The Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University will host a viewing of the documentary “Millennium: The Story”, the tale of Swedish author Stieg Larsson, on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. in the Meese Room of the library. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Geoff Ridden, professor emeritus, University of Winchester. Larsson’s series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, is THE literary phenomenon of the last decade with 15 million books sold worldwide, 25 translations in over 40 countries, and two movies that are blasting box-office records in Scandinavia and several European countries.
The film portrays readers walking the streets of Stockholm to see locations referenced in the books and to absorb what Larsson loved and hated about Sweden before he died of a coronary thrombosis at age 50, nine months before his first novel’s publication.
Larsson’s triumph is analyzed by close friends and relatives; by his publisher, his journalist colleagues and by various professionals who have worked on the films, including Swedish Producer, Soren Staermose, and the leading actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist who play Elisabeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist.
Stieg Larsson’s life gives us an insight into how he became the author we have come to know. The child who grew up in a humble environment, amid hostility and strife, went on to become a dogged and forthright journalist. He published six books on particularly-cherished subjects: democracy, violence against women, racism, and death threats against journalists for their beliefs. This latter subject was particularly dear to him after he and a number of his colleagues were personally threatened after creating a magazine determined to combat the rise of the Extreme Right-Wing and racism. Stieg Larsson stood his ground, refusing to be silenced by fear.
For more information, please contact Connie Anderson-Cohoon anderson@sou.edu.
