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Cappucinos with Stalin

Cappucinos with Stalin. Jantine Broek, MA. The aesthetics of nostalgia and the communist past as space in contemporary theme restaurants. Consuming the past. Consequences of the rise of international tourism :

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Cappucinos with Stalin

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  1. Cappucinoswith Stalin Jantine Broek, MA The aesthetics of nostalgia and the communist past as space in contemporary theme restaurants

  2. Consumingthe past • Consequences of therise of internationaltourism: • Dilemma: howtoprovide ‘authentic’ experiencesfortourists, make a profit, and handle politicalheritagerespectfullyall at once? • Exploitation of the communist past • Eating out becomes a leisure activity  “democratization of luxury” • The restaurant/bar/coffee shop as a “theatre for eating/drinking” • The communist-themed establishment unites commerce, theatrical elements and heritage • Many different functions/connotations: • Disrespectful to victims of communism • “Quirky”, ironic and nostalgic • Educational values: “a real slice of life” • Vehicles for ideological objectives

  3. Structure of the argument • Part one: general examination of the communist-themed establishment in itscultural context • Part two: case study • Berlin, Germany • Wroclaw, Poland • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam • Findings based on material collected and observations made during personal holiday visits + analysis of secondary data and theory from print and electronic sources

  4. the communist-themed establishment • Key features: • Customerscanexperienceanexotic, oftenidealisedworldfrom up close • Feelings of nostalgia are triggeredthrough food, artefacts, accessibility • Aim: to “obliterate history and turn it into private or collective mythology, to revisit time as space.” (Boym) • Kitsch: decreases “reverential distance” between customer and artefacts (Benjamin)

  5. the communist-themed establishment • Use of nostalgia: • Two types (Boym): • Restorative nostalgia: , “protects the absolute truth” of the past; aims for “a transhistorical  construction of the lost home”, takes itself very seriously. • Reflective nostalgia: “does not shy away from the contradictions of modernity”; can be ambivalent, humorous and ironic,; thrives in “the longing itself, and delay[ing] the homecoming.” • Establishments may have features of both • Link with kitsch: • Melancholic kitsch: • Focuses on the ending of the experience and the passing of time • Suited to reflective nostalgia: acknowledges the ending of the era that is portrayed • Accepts and plays with the idea of death and loss • Nostalgic kitsch: • Focuses on a continuous moment • Suited to restorative nostalgia: idealized view of the past

  6. the communist-themed establishment • Style of choice: socialist-realist art • Popular with communist regimes throughout history: “totalitarian kitsch” • Visually ‘cute’ and easily digestible: message is plainly laid out • Demands nothing of the spectator but to be consumed • Ideal for spreading ideological or ‘educational’ messages • Theatre for eating  uses symbols and slogans which promote a spirit of equality and accessibility to resources for all  “democratization of luxury” Klub PRL, 2016 Vietnam, 2019

  7. the communist-themed establishment • Accessibility • Physical accessibility: central location • Financial accessibility: cheap • “Cultural accessibility of the thematic motif” (Beardsworth & Bryman)  “theming intensity” (idem) • Theming intensity • “The levels of intellectual and economic capital which are committed to the theming process” • “The strength of the diner’s subjective experience of, and involvement in, [the theming] process.”

  8. Case study: Klub PRL, Wroclaw • Inspired by: Polish People’s Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, 1947 - 1989) • Central location: town square • Serves traditional Polish food and drink

  9. Case study: Klub PRL (Wroclaw) • Parodictheming • Reflectivenostalgia; embracesmodernity, ironic twist • Images and experiences drawn from a stereotyped version of the period and culture • Melancholic kitsch artefacts: clean break between the communist past and the present • Removed from their original contexts, symbolic/threatening value is lost • Lack of distinction between real and fake  no central narrative  discourages visitor from establishing the difference  simplified notions of the communist past  disrespectful to victims

  10. Case study: café sibylle (Berlin) • Based on the GDR (GermanDemocraticRepublic, 1949-1990) • “Ostalgie” – nostalgia for the east • Rooted in historical events: Karl-Marx-Allee / Stalinallee, socialist showcase of the GDR, central point of contact • Reopened in early 2000s andagain in 2018: "a symbol of the capital".

  11. Case study: café sibylle • Popularwithcustomerswholivedthroughthe GDR period • Original wall paintings • Permanent exhibition on the history of the area: restorative nostalgia • GDR artefacts: melancholic kitsch • Serves traditional German food • Reliquary: place of pilgrimage, enshrines link to the past without parodying it • Educational factor: learning from the past

  12. Case study: Cong Ca Phe (Ho Chi Minh City) • Based on theVietCong (1975 – present day) • Vintage, “military-style” interior but without anyovertreferencestothe VC • Merchandise: notebooks, crockery, wallets, clothing • Serves modern coffee specials as well as some ‘nostalgic drinks’  link between Vietnam’s wartime“childhood” and that of its people

  13. Case study: Cong Ca Phe (Ho Chi Minh City) • Betweenreflectiveandrestorativenostalgia • Representsidealised moment from 1975 – present day • Nostalgic kitsch • North Vietnamese leaders are notparodied • But: alsoironic, humorous explicitly fake decorations, merchandise • Themingrecognisable, but deliberately vague: lack of overtreferencestothe past

  14. The customer’sexperience • Whichelements of the communist past canbecommodified? • Must fit into an“appealing meta-narrative that is consonant with the act of eating” (Beardworth & Brynan) • Unite their anti-modern, kitsch theme with “the contradictions of modernity”: ever-proliferating demand for and choice of food • “Quasification” (Beardworth & Brynan): customer happily accepts modern interventions, such as paying the bill or buying merchandise • Food and fantasy as a package: one reinforces the appeal of the other • Café Sibylle, Cong Ca Phe and PRL all offer food and drinks inspired by the period  enlarges their appeal and triggers nostalgia

  15. The customer’sexperience • Themingintensity • “The strength of the diner’s subjective experience of, and involvement in, [the theming] process.” • The desire of the present-day masses to ‘get closer’ to things spatially and humanly” (Benjamin)  reliquary theming • “The masses”?  automatically associated with kitsch, low culture • More nuanced: • Increasingly blurred divide between high and low culture: the ‘cultural omnivore’ • Customer’s “virtual capital”: conceptual repertoire that allows them to pick up clues  being “in on the joke” rather than experiencing the space passively • Also necessary to create “simulated nostalgia”: understanding clues familiar to the older generation

  16. The customer’sexperience • Appeal fortheforeigntourist lies in: • Voyeuristic desire to view the exotic, dangerous past of the East from up close • “The generation . . .of exciting and out of the ordinary experiences which are nonetheless relatively safe”; seemingly “outside the modern context, but. . .in fact firmly and safely rooted in it” (Beardworth & Brynan) • Communist legacy is especially appealing to Westerners in search of novelty • Somevisitors admire kitsch for being kitsch; appreciation of ironic usage of artefacts from the communist past • Paves the way for critical treatment  working through trauma  parodic  e.g. Klub PRL

  17. The customer’sexperience • Opportunities for education also makes establishments political capital: vehicles for spreading/reinforcing of ideology • “Domestic populations are thereby reminded of who is in charge and theoretically reassured while the outside world is favourably impressed and opposition is averted.” (Henderson) • In the end, critical engagement on the part of the visitor is generally discouraged or obstructed

  18. Conclusion • Restorativenostalgia: a utopian atmosphere that often appeals to the customer’s childhood memories • Reflective nostalgia: allows customers to engage with the communist past more critically by emphasizing its ending • Food is a particularly strong trigger for nostalgia; establishments that serve food to suit the theme are more successful • Usually either “what they ate when there was nothing to eat” or traditional dishes • Educational benefits are doubtful: objectivity is replaced by subjective meta-narratives that suit the customer  theming becomes vague  facilitates creation of false memories • Visitors are encouraged to engage with the theme, but there is little room for real critical reflection  accessible and digestible to all • Potential to be used for ideological pursuits, as is the case in Vietnam

  19. Bibliography • Beardsworth, Alan & A. Bryman. “Late Modernity and the Dynamics of Quasification: The Case of the Themed Restaurant”. The Sociological Review 47:2. 1999. 228-257. Web. 19 June 2019. • Benjamin, Andrew & C. Rice. Walter Benjamin and the Architecture of Modernity. 2009. Google Books. 41-42. Web. 19 June 2019. • Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009.1055. Print. • Blair, Johnny. “Poland’s Top Ten PRL-Themed Bars.” Culture Trip. 13 Oct 2017. Web. 25 June 2019. • Boym, Svetlana. “Nostalgia.” Atlas of Transformation. 2001. Web. 16 June 2019. • Chapin-Kjellman, Monika. “The Politics of Kitsch.” Rethinking Marxism 22:1. 2010. 27-41. Web. 19 June 2019. • Cong Ca Phe. “CộngCàphê- ÔnlạithờithơấucùngthứcuốngcóGừng!” Youtube. 19 Dec. 2018. Web. 1 July 2019. • Gehrke, Christian. “Kulttreff des Ostens: Café Sibylle hat wieder geöffnet.” Berliner Zeitung. 18 Nov. 2018. Web. 24 June 2019. • Henderson, J.C. “Communism, Heritage and Tourism in East Asia”. International Journal of Heritage Studies 13:3. 2007. 240-254. Web. 1 July 2019. • Homepage. Klub PRL. N.d. Web. 23 June 2019. • Oquialaga, Celeste. The Artificial Kingdom: A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience. New York: Pantheon Books, 1998. 122. Print.

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