Essay about Culture Behind the Curtain - 1931 Words

Despite voluminous effort from Communist Party Ideologists to stimulate this type of excitement and consumption of classical and folk music, Soviet youths remained uncooperative, preferring instead, the music of Western rock bands. No matter what they tried, the Soviets simply could not control the lives of their population any longer, especially with respect to what music and fashions were popular. Rock music was already freely accessible from radio stations like Radio Luxembourg or the BBC, and dedicated rock enthusiasts lapped it up. â€Å"For westerners, it was music to dance to; for those in Soviet Russia, when you multiplied the Beatles’ youthful vitality by the forbidden fruit factor, it was more than a breath of fresh air – it was a†¦show more content†¦Perhaps no better example exists to illustrate the damage that this realization had accomplished than when East Berlin agreed to open its borders for its own citizens on November 9, 1989, â€Å"A flood of East Berliners flocked to the border checkpoints. Unprepared, the guards opted not to resist. By midnight all of the checkpoints to West Berlin had been forced to open, and one of the greatest parties of the century was under way, closely followed by one of the biggest shopping sprees.† At least according to historian Niall Ferguson, this behavior signaled that Western consumerism had won the Cold War. For Soviet leaders like Oleksii Vatchenko, the Secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk Communist party, the conclusion was similar, â€Å"It is impossible to stay indifferent to the various perversions in the student society about fashion, music and arts. What we see - untidy appearance, extremely long hair among certain boys, beards that look like they were borrowed from the pages of foreign magazines—all this does not fit an image of the Soviet young man. This influence of alien morals is aShow MoreRelatedCulture Behind the Curtain1317 Words   |  6 Pagestourists. This American culture, especially the scores of Jazz records and recordings, grew incredibly popular. Jazz orchestras sprung up across Moscow and the Soviet bloc, and these groups longed for the opportunity to play American scores in their own styles. Music became a common vehicle conveying the culture of the West within the USSR. Following the war, however, Stalin and his Generals became apprehensive about the damaging effect that substantial exposure to Western culture could have on the PartyRead MoreCulture Behind the Curtain Essay2940 W ords   |  12 Pagesprominent reality. Communism was being quashed by the reality of costs associated with what it required, and people were jaded by Soviet culture. Within this paper, I will explore how Soviet populations identified with American jazz and rock music, television and cinema programs, fashion, and consumerism, and will identify this influx of Western capitalist culture as not only one of the many factors that led to the collapse of Soviet Russia, but also a major reason that the West won the Cultural ColdRead MoreBehind The Formaldehyde Curtain And The Fear Of Dying By Elisabeth Kubler Ross869 Words   |  4 Pagesone can escape death. It’s one of so few unavoidable certainties in our lives and has held an important position in every human culture since time immemorial. Of course, this position has is different from culture to culture, and shifts over time. This is particularly evident in western culture. The shift is discussed at length in two essays: †Å"Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain† by Jessica Mitford, and ‘The Fear of Dying’ by Elisabeth Kà ¼bler-Ross. Both explore different aspects of these themes – Mitford’sRead MoreThe Danger of Using Literature and Fiction as a Historical Source971 Words   |  4 Pageslives of wealthy Japanese and Italian men, women of affluence lived highly secluded lives in each culture. Women in Aristocratic Japan and Italy lived subordinate and entirely secluded lives. In both Japan and Italy, women were excluded from institutionalized learning. Thus, they were less likely to know language. They spent their life indoors if they were wealthy and did not need to work. Neither culture allowed women to hold public positions, but they could inherit and own property. Japanese womenRead MoreDifferences Between Hamlets Mental/Emotional Conflicts and Beowulfs Physical Battles960 Words   |  4 PagesFrisians, far and wide, that the king is gone†. Has Beowulf failed his people? Like Hamlet in the last act of the play, who avenges for his father’s death, Beowulf knows what he must do as king and what has been appointed to him and takes actions of his culture as a heroic warrior. In William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, the play is a Renaissance tragedy in Denmark about revenge and cultural identity for Hamlet by the duty of his father and the duties to his society. Hamlet’s father was murdered and HamletRead MoreGetting For Yes, By Roger Fisher And Looking Behind The Curtain1589 Words   |  7 Pagesthird approach. They call the third approach â€Å"principled negotiation† or â€Å"negotiation on the merits†. I submit that the procedures proposed in Getting to Yes alternatively break down to two simplistic themes, â€Å"Emotional Chess† and â€Å"Looking Behind the Curtain,† which are broadly applicable in contemporary negotiation. Additionally, I submit that within the authors’ procedures are four tactics which vary in applicability depending on the details the negotiation. The first of the two themes in GettingRead MoreFilm Adaptation of William Shakespeares Hamlet1644 Words   |  7 Pagescreated an adaptation of the story to fit their cultural and national perspectives. In the western world, adaptations of Hamlet have been more concerned with psychological or military theories regarding the story more than the inclusion of their unique cultures. Hamlet has been called by some as a universal story because it appeals to such a large array of different peoples. Each adaptation of the play chooses to focus on different aspects of the play in order to draw audience attention to certain pointsRead MoreThe Cause For The Vietnam War1442 Words   |  6 Pagesanti-communist policies of Western culture had the greatest direct influence in causing the Vietnam War, but were not enough reason to send troops to the area. The United States and Western Europe had similar attitudes toward communist ideologies, with political leaders implementing policies that were intended to limit the spread of communism. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke of the division between communist and democratic capitalist states by calling it an Iron Curtain that had cut Europe inRead MoreThe Role Of Black Women And The 18th And 19th Century Art1659 Words   |  7 Pagesappears to be a church, and this is evident considering that there is a cross in the top right corner. The pulpit, in the bottom left corner, also confirms that the space is indeed a Christian space of worship. To the left of the figure is a dark blue curtain that confines the figure in the painting. The most basic building block of any artwork is line; Kaphar uses classical lines to direct viewers’ eyes around the artwork, a type of line that is analytical and identified by horizontal and vertical linesRead MorePostcards from Chinatown - Analysis1299 Words   |  6 Pagesof Singapore’s past and heritage, likening the past to no more than just a cinematic film, where it is just a hologram projected onto a screen. In â€Å"Postcards from Chinatown†, the poet calls our daily lives â€Å"our performance†, and our proclaimed culture as merely a â€Å"stage†. But what can we draw from the poet assimilating the past to a stage performance? Firstly, stage performances provide the audience with a sense of intimacy as well as reality. The performance is acted out live in front of