THE RISE AND FALL OF THE POLITICAL JOKE
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE POLITICAL JOKE

Summary/Abstract: Thirty years ago Hungary, like all of socialist Eastern and Central Europe and of course the Soviet republics, buzzed with excellent political jokes. When acquaintances met, the conversation would inevitably begin with “Have you heard the latest political anecdote?” The jokes were spontaneously invented by ordinary people, they grew out of social interaction and circulated without any assistance from the mass media or printed joke books. They were truly jokes of, for and by the people. Today there are many published collections of political jokes and older Hungarians still remember the jokes of the past but few new political jokes of quality are being invented. The political joke has fallen from its previous high peak and is an endangered species.

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