“The acceptance of the first book was so pleasing that it encouraged me to write another. The first book has now hit the stages as the play Áfram Latibaer in Loftkastalinn Theater. The story of the town is well adapted for the stage, but when I wrote the stories I saw them more or less as coach for healthy lives” said Magnús Scheving, aerobics master and writer, about the origin of the story of Latabær reaching the stages.
“There is a lot of speed in the updated play, which is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, and the costumes are exaggerated in bright colors by costume designer María Ólafsdóttir. The music is created in a way that the audience have the feeling that they are watching a cartoon; Máni Svavarsson made all the music with pure genius. Davíð Þór Jónsson, a comedian and theologian, has written complex lyrics that all have a particular message that can be conveyed by each person in the play. The play has been well received and Jón Viðar gave the work three stars – it is a certain quality standard.”
Magnús says that he has always given lectures for children and teenagers and always received similar questions from the kids about life and existence. “I have since thought about these questions while traveling around the country. I like creating stories and telling stories, my grandfather with the same name, Magnús Scheving, was a great storyteller and I remember exaggerations and movements when he emphasized his words to me for more fun. I thought to myself how a positive message could be reach children in a fun way. With, of course, a fun story that answers to most of the questions children asked me during my travels. This is how this idea of Latibær and the adventures of its inhabitants was born.”
It is clear that there is a lot of interest in Latibær and Magnús says he will reach beyond the rocks of Iceland, for which Magnús is in talks with a well-known British publisher about a possible publication. “It is the company Random House that has shown interest in publishing a book about Latibær. I am also trying to market the Icelandic health elf out there with the aim of promoting increased health to the British in the form of a play or videos. It would be exciting if this became a reality, as there are many possibilities in the situation. I’ve been to a meeting with the company’s owners, who promised good things, but it is not possible to say whether this will happen. It would be exciting, because surveys have shown that British children move much less than before and violence has increased among children and adolescents.
The same has been happening in this country and there is need to reverse such a development. Children and adolescents in this country have to live in a much tougher world than before, a fast-paced world of information that every moment becomes obsolete in a split second, and in order to survive, many things led to all kinds of trouble. It’s hard and sometimes too late to discuss as semi-adults and to respect others when things go the wrong way. I have worked with children and adolescents for about ten years and I see that disrespect and unwarranted violence is greater today than ever. Icelanders are clearly growing apart from each other in the capital area and living in a more metropolitan way – although it is of course a joke to talk about Reykjavik as a big city.”
More family politics
Magnús says that in putting together the two books about Latibær, he tried to convey a message that children could pick up if they started early enough. “I think it’s just for the good – especially if the message is positive as in these books. People are obviously thinking about this. I do not think it is possible to measure the success of such a work, but if a book like this can help one person to make his life better, much will be gained.
There is also a need for a change of mentality among the general public in Iceland regarding respect for one’s neighbor and increasing the importance of family politics. People are very interested in all kinds of prevention, but when it comes down to it, few people seem to want to take the step to fully commit themselves to a good cause.
Fortunately, a large group is committed to charities, such as community center employees and peer-to-peer educators, but these people always say that their work is almost never given attention in the media, except in a negative way. The media are therefore the strongest force to promote a positive way of life for adolescents and children. As it is often the case with the media, they don’t that in an active, positive way unfortunately. It is enough to flip through the newspapers and follow the reports in other media about teenagers to see that a negative discussion is more prominent than a positive one. The media must reverse this trend. Children and teenagers are doing so many interesting things as you can see by their visits to Hitt Húsið.”
* Hitt Húsið is a center for young people where young people can use the facilities to sing, dance, dream, create, learn, play, meet, – almost anything they can think of.
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