|
Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2020 9:22:39 GMT -5
(It's actually in Bulgaria, not in Russia). That shows a lot of creativity and is a nice slap to the hegemonic attitude of Russia toward its old satellites, but this looks like a monument dedicated to the soviet fighters who defeated the Nazis in WWII... I feel uncomfortable about sending a message by defacing a work of art honouring dead heroes. I wouldn't like people to spray paint the headstones of military cemeteries with anti-American propaganda either. Without denying the creativity and artistic skills displayed here, seeing the Joker, Wolverine, and Ronald McDonald among the newly honored "heroes" here is disquieting. Then again, maybe it's a satirical commentary on the state of our contemporary cultural heroes... As for tearing down statues, we have a long tradition of doing that here. Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, July 1776. The statue of George III is torn down after a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Patriots (as they would have dubbed themselves) decided that this image of their oppressor had no business being in a public space. I'm sure there were those who were angry that our heritage was being desecrated and our history being rewritten. Which explains why no one today ever remembers who won the Revolutionary War.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 2, 2020 9:40:56 GMT -5
I don't know who George III is. Without a statue to learn about him I'm at a complete loss.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jul 2, 2020 11:57:16 GMT -5
For all the complaints you see about being told to wear a mask, I'm sitting there thrilled it's finally socially acceptable to go out in public dressed like a ninja.
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 2, 2020 12:07:28 GMT -5
Interesting that this is still getting posted and discussed; that 'superhero' paint job was back in 2011. That particular monument has since gone through several cleanings and re-'vandalizations'. It is a monument to the Soviet struggle against the Nazis, but not a tomb. If you read the linked article, there's another monument in Bulgaria that is apparently a grave marker, which was also splashed with red paint at one point - that was definitely less cool. Personally, I always found this 'superhero' iteration rather amusing, esp. given Russia's paternalistic attitude toward Bulgaria and also because, as Prince Hal speculated, it's also a comment on contemporary popular culture. In fact, a wider shot shows the graffiti scrawled under it:
Which roughly translates to "In step with the times."
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2020 12:14:03 GMT -5
Who are the guys on the far right meant to be?^^
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2020 12:15:08 GMT -5
I don't know who George III is. Without a statue to learn about him I'm at a complete loss. It's why we need more statues of Hitler.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2020 12:22:17 GMT -5
On the subject of statues and renaming: here's a nice opinion piece from the NYT. It basically says that before tearing anything down or changing the name of a school, we should think about what it is supposed to commemorate. A Stonewall Jackson statue is not meant to celebrate anything that our society might owe to Jackson; the guy was a military leader on the wrong side of a rebellion that tried to defend the principle of slavery. A Thomas Jefferson High School, on the other hand, reflects the importance of the man is establishing the very basis of American society; it's not meant to celebrate the fact that he owned slaves himself. Ditto for Martin Luther King Day: it is so named because of the importance of the man as a champion of civil rights, not to celebrate his philandering. Or, as my wife might say, "use common sense".
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2020 12:23:54 GMT -5
Who are the guys on the far right meant to be?^^ Robin and Wonder Woman?
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 2, 2020 12:25:39 GMT -5
I don't know who George III is. Without a statue to learn about him I'm at a complete loss. It's why we need more statues of Hitler. Who is that? Apparently that part of history has been erased. How would I know without statues and roads named after him?
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 2, 2020 12:50:10 GMT -5
Who are the guys on the far right meant to be?^^ One of those 'guys', the one at the very end, is a woman; based on the colors I'd say they're probably supposed to be Robin and Wonder Woman, as Roquefort Raider suggested.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2020 12:51:12 GMT -5
Who are the guys on the far right meant to be?^^ Robin and Wonder Woman? That was my first thought, too.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2020 12:52:16 GMT -5
It's why we need more statues of Hitler. Who is that? Apparently that part of history has been erased. How would I know without statues and roads named after him? Damn shame that our heritage is being erased as we watch. At least we can still find Putin, DC on a map.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2020 13:45:49 GMT -5
Who is that? Apparently that part of history has been erased. How would I know without statues and roads named after him? Damn shame that our heritage is being erased as we watch. At least we can still find Putin, DC on a map. We got those here as well! It's the domino theory, all over again!
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jul 2, 2020 14:12:53 GMT -5
Who are the guys on the far right meant to be?^^ Robin and Wonder Woman ?
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2020 14:15:49 GMT -5
"You told me the curve had flattened!" "What I told you is true... from a certain point of view".
|
|