Babel, Pfingsten und Rock ’n’ Roll – Sprache und Mythos in Mikael Niemis Populärmusik från Vittula

In his novel Populärmusik från Vittula (2000), Mikael Niemi uses the regional background of a remote area in the far North of Sweden to address universal themes such as growing up, identity and communication. The theme of linguistic identity in particular illustrates how Niemi refers to both biblical and secular myths to show the universal in the local. By evoking the biblical myths of Babel and Pentecost, Niemi transcends the geographical confines of his novel and shows the search for language and understanding to be not just a local, but a global, universal concern. The linguistic fragmentation of Pajala reflects the problems of mutual understanding of human civilization per se. The Pentecost vision of universal communication through artificial languages or through popular music as secular equivalents of the biblical myth, is ultimately revealed to be an illusion. By ironically citing the myths he refers to, Niemi questions their potential as explanatory models for human behaviour and the human condition.