Hi there folks,
While trying to learn about communism, I’m having problems finding literature that provides and example life under Communism. What I do find is propaganda either against or for it, involving unrealistic and bombastic content that is clearly not rooted in reality.
I’m not looking for historical content because I’m just trying to figure out what a life that the group is striving for would be like.
Thanks for your time!
I know you said you aren’t interested in historical content, but I would like to recommend “The Human Face of Russia”, which was a documentary produced by the BBC in 1984. They travel throughout the Soviet Union and speak to people about their daily lives in the context of a communist society. It’s easily found on YouTube.
Thanks very much for that. I’ve loaded it up and will watch it. That’s exactly the type of thing I’m looking to find.
Glad to help! It’s honestly a little heartbreaking when watching it, knowing what happens just a few years later, but it’s still a great watch.
Another one I might suggest is “Minning Town”. It’s a Chinese TV Drama about their poverty alleviation efforts for the Hui people in Ningxia. It’s a legitimately great show, and covers a lot of aspects of communist society. It focuses on internal workings and ideals of the communist party, and a slice of life for the Hui minority. It’s also available on YouTube, although the subtitles can be a little sketchy.
It is a fictional story though, and probably not what OP was looking for. Still a good watch to get the general “vibe” of how things work in a socialist society though.
It is fictional, but based on real people and events. I would compare it something like Peaky Blinders, which I thought was a pretty decent representation of Victorian England and the gangs of the time. I thought Minning Town was a pretty good representation of what the CPC is all about, and an example of what a currently existing communist country can be like.
That was an incredible film. The final scene of the comedy show was really sad, in the context you mentioned. They seemingly had no idea what was going to happen. I don’t yet understand the fall but to watch such a content group of people unaware of the inevitable hardships about to be thrust upon them is heart wrenching.
It was a dark day. And it’s only gotten worse.