The Law Mender And The Sirens

In 1274, King Magnus VI, the Law Mender, united the entire Norwegian kingdom under one common law. The Norwegian Code of the Realm remained in force for over 400 years, and in it lie the seeds that would grow into Norway’s rule of law and the idea of popular co-determination.

The sound by composer Laurie Spiegel, an important early figure in computer music who made her name at Bell Labs, opens Preemptive Listening, a new documentary about sirens and the state of the world in which they resonate. A voiceover sets up the premise near the start: “The siren is an interruption, a jolt, a wakeup call that points to the possibility of escape, a threat that has erupted into the present.” Some more: “These are vibrations at the edge of danger.” And still more: “Each siren is a tombstone for a past trauma.”