratings are any indication, there are millions of others who share my sentiments. Lets hope the suits at the History Channel continue to see it our way!
For more info about my book:
http://www.amazon.com/Long-Live-King-Book-Charlemagne/dp/193824379X/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1364380807&sr=8-1&keywords=guy+cote+long+live+the+king
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