FIGURI DIN IMAGINARUL PROPAGANDEI COMUNISTE ÎN MERIDIANE SOVIETICE DE GEO BOGZA
Figures of the Communist Propaganda Imaginary in Geo Bogza' s Meridiane sovietice

Summary/Abstract: The article represents an analysis of the ideological imaginary of communism as it is envisioned by a Romanian text from the 1950s propaganda. The brutal establishment of this type of regime is followed by the spread of books which are meant to transform the people, in order to create a new man. Geo Bogza’s work, Meridianesovietice, combines the souvenirs of a voyage to USSR with the work of persuasively promoting Moscow’s political ideology, as the 1953’s Romania is a satellite-country of USSR (the internationalist phase). The political imaginary of communism is dominated by figures who acquire the power of contemporary myths. The Revolution myth, the Redeemer myth (providential ruler) and the scientific Progress myth are largely illustrated by Bogza’s book. Thus, the Revolution is presented as a historic necessity and as a climax of the mankind’s evolution. It is possible onlywith the help of the Redeemer (in this case Lenin), the hyperbolized ruler, who has the idea of leading the crowds to a superior spiritual level, one that announces a society of freedom and social justice. In order to better destroy the old world, the new regime promotes the scientific Progress, by giving science the role that was formerly played by Church and faith. To sum up, the communist propaganda uses stereotyped ideas and language to mutilate people’s consciousness and to replace the commonplaces of the Christian religion and its practiceswith new figures, which are meant to build a totalitarian society.

• Details
• Contents