UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Socialist Popular Culture and Youth Culture during the Long 1960s in Hungary Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2215w0nm Author Greene, Beth Marie Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Socialist Popular Culture and Youth Culture during the Long 1960s in Hungary A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy In History by Beth Marie Greene 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Socialist Popular Culture and Youth Culture during the Long 1960s in Hungary by Beth Marie Greene Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Ivan T. Berend, Chair In this dissertation, the author examines the spread of popular culture in Hungary during the long 1960s, with particular emphasis on how the Hungarian government’s policy on popular culture affected Hungarian youth culture. Drawing on literature and theory from consumption, popular culture, and youth culture, the author uses a variety of primary source documents to demonstrate that throughout the 1960s, the Hungarian state socialist government promoted cultural consumption in a way that spoke to popular demand while couching this consumption within the rhetoric of modern socialism. Cultural products were depoliticized and increasingly subsumed into the market reforms that were being implemented during this period, meaning that culture, too, had to answer in some way to consumer demand. As consumption and mass media became associated with modernity, the government argued that products of popular culture were in keeping with their efforts to build socialism not because of their content, but because these products were consumed in a socialist manner. The introduction of Hungarian socialist popular ii culture also served as a way to provide an alternative to Western variants, which were becoming increasingly available in the era of peaceful coexistence. All of these elements can be seen in the discussion of Hungarian youth culture, where many aspects of youth culture were allowed, and even promoted, and the government argued that the consumption of youth culture was acceptable as long as it was symbolic of young people’s search for something new. This argument can be clearly seen in Hungarian beat music, which was representative of the complex relationship between the state, the musicians, and the youth audience. This relationship that led to the creation of a distinct, Hungarian version of popular music that met youth demand and at the same time served the interests of the socialist government. The contents of this dissertation provide a unique perspective on current literature on state socialist consumption and culture, arguing that in the long 1960s in Hungary, the government achieved a measure of success in its attempt to create a distinct type of socialist popular culture. iii The dissertation of Beth Marie Greene is approved. Robert Brenner Gyula Gazdag Arch Getty Ivan T. Berend, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2013 iv For my family, William and Nanci Greene and Amy Hemkendreis v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures vii List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations viii Acknowledgements ix Vita xiii Introduction 1 Chapter One: Gentlemen and Comrades 27 Chapter Two: Buying and Selling 69 Chapter Three: Socialist Popular Culture 125 Chapter Four: Youth Culture 169 Chapter Five: Beat 216 Epilogue 265 Bibliography 276 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1: Look dear! There are two forints left over. 95 Figure 2-2: Behold! I have discovered America! 99 Figure 2-3: Battle for the Customer 119 Figure 2-4: Every child can have his own car! 123 Figure 4-1: How young people are viewed by… 170 Figure 4-2: Janice Joplin on the cover of Ifjúsági Magazin 187 Figure 4-3: Do you think armchairs are a petty bourgeois invention? 198 Figure 4-4: NOW what are you rebelling against? 198 Figure 4-5: The phone isn’t red. 202 Figure 4-6: Remember when they sneered at our fringe? 210 LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1: Purchase Loans in Hungary 77 Table 2-2: Hungarian Ownership of Household Appliances 78 Table 3-1: Tourism Rates in Hungary 154 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union DISZ Youth Workers League MDP Hungarian Workers’ Party vii MRT Hungarian Radio and Television MSZMP Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party KISZ Communist Youth League RFE Radio Free Europe UN United Nations viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is a lonely process that nonetheless requires the help of numerous mentors, colleagues, friends, and family members. While these acknowledgements cannot adequately express my gratitude, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have assisted me in this endeavor. My advisor, Ivan Berend, has been an important figure in my life ever since I took his East European History class as an undergraduate student. Since then, he has become a mentor and a friend, taking my vague love of Hungarian history and turning it into a viable dissertation topic, while at the same time giving me the freedom to pursue my own passions. Ivan’s knowledge of economic history has helped me to navigate the complex terrain of culture and consumption, his personal experiences have offered an important first-hand account of the events I write about, and his responsiveness, helpfulness, and positivity have provided a strong foundation for my success. I cannot thank him enough for his support. I would also like to thank my committee: Robert Brenner, Gyula Gazdag, and Arch Getty, whose questions and comments during my oral defense remained with me throughout this entire process, and have served to enrich my dissertation. Professor Brenner’s outside perspective and keen understanding of history helped me to see my dissertation topic outside of the context of Eastern Europe, and led me to examine a broader body of literature that became integral to my argument. Professor Gazdag’s contributions enabled me to see the 1960s in Hungary from the perspective of a Hungarian artist, and his perception and experience of the Hungarian government during that period were extremely important in both my research and writing. Professor Getty’s knowledge of Soviet history helped me to see the role of Hungary within the Soviet Bloc, and helped me to place my dissertation within the larger discourse on state socialism. I am also indebted to the UCLA History department, which continued to provide ix funding and support for my dissertation. This support has been integral in assuring that I completed my project in a timely manner. My dissertation has also put me in connection with a number of Hungarian scholars and cultural figures, whose perspectives were integral in shaping my topic. I would particularly like to thank Attila Pók, who was my mentor during the time I spent doing research in Hungary. Professor Pók helped me to navigate the world of Hungarian archives and put me in touch with scholars who have helped me immeasurably in the course of writing my dissertation. My monthly meetings with Professor Pók were critical to ensuring that I remained on top of my research in Budapest, and the guidance he provided during my tenure in Hungary was invaluable. I would also like to thank the scholars that I met while in Hungary, who were always willing to discuss my topic and provide advice on sources and further avenues of research. I would particularly like to thank Péter Agárdi, Sándor Horváth, Melinda Kalmár, and Tibor Valuch, who provided me the tools to write a better, more analytical dissertation. I also benefited from interviews with Hungarian cultural figures: János Bródy, György Komjáthy, Zsuzsa Koncz, who took time out of their busy schedules to speak at length with an American PhD student (and fan). The Department of Education’s Fulbright-Hays grant enabled me to conduct my research in Budapest, for which I am extremely grateful. Finally, my dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of my teacher and friend, Erzsébet Csereklye, who helped make the notoriously difficult Hungarian language comprehensible to a non-native speaker. Bözse helped me when I had no hot water in my apartment, she welcomed me to her home in Tahi, and she continues to help when I am stumped with a difficult Hungarian translation. She remains one of my dearest friends. x I would also like to thank the University of California, Washington, DC, which has been my surrogate campus for the past three years. I am particularly grateful to Jan Reiff, whose help at UCLA and in Washington, DC was extremely important to me. Professor Reiff helped to ground my dissertation in cultural theory, and meeting with her helped to make me feel secure in my academic career and in my future goals. She was always available to write a letter of recommendation, and to meet with me to discuss my topic. It was Jan who recommended to me that I apply for the TA position in Washington, DC, for which I will always be grateful. Jim Desveaux and Joel Aberbach have my profound appreciation for agreeing to hire a Hungarian historian to teach a research seminar to mostly political science students. I am also indebted to Melanie DuPuis, whose faith in my Drupal abilities has given me a much-needed supplement to my income. Throughout the writing process, I was lucky to have Amy Bridges read many parts of my dissertation, and her comments, advice, and breakfasts were extremely important to completing this dissertation. My work has immeasurably improved from presenting chapters at UCDC Research Lunches, and the graduate students who work at UCDC have helped to ground me throughout this process.