Student Responses

The Arguments that Yablonobskiy’s first satets that Nu Pogodi is a metaphor for the daily lifestyles, social structures, and beliefs of the Soviet Union. He made a significant connection by giving a varity of example of appearances of characters, episode plots, and different matters to the Soviet Union. For instance, he notes that the wolf’s steady losses to the bunny replicate the common Soviet man’s plight within the face of corrupt officers’ achievement. inside the show, the bunny frequently receives preferential treatment, illustrating the real–life corruption that constantlywent on in the Soviet Union. another example introduced up, changed into the soviet propaganda unfold for the duration of the show. Yablonobskiy argues that because both the wolf and bunny are frequently visible accomplishing various leisure activities, this spreads the message that the u.s.a. is a free land. Any person had the ability to explicit themselves and pursue their personal profession, just like the wolf and bunny. basic, the display runs down many soviet topics which would be relatable to a person of Yablonobskiy’s heritage. this iswhy he views Nu Pogodi as a profound cultural artifact to his existence.

I truly believe that Yablonobskiy makes a strong an accurtate argument. His arugument is both clear and pursuesive while proving his point. Furthurmore as an example, he does juxtapose the arrival of the wolf to someone of Josef Stalin’s. An iron fist ruler constantlychasing down on his competition, kind of like the wolf. this is a evaluation I couldn’t have fathomed and it’s thosefactors that add more benefit to his claim.

 

The Yablonovoskiy family originates from the Soviet Union. Leon’s family had brought him up on their family’s cultural values, disliking any progressive traits that other nations valued within the culture. Just some backstory, Leon had a grandfather who was relocated during the Holocaust, he was born a year before it. The grandfather’s survival wasn’t a walk in the park, he had lived poorly and went through many hardships during that time. Whenever Leon’s grandfather hears Leon complaining and whining about life, his grandfather reminds him and instills in his head how hard he had it. Moving swiftly along, Yablonovoskiy used a show which he loves known as “Nu Pogodi” to exemplify the solid connection between the government and the show. In the reading it was obvious that the show was something memorable to him. The show allowed the viewer to completely remove everything from their minds, like the struggles they have experienced. Overall, the show would bring people together, for that small duration the show was on the tv.

 

The significance that this shows plays in Yablonovoskiy’s life is extremely recognizable. Especially during those times where social media and the internet do not exist. Me and my family relish the times when we could all watch polish comedy specials on our tv every Sunday. His personal descriptions of the cartoon and the memories that surround it, clearly represents what the cartoon meant to him and his childhood. Also, the cartoon as Yablonovoskiy described it was very comforting to people with the same living conditions. The show was able to give them the feeling of normalcy for each episode.

1. Yablonovskiy and his family immigrated from Souther Ukraine because of the country’s state of living. Souther Ukraine was a heavily communist country that was losing its value everyday. The country’s culture was slowly disappearing and being forgotten. Apart from all the communism going on, there was also an extreme amount of discrimination going on against Jewish people. Yablonovskiy mentions how a show called, Nu Pogodi, was a very large part of his childhood and the childhood of many kids from his country. It was a show just like Tom and Jerry which is an American show. The show was created by the government as “propaganda” to spread communist ideologies in Ukraine. The show demonstrates how a citizen should behave in their country by showing a wolf disobeying the law somehow and him going to jail. It also show also depicts social events that involve art and culture to signify how children should be when they become adults. Many people used the show as a distraction from their very busy and hard lives knowing that most had no breaks. Most people worked Monday-Saturday having only Sunday as a “day off.” While children had to go to school from Monday-Saturday as well. It got very depressing for them, especially since they could not do anything about it.
2. Yablonovskiy’s argument was straight to the point, he described his childhood while describing the childhood/adulthood of his grandparents and his peers. It was very rough for his family to live a normal life in a country that had such a strict government. I would understand why his family chose to move to Brooklyn, New York an area so different from Southern Ukraine that is not as communist as Russia. It was not only Yablonovskiy’s family who moved from Russia to The United States, hundreds of other family chose to do so as well for very similar reasons. Once a country starts to not value culture/beliefs as much as it used to people start to lose motivation and want change in order to gain that love back.

Yablonovskiy wrote about the show Nu Pogodi which is essentially a Russian version of the American cartoon Tom and Jerry. He describes how shows like Nu Pogodi were purposefully played as propaganda for children in the USSR in order for them to follow the rules of their society and become successful citizens. The cartoon was also watched to, “escape the conformity of life, and experience a relief from feelings of depression caused by the strict, mundane routine they endured outside” (Page 140). This shows how the propaganda not only influenced the community of the Soviet Union but served as a distraction from the hardships of a communist group. He explains how the bunny and the wolf in the show partake in social events like singing and dancing to influence children to become “well-rounded citizens.” He also explains how the wolf gets arrested numerous times, showing the correct behavior citizens should follow. Overall, the communist norms of the USSR influenced this kind of propaganda to be displayed in order for the “perfect” community to be developed in the Soviet Union. 

Yablonovskiy’s argument is very persuasive as he uses specific examples like the show “Nu Pogodi” to demonstrate the propaganda that was present in the Soviet Union. He even points out specific scenes from the movie to show how it could influence the citizens of the USSR, specifically children. Some things I didn’t know about the Soviet Union was that there were cartoons specifically made to impact children so they can distinguish right from wrong. This is similar to the United States as certain cartoons are made to inform children about culture and norms in society such as Dora the Explorer. However, these Russian cartoons were described as almost manipulative by Yablonovskiy since their main purpose was to shape children for the perfect society.