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November 5, 2014 Rhett Jones

Animal Farm is a book that almost every American has to read in school, and it probably comes as no surprise that the reason for its ubiquity is propagandistic in nature. The US government was so taken with Orwell’s anti-Soviet communism allegory that they produced the famous animated film adaptation of the novel. Edward Howard Hunt was […]

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August 6, 2014 Marina Galperina

This bronze African Renaissance Monument towers above the slummy, unfinished house of the Mamelles district in Dakar, Senegal. It’s not exactly inspiring, as the Senegalese government is replete with corruption and is being investigated for embezzlement. Meanwhile, 47% of the country’s residents live below the poverty line. But wait, it looks… familiar… Slate’s Atlas Obscure blog explains: The colossal monument’s Soviet-influenced, […]

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July 17, 2014 Sophie Weiner

In these 1952 propaganda posters we see the now-defunct Detroit manufacturer Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation try to convince their employees that their unionizing was the beginnings of the country’s fall to communism. Their eerie disembodied hands (perhaps, the invisible hand of the market?) are juxtaposed with equally creepy, bad puns. A caption near a chessboard […]

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July 14, 2014 Marina Galperina

The Russian state media is a joke that keeps playing itself. Its latest tune is this report on a political “art exhibit” staged for a very shoddy state television news segment. As discovered by Radio Free Europe, the reason why the newscaster doesn’t name the gallery is because it isn’t a gallery. It’s a hallway. Here’s […]

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August 29, 2013 Marina Galperina

Fresh young cops! Big bad criminals! A mafia bro’s girl that needs masculine rescue! This is one of the most popular genres of movies being made in Russia right now — Special Forces cops, now with feelings! The newest — Breaking Loose from director Alexey Uchitel — will premiere at the Toronto International Film Fest next month. It […]

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