During the 1930s, the big three dictatorships left no stone unturned in looking for ways to motivate the masses. They used the mass media and even art to push their agendas. Official artists of the regime created paintings, poetry, novels, and other works to promote the goals of the beloved leader.
Stalin's Soviet Union even gave this movement a style, "socialist realism." My Soviet history professor at Marshall, Professor David Woodward, referred jokingly to "boy meets tractor" stories. Boy meets tractor, boy falls in love with tractor, boy and tractor meet officially set grain quota, boy and tractor live happily ever after.
This replaced the former revolutionary style of avant garde art. What the avant garde lacked in coherence, it did make up for in individualism. Stalin was not interested in individualism, or art really. He wanted art, like everything else, to serve the state. And Stalin, like Louis XIV, believed in "L'etat c'est moi" or "I am the state."
Fast forward to last week when the National Endowment for the Arts was caught organizing the 21st century of socialist realism. The White House "Office of Public Engagement" (run by a woman named "Buffy") and others organized a conference call with other groups to outline how the National Endowment for the Arts can promote the Obama agenda. Sure they can pick from four master topics, but please help out. We know you are eager to. That is a paraphrase of what they actually said.
The hat tip goes to Big Hollywood.com Here is the link to the story.
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