Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Politics 10 Uncomfortable Versions of the Internationale (Happy May Day!)
Posted by Jonny Diamond on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 12:29 PM
I am not on strike. In protest of my own non-striking, here's a picture of the 1926 general strike in Britain, for which my grandfather marched down from Glasgow (7th from the left, 6 back).
Happy May Day. We'll have oodles of Occupy coverage coming down the pike, until then, please enjoy these many versions of The Internationale.
1. From Reds : Warren Beatty is very handsome and charismatic. We would like to occupy young Warren Beatty, if you know what I mean... (Talking to him about that awesome Bulworth movie.)
2. Billy Bragg: I love me some Billy Bragg, but this version sure does highlight how poor a singer he is. Also, I will go on strike if I ever see that font again (what is that, Transformers Millenium?)
3. In Russian. IN RUSSIAN. This is the Internationale in Russian. One of the little-known causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union was bad flag graphics.
4. With a thick, folky accent. This is really earnest! But it's more authentic when you can hear the accent! My favorite part is around 1:15 when it appears that a bunch of people are trying to loot a toilet.
5. In Chinese. From a movie in which there's clearly not enough sky-fighting atop bamboo groves.
6. Obama is the Messiah. And also an all-powerful communist. Yet somehow we're all paying the lowest tax rates in generations. Oh, I get it, THAT'S BYRON ALLEN.
7. Hometown commies! Did the Communist Party USA seriously try to "rebrand" the hammer and sickle? Yes, they did. Also, Paul Robeson! (I think?)
8. In Korean. You know what looks like a really beautiful place to live? On top of a mountain floating in a glowing sky-bubble. In North Korea.
9. The techno version, obviously. I could write a lot on this one, semiotics-wise, but I'll just draw your attention the lady in the LA Dodgers cap, 15 seconds in—just you try to avoid eye contact with her. Also, concentration camps!
10. Tiny children, deep inside the North Korean toddler gulag. There's something so very, very tense about this one. I really keep expecting one of the children to explode.
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