Abstract
Paulina Bren's book is a groundbreaking cultural analysis of everyday life under communism in Czechoslovakia after 1968. It is a compact, cohesive, and entertaining account of domestic TV soap operas' role as mediator between a firm but concerned regime and an obedient but wary population. Based on communist party and TV archives, communist newspapers, and secondary literature, Bren's study offers a new narrative of “normalized” (post-1968) Czechoslovakia after Prague Spring's “socialism with a human face” was irreversibly crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion. She challenges the political tale of dissent and repression that is commonplace in the historiography despite its evident discrepancy with everyday life in all its banality. She rejects the victimization complex prompted by the armed intervention and instead casts post-1968 history along new lines. Bren introduces ordinary people as fully legitimate social actors, redefines Czech politics as an interaction between regime elites and the people (TV viewers),...
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.