What ‘communist chic’ really means

Journalism , Politics , Vietnam Apr 29, 2016 No Comments

It is one of the most common sights on the streets of Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Da Lat and Nha Trang, tourists abound whose style might best be described as ‘communist chic’.

You will have seen examples of this style back home. Its most common incarnation is Alberto Korda’s famous photo of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, ‘Guerrillero Heroico’, which appears festooned across shirts and shoulder bags throughout the inner-cities with depressing regularity. In Vietnam, it is the face of Ho Chi Minh that appears on such garb and accessories, usually accompanied by an amusing tagline such as: “Oh, Ho you didn’t!”

Ho Chi Minh’s image and legacy were recently at the centre of a controversy in Brisbane as well, where Uncle Ho’s restaurant in New Farm was forced to change its name after protesters rallied outside last weekend, arguing against precisely this kind of historically ignorant appropriation.

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But, like many other logos, they are usually worn without care or concern for the often bloody histories behind them.

Read the full article at SBS News Online.

Matthew Clayfield

Matthew Clayfield is a journalist, critic and screenwriter.

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