Czy socjalizm był fajny?

Abstract

The problem discussed in this article is “the praise of socialism”, typical of the contemporary culture, combined with the progressing banalization of the problem in the media. Beside the research trend (necessarily adjudicative) of investigating the past, there exists another, which, consciously or not, makes the cruel and complex reality of PRL seem to be “the good times”, a period characterized by adventure and absurd. The author of the article points to some sources of such a situation, identifying them e.g. in the process of folklorization that affects individual biographies of those who advanced socially in the socialist period. Another source of positive judgments of the system is the film production of the era, which is now interpreted differently from the directors’ intentions, and the specificity of the modern popular culture, which focuses on entertainment and sensation.