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Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) created a video about AdVenture Communist in Apps

Nov 22, 2017  
Video

AdVenture Communist

Greetings Comrades! Mandatory special sneak peek of most glorious Communism simulation exercises. Stay tuned for all information on upcoming release by most wonderful state!

  
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Andy K (10821 KP) created a video about Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) in Movies

Dec 24, 2018 (Updated Dec 24, 2018)  
Video

Communicating with the Mothership

  
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Andy K (10821 KP) created a video about Cool Hand Luke (1967) in Movies

Feb 17, 2018 (Updated Feb 17, 2018)  
Video

What we've got here is failure to communicate

  
Rasputin: The Biography
Rasputin: The Biography
Douglas Smith | 2016 | Biography
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Extreme narratives fascinated me. I loved reading about Rasputin, whom no bullet could kill—Communism mixed with mysticism was very much part of my DNA."

Source
  
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Pete Buttigieg recommended Palace Walk in Books (curated)

 
Palace Walk
Palace Walk
Naguib Mahfouz | 1994 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"I’ve recently returned to this very readable history of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Published soon after 2000, it now seems ahead of its time in pointing out how the seeds of oligarchy were sown through the unmanageable end of Communism and the arrival of capitalism without democracy."

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The Firemen's Ball (1967)
The Firemen's Ball (1967)
1967 | Comedy, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This was a new film for me and one I had long read about. The film is apparently an allegory about communism in Czechoslovakia. It is very funny and charming, particularly the beauty competition, which is at the heart of the story, and the fantastic unwillingness of the contestants. Milos Forman’s account of the making of the film was extremely relevant."

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The Death Of Stalin (2017)
The Death Of Stalin (2017)
2017 | Comedy
Steve buscemi (1 more)
Michael Palin
Not enough Jason Isaacs (0 more)
Just watched on Netflix rather good comedy rather dark political comedy about the communism and the death of Stalin with a cast of well known actors a who's who of British and American greats to watch the likes of Michael Palin and Steve buscemi sharing screen time just great. needed more Jason Isaacs still good film
  
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Erika (17788 KP) rated Clue (1985) in Movies

Jun 19, 2018  
Clue (1985)
Clue (1985)
1985 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
The cast (1 more)
The multiple endings
Communism is just a red-herring.
This movie holds up after multiple viewings. The cast is fantastic, and the movie was completely zany. I always watch the film with all 3 endings, and I can't pick a favorite. This film definitely borrows a lot from 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie, but it's definitely not a bad thing. Madeline Kahn was my favorite in this film, because all of her lines were perfectly delivered.
This is one movie that never needs to be remade.
  
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Perestroika in Books

Mar 10, 2024  
Perestroika
Perestroika
Joao Cerqueira | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Perestroika by João Cerqueira is the story of a fictional country’s turn away from Communism.

We start off in Slavia in 1978 before any of the massive changes that will eventually take place, and we meet the inhabitants of the country: from the corrupt politicians to the men incarcerated in concentration camps. We see how people live on next to nothing and lies from the government that tell them all of their woes are because of the wicked Capitalist West.

The tables are turned on these corrupt Communists with the advent of Perestroika, and instead of Communists governing the country, an all-out crime boss finds himself in charge. But make no mistake: this was engineered by Ivan Fiorov (the crime boss) and his lackeys.

This is a story that is as relevant today as it always has been - especially with what is going on in the Ukraine at the moment. Some of the story arcs in this are horrific, and not just those that take place in the concentration camps. There’s child abuse, sexual coercion, drug abuse, neo-Nazis, violence. The people in this country experience a lot of change in a short period of time. But at the same time, everything stays the same.

Well worth a read.
  
The Ethics of Ambiguity
The Ethics of Ambiguity
Simone de Beauvoir | 1947 | Essays, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Complex themes, slightly obvious
Simone De Beauvoir is one of the foremost feminist philiosophers there are. However, unlike in The Second Sex, The Ethics of Ambiguity explores the nature of freedom and basically deconstructs arguments made by pioneering philosophers Marx and Kant. She poses the question how can humans be both subject and object yet still be free? She says if humans are born free why are they also treated like objects to control? And there lies the ambiguity.

As free, we have the ability to take note of ourselves and choose what to do. As factic, we are constrained by physical limits, social barriers and the expectations and political power of others. She has quite a Hobbesian approach saying human beings are responsible for their own actions and therefore have to work at creating concrete ideals rather than following an abstract notion of freedom.

She also criticises approaches that require grasping for freedom at the expense of others - adding that inadvertently reduces gaining freedom down to another form of slavery ie. Communism, Capitalism and Democracies.

She concludes that the only way you can will yourself free is to will others free in the process.

While the sentiment is there, her writing style was very repetitive in this book, and at times a little tangential. Not her best work, but still very relevant for current times.