4 ms·
It seems to me that the photos are selected towards the more exotic to a Western photographer or viewer. You could also have shots of urban life barely distingu
by aasasd 8y ago
It seems to me that the photos are selected towards the more exotic to a Western photographer or viewer. You could also have shots of urban life barely distinguishable from that of 80s' NY―but that wouldn't be as interesting to viewers, would it?
It's hard and possibly erroneous to judge from this temporal distance, but the more I look through cultural artifacts (and what memories I have), the more I feel that the spirit of the time was similar in many aspects across the US, Europe and the USSR (and maybe SE Asia too). Probably because the economy became progressively more global, and because there was a steady trickle of Western culture into even the USSR proper, since the 60s.
- viraptor 8y ago> towards the more exotic to a Western photographer or viewer I'd go with "distinctly Polish" in many cases. The folklore clothing, wood art, ceramic heater/oven, trabant, polonez, priests, village houses, etc. are not just exotic. For me they're very much pictures that identify the set as 100% Poland. There are some exotic things in PL that would be less relatable. I think the photographer did an awesome job with the selection.
- aasasd 8y agoIt might've indeed been photographer's intent, though I have to wonder if it's true in the case of the photos of urban environment―which look quite jarring juxtaposed to traditional elements. It's notable how the USSR never really dumped traditional folk culture: folk tales were featured extensively in children's books, and folklore-based art was prominent. (This might've had something to do with how the government had to raise everyone's support and morale during wartime, afaik even dropping the intense opposition to religion.) And, from what I know, mainland and especially Central European countries tend to hold tighter to their traditional culture compared to both the US and Russia (the latter having wandered around in search of its identity all through the past three centuries).
- oblio 8y ago> For me they're very much pictures that identify the set as 100% Poland. I'm not Polish, but those scenes could very well qualify as being from my country (Romania). There's more similarities between countries in Eastern Europe than we'd like to admit :)
- Markoff 8y agohow is trabant distinctly polish? more like DDR or whole eastern block, but not sure what's polish specific about Trabant
- viraptor 8y agoI meant when taken together. Each on their own would likely be more common.
- yostrovs 8y agoYou're clueless and think you can judge this matter, while you ignore the fact that millions ran from Poland, East Germany, USSR,etc, risking torture and death, and ran only in one direction. And to you "the spirit of the time" was the same on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
- fiblye 8y agoHaving grown up near Amish country in the US, these pictures make Poland look like home. Fashion is different from the people I grew up around, but it certainly doesn't look like the "communist nightmare" that I was always warned that it was--it looks like it could've been right near me.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]