Techno Viking is an

internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

or meme based on a video from the 2000 Fuckparade in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany.

Summary

The four-minute video shot by experimental video artist Matthias Fritsch at the Fuckparade on 8 July 2000Matthias Fritsch
The Technoviking Archive
, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. begins with the title "Kneecam No. 1". The camera is on a group of dancing people with a blue-haired woman in front. A man stumbles into the scene grabbing the woman. A bare-chested man (known colloquially as the Techno Viking) wearing a

Mjölnir Mjölnir (from Old Norse Mjǫllnir) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including the 11th cen ...

pendant enters the scene while turning to that man. He grabs him by the arms and the camera follows, showing the confrontation. The bare-chested man pushes the guy back in the direction he came. He looks at him sternly and then points his finger at him, ensuring he behaves.In the full video the offender is seen later, sitting on the back of a truck as the camera is turned to the side for a few seconds. Then the camera follows the bare-chested man as the techno parade continues. Another observer comes from the back of the scene offering an inverted bottle of water to him. As the situation calms down, the bare-chested man starts to dance down Rosenthaler Straße () to

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

music.

Reception and release

Fritsch uploaded the video to the internet in 2001.Astrid Herbold
"Youtube: 20 Millionen Klicks für den 'Techno-Wikinger'"
, ''

Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, ...

'' 23 July 2010 This includes an embedded version of the video. Fritsch intended to raise questions of whether the action was real or staged. In 2006 an unknown user re-published it to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, and it

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...

in 2007. According to Fritsch, its popularity began on a Central American pornography site.Kevin Morris
German court to decide the future of Technoviking"
, ''

The Daily Dot ''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometo ...

'', 17 January 2013. After being posted on Break.com, it peaked on 28 September at more than 1 million views per day and was watched by over 10 million people over 6 months. More than 700 responses and edited versions were posted.Carmela Thiele
"Das Musik-Video Technoviking"
, ''Corso'', DLF Cologne, 5 May 2009, interviewing Matthias Fritsch (mp3) It was the #1 clip on ''

Rude Tube ''Rude Tube'' is a British television programme broadcast on Channel 4 and its sister channel E4. Most of the programme's episodes have been presented by British comedian Alex Zane, who launched the show's pilot episode in February 2008. Comedi ...

s series-three episode ''Drink and Drugs''. Mathew Cullen and

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

wanted to include Techno Viking in their compilation of Internet memes for the "Pork and Beans" music video but were unable to. Techno Viking was also rendered in oils as part of a series on internet memes. By mid-2010, the video had generated over 20 million hits on YouTube alone; , the original version had more than 16 million views. Fritsch mounted an installation and the online Techno Viking Archive "to research the strategies of participatory practice in digital social networks"Judith Staines with Ghislaine Boddington, Interview with Matthias Fritsch
Excited Atoms: an exploration of virtual mobility in the contemporary performing arts
On the Move April 2010, p. 43 (pdf) and presented lectures on the reception of the video. His ''Music from the Masses'' project was suggested by the Techno Viking experience: it explores web collaboration by providing silent films for artists to provide soundtracks. In response to legal action by the man featured in the video, access to the Techno Viking video itself has been restricted and annotations on YouTube blocked since late 2009.

Identity and lawsuit

Fritsch did not know the man's name at the time of filming. A man who appeared in the 2009 "Bodybuilding" broadcast of the German television show segment '' Raab in Gefahr'' was taken to be Techno Viking in a YouTube upload. In 2008, fans claimed MMA fighter

Keith Jardine Keith Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Jardine was known for upset victories in bouts he took at short notice against highly rated fight ...

was Techno Viking. The lawyer of the Techno Viking asserts that his client had never been a public figure and that he did not want to become one. The unnamed man's court case against Fritsch concerning infringement of personality rights opened in Berlin on 17 January 2013. In June, a decision was reached for the plaintiff and Fritsch was ordered to pay the man

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

13,000 in damages, almost all he had made from YouTube ads and sales of Techno Viking merchandise, plus €10,000 in court costs, and to cease publication of his image.Leonhard Dobusch
"Interview zum erstinstanzlichen Urteil im Technoviking-Prozess [Update]"
, Netzpolitik.org, 20 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013 Olivia Solon
"Filmmaker gagged by the Technoviking, bankrupted by legal bills"
, ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'', 27 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013.Kevin Morris
"Technoviking prevails in court, still can't erase Internet fame"
, ''Daily Dot'', 26 June 2013.

Documentary film

Fritsch raised money with a crowdfunding campaign to make a documentary film about the case, ''The Story of Technoviking'', which was released in 2015.Attila Nagy
"Here is the Crowdfunded Film about Technoviking, One of the most Popular Memes"
, '' Gizmodo'', 20 October 2015, retrieved 23 October 2015.

Notes

References

External links

* Mikkael Kinanen
Matthias Fritsch: "Kneecam No. 1 (aka Technoviking)"
Inter-Cool 3.0.
Shinya Yamaoka making a statuette of Techno Viking
(YouTube slideshow)
Technoviking.tv
collection of fan responses and links * {{IMDb title, tt4082608, The Story of Technoviking Internet memes introduced in 2001 Viral videos 2006 YouTube videos Films set in Berlin Unidentified people German male dancers Internet memes