Mao-Maoed
Found something in my mailbox the other day--a menu for Mao's Kitchen, a restaurant just opening nearby. It's "Chinese Country Cooking With Red Memories." The theme continues throughout the menu:
Mao loved to say "Wei renmin fuwul!"--so here we say the same, "Serve the people!"
They offer "Lunch Combination for the Masses." Items include "Gang of Four Fried Shrimp," "Model Citizen Noodle Soup," "Countryside Commune Eggs," and "Long March Camp Fry."
I understand people who call fascism worse than communism, but I don't understand people who think communism is cute. Mao himself was one of the greatest monsters in history, probably responsible for more deaths than any other leader of the 20th century
Could anyone get away with naming a restaurant for Hitler?
posted by LAGuy @ 12:15 AM
10 Comments:
I can't think of any workable definition of fascism that doesn't describe communism too. To me, communism is a form of fascism, just as Nazism is. Only the left think they are antithetical, surely?
"It's a cookbook! It's a cookbook!"
I can't think of any workable definition of fascism that doesn't include most belief systems, including religions (Belief=excuse not to think).
I'm guessing since Mao maybe killed non-Europeans, its cutely ironic for the majority of AMericans
Well, it's a political programme isn't it - not just an ideology. Fascism, I mean. Belief systems aren't fascist unless they are co-opted by governments, as in Islamic states.
But among political ideologies, Communism is an example of a fascist approach to politics, that's what I meant.
Not only that, but the word verification code I'm now about to type in is 'spaharch'.
Hey, it's Matthew Coniam of the great Marx Brothers Council Of Britain blog! An honor to have you here.
I also notee, looking at your blog, that you took my suggestion about AK meaning alter kocker in The Cocoanuts and put it into your post. (Though I also note, with some embarrassment, that I mistyped "Gershwin." You may want to fix that.)
Did you? I didn't notice. I shall go check, just as soon as I've typed 'fauggl' into the word verification box.
Nazis may never have been "cute", but there was a time when they were silly and funny. The incompetent boobs in German army and SS uniforms that populated Hogan's Heroes (1965-71) certainly were not meant to frighten the viewers.
During the war, this kind of ridicule was more common -- The Great Dictator (1940), To Be Or Not To Be (1942), and Jack Kirby's ridiculous comic book Hitlers. But the fact that it lasted until 1971 is pretty surprising, given that the Holocaust was well-known by then (although usually not by the name "Holocaust" until the late 1970s). When Mel Brooks remade To Be Or Not To Be in 1983 he added references to Hitler's genocide and occasional serious bits, but it was still mostly done for laughs.
Enemies are often mocked in popular art. There have been plenty of bumbling Nazis, but also some rather silly communists, like Boris and Natasha, and idiot terrorists, too. It's a fine line between affectionate satire and otherwise. But I guarantee you opening a restaurant with a terrorist theme and cleverly named entrees would not go down too well.
Hollywood held off on attacking the Nazis and fascism in general for a fair amount of time as Hollywood didn't want to lose overseas markets. Chaplin's attack was one of the earliest, and he later said if he knew what was actually going on, he never could have made the film.
What would have stopped him from making the film? His own horror? He wouldn't have been able to write the closing crap?
I think American familiarity with the attrocities of Hitler's regime are much greater than their knowledge of Mao's terrible deeds, even though those deeds in terms of people killed and imprisoned are much greater. Mao's actions took place after WWII, and the Western world was not nearly as concerned then as it was with the activities of the USSR which was a much more direct threat. If anything, China was viewed through much of the 50s-80s as a counter to Soviet power and expansion.
What do you all make of Jeff Dunham's ventriloquist act - Achmed the Dead Terrorist? Check it ut on You Tube if you haven't seen it. Is this classic comic poking at the enemy of the day (like Popeye and Bugs Bunny cartoons of the early 40s)? Or is this more offensive in some way? A friend told me that he believes Jeff Dunham has been blacklisted in some comedy circles for his portrayls.
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