Communist chic

Communist chic are elements of popular culture such as fashion and commodities based on communist symbols and other things associated with Communism.[1][2] A typical example is T-shirts and other memorabilia with Alberto Korda's iconic photo of Che Guevara.[3]

Communist chic clothing

Background

Australian journalist Matthew Clayfield remarks that the "communist iconography" has declined from the status of communist propaganda to mere commodities within the capitalist system and that its popularity is telling of the level of teaching history today.[3]

Jeff Jacoby compares the outrage caused by Prince Harry wearing a swastika with indifference to public figures wearing communist symbols, offering several reasons: The Soviet Union was on the side of the Allies during World War II. Second, while Nazi ideology was overtly and ostensibly genocidal, many believe that communism is in reality a good system, only never properly implemented. Thirdly, the excesses of McCarthyism gave rise to an argument that harsh criticism of communism is but a continuation of the Red Scare. Finally, Jacoby thinks the most important factor is different visibility of the crimes of the two systems. Nazi crimes were widely documented and as a result Nazi's crimes have become imprinted in memories and records. At the same time, the level of exposure of Marxist–Leninist atrocities to the general public is lower.[1]

See also

References
  1. Jacoby, Jeff (April 30, 2006). "Communist chic". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  2. "Hoisting a few to the ghost of Stalin". Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. Clayfield, Matthew (April 29, 2016). "Some backgrounding for anyone who's ever worn a Ernesto "Che" Guevara t-shirt because it's "ironic"". SBS News. Retrieved December 10, 2018.


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