Which element/portion of Yablonovskiy’s analysis stood out to you most and why? Provide both context from the text and your reason(s) for why this part of the author’s analysis stood out or seemed profound to you. Your response should be at least four sentences long.
9 thoughts on “Blog Post #11: “Nu Pogodi: Propaganda…” (Yablonovskiy, pp. 151-156)”
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“Nu Pododi” demonstrates a common theme in the lives of many Soviets: an escapist tendency to seek distraction from unpleasantries” was my favorite line and its connection between Soviets and Cartoons. This simple statement connected all of her work together from the propaganda in shows that persuaded the community but its importance in bringing a community together. It is very interesting to see the reaction from this one thing. I loved the author’s use of instances of the characters to bring her essay into perspective and make it relatable to others.
Leon Yablonovskiy wrote about a Russian cartoon called “Nu Pogodi” which is a show similar to Tom and Jerry except it was aired during the Soviet Union era. He described how the Soviet regime back then hosted the show to deliver to it’s audience messages through allegories. The part of Yablonovskiy’s analysis that stood out to me was the part where he wrote how he sees the cartoon as a propaganda that spreads the idea how life under the Soviet Union was great, which was depicted by the wolf and the bunny in the cartoon as attending recreational activities and living a wholesome life. However, he refutes this image by telling us about the life of his grandpa who lived in Soviet Union: life was brutal, he had very little, lived poorly and had no food until his grandpa started working on agricultural work himself.
A portion of Yablonovskiy’s analysis that stood out to me was when he talked of how the show portrayed both wolf and bunny together romantically at certain points in the show, as well as instances of crossdressing. This was to represent homosexuality. This was surprising for me, considering that has always been seen as something bad in the region. Activists and those who stand for it are oppressed and face unfair treatment. Therefore, when he mentioned that part of the cartoon, I was surprised. He went on to say that it was and continues to be looked down upon and those that were openly gay were policed with great censorship. This stood out to me because it goes on to show that the propaganda that the show is trying to convey to “the children of the USSR” is inaccurate and misrepresenting.
As a gay man, the part about the subterfuge of homosexuality in the show stood out to me most. “The show portrayed both wolf and bunny together romantically at certain points in the show, as well as instance of cross dressing” (155). It was a shock that it be included at all seeing as I’ve heard of people killed for their sexual orientation in Russia. I also wondered if Yablonovskiy’s claim that only 2/3 of the nation today are averse towards homosexuality may be under reporting the hate there for gays. Without seeing the show it’s hard to say, but I imagine the parts alluding to male-on-male romance were shed in a negative light. The author doesn’t expand on how the cross dressing is portrayed and in what light.
Leon Yablonovski’s “Nu Pogodi” in some elements reminds me of my mother who grew up in Moscow and immigrated to Sheepshead Bay. My mom is someone who grew up watching Nu Pogodi, and shares similar opinions on what these cartoons resemble. Although she never had any negative experiences with strict Soviet professors at school, one of the main reasons her and her parents wanted to leave Russia when my mother was 13 was because of the communist government. I agree with Yablonovskiy in the way in which these cartoons portray escapist ideologies; in Russia, no one owned their apartments. Hence, the government could take it away whenever they wanted. I find it interesting that no matter what political or economic turmoil a society could be dealing with, all it takes is a cartoon to bring everyone closer together.
The part that stood out to me the most was when Yablonovskiy compared the Russian cartoon, Nu Pogodi, to another cartoon called Tom and Jerry because I was very familiar with this cartoon. This Russian cartoon was meant to teach young children about the morals and ideology of the Soviet Union. However, this cartoon was controversial because it can be seen as propaganda since the cartoon was “intended to undermine interest in the American system, capitalism, and the free markets,… messages.” Another interesting interpretation of this cartoon is that the rabbit and wolf represent the working class and the oppressive Soviet. It can be seen as showing the working class as inferior, evil and losing to the Soviet Union.
The part that stood out to me is how the narrator kept relating her life and the people around her to “Nu Pogodi”. This stood out to me because, every time the narrator would speak about the struggles she goes through as well as her grandpa, she would mention how the cartoon “Nu Pogodi” and how it was a common theme in soviets lives. As well as, it was an escape for multiple people to not think of the totalitarianism government. They would just turn on “Nu pogodi” and release their stress while watching.
Honestly, nothing in the excerpt stood out to me. Everything that Yablonovskiy compared the Nu Pogodi to what happened in the Soviet Union period is similar to what is happening now, except in China. Yablonovskiy states “My family, along with many others, left due to religious persecution against jews.” Muslim families are trying to flee from China because of the torture and threat the government gives. In China, soldiers are putting muslims in concentration camps because of their religion and are trying to hide it from the public. If I wasn’t aware of what is happening in China today, Yablonovskiy’s comparison of the cartoon show based on propoganda to the Soviet Union era would stand out to me but unfortunately it doesn’t.
No particular portion of the reading stood out to me. What caught my attention is that the author seems to have many theories about the meaning behind Nu Pogodi, but it seemed that the author jumped around a lot and could have followed a clearer path while analyzing the cartoon and had better transitions. It was very odd to read about how the show was government propaganda in one paragraph but then read about how the wolf represents evil Stalin in the next. I also noticed that they mention the similarities to Tom and Jerry multiple times but that the always introduce the show as though they hadn’t mentioned it before in the text. I also was left wondering about the overall theme of the writing. They end by discussing how the cartoon connected their family, but that didn’t seem like an overall theme throughout the text.