Viking Renaissance

This, Dear Readers, is a call to arms. It is a call to reclaim a forgotten group of historical figures and propel them back in to the cultural zeitgeist in a (possibly ironic) way similar to the recent reclaimation of other historical tribes such as the Romans and Pirates. Yes, Dear Readers I am proclaiming a return to the popular imagination of those bearded Norsemen who wore silly hats that looked like a coconut with two demon horns sticking out of each side, rode in longboats, and enjoyed a bit of rape and pilage: the Vikings. For too long now other, predominantely evil sea-faring groups have enjoyed the limelight by themselves. Subsequently, I proclaim a campaign to place the Viking back in his rightful place. It may not be easy, but I call for your support.

The plan is thus: firstly, we need to get the image of the Viking back into the public memory. For this I think the best thing that can happen is this. Firstly, like the Pirate, the Viking needs to be reclaimed on the Interweb, so there have to be such things as Viking Podcasts, ironic 'Ask a Viking' films on YouTube and so on. The web is always looking for its next big gimmick and I see no reason why the Viking cannot surfice. Secondly, use it for your themed nights out drinking. All it takes is a few groups here and there to go out dressed as Vikings, proclaiming certain Viking things such as long boats and wielding plastic axes, and the image will soon be copied by the masses. From here, we can build a solid base to work from. Possibly we need some Vikings included in a band-of-the-moment's music video, similar to the way Gwen Stefani reclaimed the Pirate a little while ago. Moreover, I would call for a Hollywood movie that celebrates and ironises the Viking in a similar vein to Pirates of the Caribbean. Who knows, maybe we could get Bill Murray to take the lead in Vikings of the Norse or something similar? Perhaps we could even get ZZ Top involved to provide a tie-in song for the soundtrack? And perhaps we could even launch it under the tag-line of "Go Norse. It is Hairy there"? OK, maybe the last idea needs some work but you get the idea.

So join me Dear Readers, lend your support to the Viking Renaissance, and together we can propel them back into the public conscience.