The roulette as a symbol of Western and continental way of life in Finland in the the 1960s and 1970s EASG Vienna 14-17 September, 2010 L : Session: Legal Issues 16 September, 2010 MA (Soc.Sci) Riitta Matilainen University of Helsinki Department of Political and Economic Studies
[email protected] 1 Introduction Reith: “It has long been recognized that analysis of what may appear trivial or mundane can generate insights into fundamental aspects of social life”. The focus of the presentation is to regard a new legalized form of gambling (the roulette) and to it related discourses and practices as clues in an effort to analyze the changing consumer and leisure mentalities and cultures of Finns in the 1960s and the 1970s. 2 Theoretical background The ”new” school of cultural gambling studies: Gambling is an important part of almost every society’s social, cultural and economic life. Gambling per se is not considered pathological or criminal action. Gambling takes place in time and in a certain context. Gamblers make a consumer decision, and their choices must be treated as rational rather than irrational decisions. Gender, class, age and dwelling place need to be taken into consideration with the help of e.g. ethnographical studies. 3 Finnish consumer society in the 1960s and 1970s I The 1950s and 1960s were a period of rapid structural changes and great internal and external migration. Finland followed closely the examples of welfare societies set by other Nordic countries and especially Sweden despite the that the influence of Soviet Union was very tangible in almost all aspects of political, cultural and economic life.