Introduction: Nordic Noir as Adaptation

Abstract

As the book’s introduction, this chapter argues that Nordic noir is an under-recognized and in fact constitutive element of Nordic noir and in so doing, reframes the prevailing critical view. Born from the genre of Scandinavian crime fiction and now celebrated for its regional and global sweep, Nordic noir has not been understood as the thoroughly transnational and transmedial phenomenon it is. Deploying the concepts and tools of current adaptation studies to undertake a wide-ranging geographical, transcultural, and intermedial exploration of Nordic noir, this volume approaches it less as a genre than as a brand, network, or family, thus adding an important new layer to the rich scholarship that has arisen around Nordic noir in recent years.