Cappucinos with Stalin

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.