3. “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s A good illustration of how the above-listed features of totalitarian texts were manifested in the Czech media during the era of Communist rule may be the way in which periodicals and TV depicted medium- or long-haired men in the 1960s and 1970s. Long hair on men – a seemingly private and socially harmless detail of every individual’s personal image – acquired political and criminal connotations within the paranoid environment of the totalitarian state with the significant contribution of language. The basis of the targeted media pressure against long-haired men was the typically totalitarian polarisation of the world: all its elements, including individual people, were clearly classified either as positive, good ones (it is “us” and our world), or negative and bad ones (it is “them” and their world). There was in fact nothing in between these two opposites – and it was therefore impossible for anyone to be different from the majority of people, i.e. from the common male population, from “us”, not to be automatically considered a bad one based on his “otherness”. Additionally, long hair on men was correctly understood as a manifestation of rebellion and violation of a tradition – and the paranoia of the totalitarian regime led to the fear that such an element of defiance could gradually spread even into other areas of behaviour and particularly the thinking of the respective people who might subsequently become generally non-conformist. There is a certain paradox: Communism emphasised non-conformity – at least verbally and in a strictly defined historical context, especially using terms such as avant-garde (noun and adjective), for instance in contemporary binding dogmatic theorems regarding the fact that the socialist countries were unified, aside from the same political system and the dominance of the working class as the “determinative power”, also by the leading part played by its avant-garde – the Communist Party (Rudé právo [The Red Justice],19 the supplement Stranické vzdělávání [Party Education], November 1972, p. 16b). It is certainly not a coincidence that for instance in the frequency list created based on opinion-journalism texts from 1977, both expressions, avant-garde as a noun and an adjective, are ranked considerably 19 Hereinafter: RP. KOPIA AUTORSKA Historical and Cultural Context 31 higher compared to texts thirty years earlier.20 In addition, both expressions ranked among the inventory of words used by the authors of texts intended for the public to present themselves as conforming, conscientious, and knowledgeable; see other expressions such as effective, movement, initiative, unity, campaign, group, indissoluble, organisation, plenum, attitude, presidency, accomplish, social, leading role, conscientious, efficiency, central, scientific, interested, etc. The non-conformity, or “avant-garde nature” of people with an appearance different from the majority of the population was also undesirable with regard to the fact that, as viewed by representatives of totalitarian power, history had already been completed – with the “victory of the working class” in February 1948. Social development in Czechoslovakia was perceived as “finished”, so any other correction to contemporary norms, including cultural ones, meant a step backwards and a manifestation of decadence. Although the Communist Party considered itself avant-garde, even the thinking of its representatives was – at least with regard to their basic life values, and especially if the “otherness” of something or someone was under consideration – very narrow-minded, or even petite-bourgeoisie. Among the incumbents, a very frequent type of personality was the one perfectly represented by President A. Novotný, the type of suchar [literally “a biscuit”] (a Russianism, which was used by the Communists themselves in 1950s to refer to “a person who is unimaginative, dull, lacking a sense of humour and fun”). Novotný characterised himself in the following way: I was too serious even for the game of mariasch; at eighteen I was already the head of proletarian education in the Prague region. And at twenty-four, I was the Secretary for the Eastern Prague region. This required responsibility, avoiding trouble, and not letting anyone near. That was the only way to take politics seriously and avoid trouble resulting from friendly consideration for others (Černý 2008, p. 229). It is a well-known fact about President Novotný that he was even personally involved in dealings with various cultural vices (this was also a favourite term of Communist opinion journalism), and the impact of his authority is obvious in the first stage of sanctions against long-haired men. 3.1. Historical and Cultural Context The totalitarian regime regularly tested its ability to regulate life within the society by organising campaigns against the enemy – in practice almost anyone who was 20 The corpus TOTALITA (Čermák et al. 2010), texts from 1977: avantgarda [avant-garde] (n) – 3,485th place, avantgardní [avant-garde] (adj) – 5,700th place; the corpus SYN2009PUB: avantgarda [avant-garde] (n) – 7,938th place, avantgardní [avant-garde] (adj) – 8,108th place. Notwithstanding the different size of both compared corpora, which were the basis for the frequency lists, the difference is significant. KOPIA AUTORSKA 32 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s defined as such. In this way, the incumbents proved to themselves as well to the society they governed that they were on guard, as illustrated by common opinion journalism statements such as there is a need to be constantly on guard against the activity of those to whom our success is a thorn in their side, although they have a smile on their faces and many lofty words in their mouths (RP, 20th January 1977; in reaction to the presentation of Charta 77 [Charter 77]). The maintenance of the status quo within the totalitarian regime was in fact conditioned by the ongoing emphasis on the existence and activity of the enemy. An ideal enemy was a “visible” one; one that may be defined particularly e.g. based on an easily visible external sign. The predecessor of the campaign against long-haired men21 was the campaign against páskové [hooligans], defined by the Slovník spisovného jazyka českého [Dictionary of Standard Czech] (with a note that the expression is pejorative) as “youngsters with extravagant clothes and behaviour”. Páskové (or potápky, also grebes) wearing a haircut called havel22 (longer hair above the shaved neck, sometimes made curly) were persecuted already at the time of the Nazi occupation in 1939–1945, which among other things provided precise models for the later campaigns oriented against various enemies of the Communist regime. Repetitive campaigns against páskové, including their overall criminalisation, were also common in the 1950s and 1960s, as is apparent for instance from the description of the culprits in a post office robbery in Prague – Hloubětín: Having grown up on pulp fiction and cowboy “romanticism” in summer cottages in Posázaví, wearing gaudy shirts and sombreros, in the town they changed the cowboy attire for the extravagant clothes of potápky and páskové looking like they were taken straight out of the American movies this type of people miss so much (RP, 1953, issue 25, p. 2c). Cf. also the somewhat milder expression of 1960s opinion journalism where the core of the denouncement lies in the distance of páskové from the majority society and their different interests: The so-called páskové have received a specific label in various world languages, used in less serious cases to refer to youth with unusual clothes, ostentatiously different interests and flamboyant behaviour who demonstrate their distance from common society (RP, 1964, issue 259, p. 3c). The first example provided above shows the clear close relationship between the characteristics of a pásek as an undesirable non-conforming element, and a tramp. A tramp, defined by Příruční slovník jazyka českého [The Manual Dictionary of 21 The history of persecution of medium-length and long hair in men from the cultural-historical and anthropological perspective is summarised in the monograph of F. Pospíšil and P. Blažek (2010). Authentic materials including accounts, documents, photographs, and contemporary cartoon jokes related to vlasatci are presented by Laube et al. (2010). 22 The name havel probably refers to K. Havlíček Borovský, who wore a similar haircut. KOPIA AUTORSKA Historical and Cultural Context 33 Czech] in its volume from the year 1954 as one who behaves too freely and extravagantly when spending time outdoors, and draws attention to his appearance, was one of the prototypes of the vlasatec [mophead], criticised in the 1960s and 1970s. See also the example from Měsíc [The Moon] by J. Mahen from the time after the First World War, when the tramping movement spread significantly in Czechoslovakia, and was “officially” repressed within the contemporary acceptable boundaries: He was quite stubbly, quite a tramp to be thrown stones at (Mahen 1920). A certain “prequel” to the significant expansion of long hair in men in the 1960s was the trend of a haircut called eman (hair in a forelock on the top of the head and combed back on both sides)23; this trend was already apparent by the mid-1950s, and was repressed based on incentive from the top ranks in a campaign of 1957: Boys themselves (i.e. attendees of the apprenticeship school under ČKD Sokolovo, an important factory) helped us repress the extravagance of páskové: on the noticeboard they hung caricatures of those classmates with a tendency to wear those trubky [tubes] (i.e. trousers with tight pantlegs) and have their hair decorated with an eman (Tvorba [Creation], 22, 1957, issue 51, p. 18b). The increasing tendency to wear extravagant clothes, which is apparent from the mid-1950s (certainly also in relation to the spread of rock’n’roll to the Czechoslovak music environment),24 was the expression of a value crisis that developed among youth who were already lacking the “revolutionary enthusiasm” of their parents and grandparents. They did not remember the class struggle of the 1920s and 1930s, nor the Nazi occupation, and they were frequently bored in the middle of a permanent crisis which the Communist regime was failing to cover any longer. A typical feature of the totalitarian state environment, whose representatives were constantly seeking an enemy, is the “politicisation ability” of even the most common human activities including natural conflicts between generations. Over the course of its hegemony in the Czech media environment (especially in the 1960s and 1970s), the main periodical of that time, Rudé právo, continued to publish articles addressing specifically the generation conflicts on a political plane; cf. e.g. the following: A great part of ordinary youth identifies with a certain label of non-conformity in order to differentiate themselves from the generation of their fathers; their aim is to humiliate this generation and prove them to be old-fashioned at all costs (RP, 1964, issue 259, p. 3e); 23 The name eman is apparently derived from the familiar form of the first name of a popular Prague hairdresser Emanuel Kodym. 24 See e.g. the connection of the culture of Prague páskové (potápky, bedly) of the Protectorate period to swing music, which was also rejected by the governing pro-Nazi regime as an import from the decadent West. A direct parallel may be drawn between vlasatci of the 1960s and 1970s and the rock music of the Western provenance. There was also a link to the culture of the underground, which began to develop in this country thanks to M. Knížák and his group Aktual, as well as others, already in the 1960s (for the beginnings of the Czech underground, also with references to the long hair of its representatives, see Kudrna, Stárek 2017). KOPIA AUTORSKA 34 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s (a citation of an opinion “from the public”) the young generation are difficult to get along with these days – they are cheeky, dear me, loutish, defiant, they think only about jeans, guitars and the rock music racket. School is a waste of time for them, they only grow wild there (RP, 1965, issue 8, p. 3e). It is not a coincidence that, particularly in the above-mentioned year of the “battle against the eman haircut”, i.e. the year 1957, the amended version of section 188a of the Act No. 86/1950 Coll. on parasitism came into force, punishing persons avoiding “honest work” or those allowing someone to “subsidise” them or earn their living in a generally “improper way”. This act, repealed as late as mid1990, was significant with a great interpretation and implementation of freedom, and typically served for simple and willful persecution of people whose cultural interests were different from the majority, and where it was impossible to “criminalise” them in another way. As documented for instance by M. Hlavsa, the inspiration for the gradual lengthening of male haircuts was the very popular movies revolving around American Indians, especially the trilogy about Winnetou (Winnetou released in 1963, Winnetou II released in 1964, and Winnetou III released in 1965), directed by H. Reinl in a co-production of West Germany, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The Communist regime also campaigned against “junk” literature25 and films about Indians whose poetics naturally covered even the poetics of tramping – in this case the campaign was rather unsystematic and inefficient. The campaign against another factor inspiring the 1960s trend of long-haired (as well as bearded) men, the Cuban revolutionists, especially against Che Guevara (see the account of M. Chadima), was by definition precluded. The final breakthrough regarding the tendency of fashion-based long haircuts was the Prague Majáles [The May Festival] of 1965, where the American poet and one of the leaders of the beatnik generation, the long-haired A. Ginsberg, was proclaimed King of the Majáles. He was immediately accused of corrupting Czechoslovak youth, arrested, and deported to the airport. Although the Majáles was officially approved, its unexpected consequences (riots and political provocations of an unprecedented extent) resulted in the organisation of a national conference of university students which was aimed at deciding what lessons could be learned from the situation. In addition, the events were discussed at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on 29th September 1965. Following this experience, the regime initiated systematic repressions against vlasatci as a threat to society. The following year, an extensive police investigation of “mopheadedness” in the Czech male population (and the related parasitism and 25 See the note above on having grown up on pulp fiction in relation to a report on the robbery of a post office in Prague – Hloubětín. KOPIA AUTORSKA Historical and Cultural Context 35 criminality) was conducted, and a directive was introduced stating that by merely being present in a public place, a long-haired man was committing the crime of polluting the area. As a result, almost four thousand young people were persecuted because of their appearance. In response, vlasatci organised a demonstration which took place in St. Wenceslas Square in Prague on 20th September 1966, where slogans such as Give us back our hair! were shouted. The media coverage of “the vlasatci issue” was relatively extensive, for instance: So far, there have been no statistics as to how many máničky [mopheads], i.e. youngsters and men with shoulder-length hair there are in the country. Mopheadedness has, nevertheless, become the subject of public conflict (RP, 1966, issue 28, p. 2a); or Actually, much has changed: while the previous era had a powerful inner frenzied rhythm, these days the frantic rhythm appears only as a rash on the skin of society – in the movements of dancing mopheads (RP, 1966, issue 109, p. 3e). The media coverage of the Prague Majáles of 1965 already made it apparent that the regime frequently emphasised via journalists that vlasatci are a negatively perceived, anti-social phenomenon even in capitalist countries, for instance in Italy: On Friday evening, a group of such páskové – máničky – was attacked (in Rome) by a group of students armed with long scissors and razors, whose intention was to remove their typical adornments (Zemědělské noviny [Agricultural Newspaper], 1965, issue 267, p. 2c). There were also news stories implying that the rumours regarding the popularity of long hair in the West occurring in our country are in fact significantly overestimated: The situation of máničky in Frankfurt am Main is worse than that of our mopheads, since in the city centre where they meet – at the Hauptwache – there are excavations for the construction work on the underground. So I only met a few of them. Anyway, they are scarce. Our mopheads who apparently want to copy some Western “fashion” would probably be surprised about it (RP, 1966, issue 43, p. 3d). The term mánička, which became a synonym to vlasatec in this historical context, is an allusion to the certainly well-known character of Mánička from the puppet shows about Spejbl and Hurvínek. The main idea intended to convey is apparently the “effeminacy” of a man in itself (to classify the type, a common female name Marie in its hypocorism variant is used). The feature of effeminacy is frequently used, in accordance with the traditional or even petite-bourgeoise attitude to the appearance and social roles of men and women (usual in the environment of the top Communist ranks), particularly in the context of repressions against vlasatci in the 1960s and 1970s. The possible connection to the name of a hair-dresser in St. Wenceslas Square (see Pospíšil, Blažek 2010) is in my opinion fairly improbable. KOPIA AUTORSKA 36 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s The response to the hippie movement was weaker in the Czech environment than e.g. in Poland26 or Ukraine27 – perhaps due to the fact that the hippie ideology, which was born in the culturally as well as politically different environment of the United States, was merged in our environment with much more interesting and specific ideas introduced by the so-called revival process within the Communist Party in 1967–1968. The occupation of August 1968 and the subsequent repressions meant that the non-conforming currents within Czech society, including the diverse subculture of vlasatci, were manifested with much greater seriousness and in a more civil manner compared to the West (where a social catastrophe similar to that of the post-August Czechoslovakia occurred). Specifically at the time of normalisation, i.e. after 1969, the second, much tougher surge of media war against vlasatci took place. They were perceived as the core of the corruptive28 powers within the Czech society of the second half of the 1960s. Unlike the campaign following the Prague Majáles of 1965, the normalisation pressure on vlasatci was more systematic; it was conducted on three levels (or in three lines,29 as it was commonly said and written) at the same time: the government level, which set the goals and parameters of the campaign, at the level of the recently re-organised30 Socialist Youth Union, where long-haired men were continuously affected31 by its local organisations, and at the level of Veřejná bezpečnost [Public Security], the Communist police, whose scope of authority 26 The response to the North-American hippies was obvious particularly in the appearance, behaviour, and opinions of a great number of young Poles, fans of music groups such as Osjan or Manaam, as well as other artists, such as the singers Kora, M. Rodowicz, M.N. Jackowski, the poet E. Stachura and others. 27 The centre for Ukrainian hippy followers was in Lviv; it was also the scene of the activities of one of the leaders of the Ukrainian branch of this movement, V. Eresko called Sharnir. 28 The adjective corruptive belonged in Communist newspeak to the evaluative ones conveying the greatest possible deprecation – see for instance the statements of various “work groups” on Charter 77 published in RP after Charter 77 was published: We assure the signatories of the libel treatise and their followers that we shall not give them any chance for corruptive influence (RP, 19th January 1977). 29 The secondary prepositional phrase in the line was also part of typical Communist newspeak: Their offensive [of the bourgeoisie ideologists – note by O.B.] developed in two directions – in the line of falsification and destruction of Marxist teachings […] and in the direction of distortion and the corruption of historical materialism (Tvorba, 1973, issue 37, p. 3a). 30 The predecessor, Československý svaz mládeže (ČSM) [The Czechoslovak Youth Union], an organisation governed by the Communist Party associating young people aged 15–35, ceased to exist in 1968. The Svaz socialistické mládeže [Socialist Youth Union], established in 1970 under the leadership of the new, Neo-Stalinist government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovkaia, was intended to serve as a tool of the so-called normalisation of the political as well as social atmosphere among students at secondary schools and universities. 31 The verb působit [affect] was very frequent in texts from the totalitarian period, as it enhanced the image of objectivity and the scientific nature of a text: On the contrary, they may fully affect [i.e. the objective social principles – note by O.B.] only through the conscientious activities of people (RP, 7th January 1977). KOPIA AUTORSKA Historical and Cultural Context 37 was significantly strengthened at that time and which ensured32 persecution of the particular vlasatci. The persecution, taking place wherever and whenever possible, meant vlasatci were expelled from restaurants, cinemas, and other public institutions, as well as from public transport. They had to face frequent arrests33 and shorter or longer detention without the Public Security stating any reason, and in particular they were forced to have their hair cut and get shaved “upon an official order” under the threat of further persecution (and typically at their own expense). A very important role in the campaign against vlasatci was played by the municipal National Committees, i.e. bodies of the state administration at the level of a municipality, district, or region, which issued various directives, e.g. lists of restaurants or other public places where vlasatci were not allowed. The nature of the second surge of the campaign against long-haired men was also complemented by the fact that its “brains” were the newly installed Communist, in fact Neo-Stalinist, top officials: office-holders whose intellect and sense of aesthetics did not reach even the level achieved by their “reform” pre-August predecessors, who were removed from leading positions in the purges of 1969–1970. As early as the 1960s, television became a popular, generally available, and thus also propaganda-efficient form of media. In the early 1970s, the only broadcasting company in the country, Československá televize [Czechoslovak Television], was a natural centre of the campaign whose slogan remains familiar even for presentday Czech people (If your hair is long, do not come along!). The character of the campaign was established by the Socialist Youth Union. TV regularly broadcast propaganda programmes; the essence of such programmes was the documentary Jablko sváru [The Apple of Discord] from 1973, directed by M. Pavlinec and presented by J. Škuba (for more detailed information see below). The campaign against vlasatci also involved Československý rozhlas [Czechoslovak Radio] and printed media – apart from the prominent Czech daily Rudé právo, these included especially the weekly Signál [The Signal] and the fortnightly Zápisník [The Notebook] (both newspapers were published by the Ministry of Defence of the Czechoslovak Republic). There were, however, dozens of less important periodicals which engaged in the campaign, including factory periodicals.34 32 Multiverbal expressions with the verb zajišťovat [ensure], borrowed from administrative language and also common in the communication within the Czechoslovak People’s Army, were also a characteristic feature of the style of contemporary opinion journalism: Both sides claimed that the USSR and CSSR would guard and strengthen the unity of the socialist community in all possible ways, ensure even closer coordination of events internationally, and proactively increase the common contribution to the defence of peace, freedom and independence of individual nations (RP, 21st March 1977). 33 The legislation allowed the Communist police to zadržet [arrest] any person (such as The Public Security of the North-Moravian Region arrested a federal fugitive, an 18-year-old youngster with no permanent place of residence – RP, 26th June 1969) for a relatively unlimited, or more precisely, a freely extendible time. 34 For instance the magazine Plamen míru [The Flame of Peace], published in Ostrava for the employees of the Nová huť K. Gottwalda factory, rejected […] TV programmes for our soldiers, where KOPIA AUTORSKA 38 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s Similarly to the cases of many other negative, or “negative” phenomena persecuted by the incumbents in various countries at various times, the normalisation campaign against vlasatci also resulted in effects entirely opposite to those intended. The campaign led to strengthened feelings of community and solidarity among vlasatci35,and the attraction of this revolt against contemporary conventions also seemed to increase. This was why the campaign of Communist media against longhaired men was significantly inhibited in the second half of the 1970s and resulted in a conclusion typical for all the other campaigns: a statement that the most important factor is always the prevention of so-called negative social phenomena.36 Shortly before the campaign against long-haired men eventually ceased at the end of the 1970s, there was the last surge in relation to the hard campaign of the Communist regime against the underground music group The Plastic People of the Universe in 1976 accompanied by repressions against the political opposition following the presentation of Charter 77 the following year. Although long hair on men was not accepted without reservations, even after the end of the campaign (for instance in secondary schools and universities, or when being admitted to a job), as at the turn of the 1980s, the regime tried to “adopt” young people who, apart from non-conformity in haircuts and appearance and an interest in rock music, did not show any signs of extravagance in relation to the regime (especially in the political sense). In addition, at the end of the 1970s, even the Communist culture guards of Czechoslovakia faced a new phenomenon, which was even more provocative than vlasatci – the punk movement.37 In a similar way to vlasatci, the regime subsequently “adopted” additional modern cultural phenomena which had been previously (in the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s) criticised “in various lines” as parts of undesirable manifestations in front of handsome and decently kempt fellows, there was a group of mopheads with moustaches and bearded chins (Plamen míru, 1970, issue 17, p. 3c). The management of Czechoslovak television responded to such complaints in 1970 by deciding that no long-haired artists would appear on TV. Apart from the requirement for any English name of a music group to be translated into Czech as well as a thorough checking of the ideological harmlessness of the song lyrics, the requirement for a hair trim was one of the conditions for successful so-called auditions, i.e. a process every band had to undergo in order to be granted approval for public performing (for more information, see e.g. Lindaur, Konrád 2001, p. 60). 35 For instance the underground poet and art theorist I.M. Jirous writes in relation to the devastating police pressure against the musician and poet P. Zajíček that this prominent representative of the Czech underground had to […] first get rid of the attribute that tightly connected him to people here. He had to get rid of his long hair, which linked some of us more closely into mutual relationships than any other kind of ties […] (Jirous 1997, pp. 366–367). 36 For instance the assessment of the educatical function of TV programmes (including contemporary popular TV series): It is important to show, plan, and enforce perspectives. From both the point of prevention and cure. Even our TV production has recently managed to handle the political issues in an excellent way in some of its TV series (RP, 15th February 1977). 37 Punkers kept the guards of socialist culture busy over the following decade: Or are the punkers, who keep demolishing the Prague cinema Blaník for several weeks when the movie “Proč”? [Why?] was on, supposed to be the creative and reviving ones? (Kmen, 1988, issue 18, p. 3b). KOPIA AUTORSKA “Mopheads” as Wreckers of Traditions and Good Taste 39 of the vlasatci subculture: wearing jeans, as well as organising discos. The first of these phenomena was accepted by the regime rather silently, in some cases even with not much reasonable hope that wearing jeans would fade without any intervention Although it does not seem that the jeans fashion is losing momentum, it is probable that very soon an equal substitute will be found (RP, 1976, p. 187, supplement Haló noviny [Hello News], issue 30, p. 10a). In contrast, in the case of the phenomenon of discos, the acceptance of such cultural events by the regime was manifested in a more sophisticated way. The regime stated via the media that it aimed to elaborate on this type of entertainment – in accordance with the scientific and educational intentions adopted by totalitarian regimes in general – to the level of certain educational events or training with a supplementary entertainment part. This is apparent from media statements such as Only in this way [thanks to financial support – note by O.B.] could the discos be raised to a more sophisticated form of entertainment, chequered with pantomime, debates with prominent personalities from science, politics, and culture, jazz-film forums, or experimental programmes of disc-jockeys, combining modern melodies with political news and interesting interviews (Mladý svět [The Young World], 1973, issue 41, p. 7b).38 3.2. “Mopheads” as Wreckers of Traditions and Good Taste Opinion journalism texts from the first months of the normalisation period address the topic of long-haired man only cautiously, rather frequently with reference to the fact that even in the West, long-haired men are considered an untraditional, impractical, and to some extent inappropriate phenomenon. An example may be a commentary on long hair about the footballer George Best, of Manchester United: On multiple occasions, Matt Busby [the coach – a note by O.B.] had to answer the question as to whether he minded Best’s long hair. He always answered in the same way: “As long as George plays well, I don’t care what he wears on his own head. Crucial is what he has in his head and legs” (RP, supplement Haló sobota [Hello Saturday], 4th April 1969). However, the author of the article points out that when Best made a mistake or missed a chance during a match, […] the spectators shouted: ‘Get your hair cut!’ or ‘Miss, you’ve forgotten your purse!’ (ibid.). 38 See also: Although the experience with functioning, operation, and the sense of discos – i.e. events focused on entertainment, dancing, sometimes even education, where the main role was played by a presenter (more widely labelled by the ugly expression disc-jockey) – is both good and bad, this culture and entertainment form for young people has in general proven itself to be good (RP, 1977, issue 300, p. 5d); In fact, the actual creative work with a gramophone record […] complemented […] with an interpretation by the dominant personality of the disco presenter (or “disc-jockey”, “announcer”, “player”, etc.) may bring a range of good programme forms (Práce [Labour], 1981, issue 266, p. 6b). KOPIA AUTORSKA 40 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s What is more remarkable are the reports by the Czech media covering the “getting rid of” long hair occurring among representatives of Western pop culture: Several long-haired prominent personalities from the world of rock music have also listened to the calls [i.e. of the London fashion designers – a note by O.B.] and had their hair cut, such as Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Davy Jones of the Monkees, and many others. Conversely, the Beatles, who introduced the long hair fashion trend about five years ago, have so far been avoiding the hair-dresser’s scissors (RP, the supplement Haló sobota, 1st May 1969). In contrast, four years later, Czech journalists express themselves much more directly (even though certainly with irony) in relation to the long-haired singers and musicians: Popular music has got “new” blood. Long-haired, unkempt rock stars have been replaced with neat youngsters (Mladý svět, 1973, issue 42, p. 24d). If the media mention the domestic vlasatci not belonging among artists, but only (at the most) among art consumers, their media image clearly manifests reproach even in the early normalisation years. They are presented not only as people with an appearance that is against good taste, but also as unsocial individuals bothering their surroundings among other things with a typical attribute – a transistor radio switched on: A youngster puts his transistor device next to your plate and cutlery, playing the newest hits. The long-haired individual looks happy, while you are losing your appetite (RP, 1970, issue 151, supplement Haló sobota 25, p. 2a). The material is quite remarkable in the way it uncompromisingly denounces long hair on men and links it with some actually dangerous social phenomena, as does the already mentioned TV documentary Jablko sváru [The Apple of Discord] from the year 1973.39 Dominant features of this text are both direct and indirect references to the professional, objective and scientific approach of its authors to the issue of long hair on men (this phenomenon is assessed from a strictly scientific unbiased perspective, as stated by the presenter himself), as well as the constant implicit appeal to emotions, values and needs of a decent working person,40 which is the type of documentary viewer. Such viewers may be parents aiming to divert their long-haired son from the slippery slope he has reached by adopting this external attribute, long hair, as well as people aiming to discipline the long-haired co-workers at the workplace in a friendly way so that they do not become a bother for the entire work group. The recipient of the text may also be a young man who, despite 39 Jablko sváru [The Apple of Discord]. Directed by Miloš Pavlinec. Prague: Czechoslovak Television, 1973. 40 The feature of decency of an individual or entire society was frequently emphasised in the positive sense within the Communist newspeak and silently substituted with “conformity”: Honest people in Czechoslovakia feel really free and have extensive civic rights; these, however, cannot be divided from their duties – which is natural in every decent society (RP, 25th February 1977). KOPIA AUTORSKA “Mopheads” as Wreckers of Traditions and Good Taste 41 wearing long hair, is still not completely corrupted – the programme should raise his awareness of the nature of his own bad habit41 and help him with the remedy.42 The interconnectedness between the phenomenon of long hair and the contemporary cultural and political atmosphere, or even the symptomatic nature of long hair regarding the overall “quality” and progressiveness43 of the cultural era, is emphasised in one of the initial statements of the documentary Jablko sváru (hereinafter JabS): Really long hair was always a feature of female beauty, and it would perhaps be possible to prove that when long hair appeared on men too, it was a manifestation of the propensity of the particular period for decadence (JabS). Here, the statement implicitly includes the common reference to the decadent44 nature of Western Europe and the United States of America – as is obvious from other contemporary ideological texts, according to the interpretation provided by the regime, these countries were undergoing a capitalist crisis.45 The film clearly expresses the provenance of the decadent phenomena manifested among other things in the existence of thousands of vlasatci in Czechoslovakia: The fashion of long male hair was unfortunately not born in our country (JabS). The documentary shows footage of New York from the air as well as from the human angle with “decadent” music being played in the background, as if from a bar: Long hair was intended as a manifestation of protest among the non-conformist part of U.S. and West-European youth, a manifestation of protest against the surviving capitalist systems (JabS). Images of dancing and perhaps even drunk or drugged mopheads and their female partners are commented upon by the presenter as fol41 The term bad habit was used in Communist newspeak either to refer to the personal imperfections of an individual, or to issues related to higher levels, for instance within an organisation: We need to energetically face the bad habit in that every production and product innovation is inevitably connected to new investments (the publication Hospodářská politika KSČ [The economic policy of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]). 42 The proclaimed faith in a remedy for every “misguided” individual was intended to reflect the great amount of tolerance, objectivity, and scientific nature of the Communist manner in which it governed society: […] [it is important to support – note by O.B.] such works which strengthen our people, reveal the perspectives, criticise imperfections, and search for a remedy, help establish friendly relations between all people of good will (RP, 8th February 1977). 43 The terms progressive, progressiveness are among the fundamental positive evaluative terms in Communist newspeak – Communist systems even claimed absolute progressiveness; cf. for instance the following statement: The development of Soviet socialist society is accompanied by development even in other areas of life – in other words, the progressiveness of capitalism was only one-sided, relative, while the progressiveness of socialism is universal, absolute. 44 The terms decadence and the attribute decadent were reserved for evaluation of the West, especially the moral values of its political representatives, its normal inhabitants, as well as art: It is reflected (i.e. the deep moral crisis of the West) in the increase in criminality, in corruption, and unprecedented scandals of political personas. It is manifested by the decadence in art, in pornography and in horror. It is expressed in the fashion of occultism and religious mysticism (RP, 12th February 1977). 45 See for instance: And if the internal incoherence of imperialism escalated especially in recent years, it is a consequence of the general crisis of capitalism, which has been further deepening, and not as a result of the easing of tensions (RP, 9th March 1977). KOPIA AUTORSKA 42 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s lows: This ill-conceived revolt has eventually turned out to be even more meaningless than the order against which it was targeted (JabS). The fundamental element in the statement provide above is the attribute ill-conceived, which is frequently connected in the ideology language with a reproach which is, however, slightly mitigated by the fact that the reproaching subject – an authoritative, even “omniscient” person, whose expertise is based on a “scientific” worldview, often even directly on statements by Marxist-Leninist thinkers – understands the sources from which the “ill conception” is derived.46 Another feature typical for this type of totalitarian text is that in order to achieve greater persuasiveness, it seeks support even in authorities who definitely cannot be considered either left-wing or Communist, but are progressive even from the perspective of twentieth century Communism.47 The analysed documentary uses antiquity in this way; the Communist regime, being the organiser of the campaign against long hair, implicitly considers itself the “heir” of this period: Why is there the feeling that long hair in men is unnatural and purposeless, felt persistently by me and many others? It is so easy [the presenter is opening a narrative publication by F. Adorn et al. called Klasické Atény [Classical Athens] published in 1970 – note by O.B.]. There are no traces of effeminacy to be found even in the noble faces of Old Romans from the most famous times of the Eternal City (JabS). In their search for the reasons behind the popularity of long hair in men, the authors of the documentary venture “to the streets” to conduct a survey. The presenter approaches long-haired men in the streets of Prague, asking them and creating the illusion of a certain free and mutually relaxed interview: It is no concern of mine – it depends on you, if you want to answer me (JabS). He asks questions such as the following: Do you realise that, based on current norms accepted by the majority of people, you seem at least [a significant pause – note by O.B.] unusual? The vlasatci asked by the presenter answer very cautiously, sometimes evasively, and often with a hint of humour. The interviews in general, however, do not seem natural – they give the impression of artificiality and affectation. Another typical feature of propaganda texts is the involvement of the conforming view of “a common citizen” – the authors also include this element in their survey, where among the typical answers is that long hair in men is not appealing to women. The most remarkable opinion is that of a “random” passer-by, a woman at a younger retirement age: They don’t look at all like men, that’s the first thing, 46 See the frequently used “self-criticism” of leading representatives of the Communist Party, which was manifested at all levels and often only strengthened the recipients’ (and in fact even the transmitters’) impression that the Party’s intentions are enforced non-dogmatically and with discretion: We cannot arbitrarily overload our youth with functions, idle meetings and reckless actions, and thus arbitrarily disrupt their healthy development: we must not rush it (RP, 19th December 1952). 47 See e.g. the statement: I often remind myself of the idea by the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The great artist and progressive thinker died in the same year when the Great October Socialist Revolution outlined the new era in human history (RP, 9th February 1977). KOPIA AUTORSKA “Mopheads” as Wreckers of Traditions and Good Taste 43 do they, and their hair is greasy, which is inappropriate, isn’t it (JabS). There once again appears the common reservation about the undesirable blurring of visible differences between men and women, accompanied also by a remark on the unsanitary nature of long hair. This argument, which ranked among the milder and “objective” ones within the campaign, was implicitly present even in the presenter’s repeated question posed to randomly addressed vlasatci: How long does washing take you in the morning? (JabS). The meaning-establishing climax of the documentary is the passage where the presenter offers to give the vlasatci passing by some money to have their hair cut at the nearest barber. One youngster subsequently agrees, after a short negotiation, that the amount of 150 Czechoslovak crowns (about 10% of the current average wage) is adequate as compensation for the loss resulting from cutting his long hair. With this “trick”, the authors of the documentary quite clearly demonstrate to the viewers that in the case of most Czech men, there is no great “revolt” idea or actual non-conformity behind long hair – vlasatci are not incorruptible. The actual face of a totalitarian country, i.e. its inherent militarism, is revealed by the documentary in the following passage, which somewhat shakes the relaxed, friendly nature of the previous survey. The passage is introduced with the presenter’s statement: It is not always necessary to negotiate in this way – in the end, life frequently solves many things on its own (JabS). As background, there is footage of the front gate of some barracks, and legs in army boots, followed by footage of a youngster having his hair cut by an army barber, accompanied by cadenced marching music. The entire footage ends with a shot of lines of recruits with shaved hair in uniforms. The implied aspiration of the totalitarian regime to being entirely universal and omnipresent, to owning a man completely and without reservations, is condensed here in the explicit identification of the political system and the state with the words life and solve on its own. The final part of the film employs a well-established prop – a family with a small child as a model of the greatest and timeless value. According to the author, even this value may, however, be threatened in a certain sense by the long-haired men phenomenon: Happy parents, a nice, happy child – and still this idyllic family will one day face a host of ideas. And it will subsequently take some time for the parents to explain to the idealist youth that the desire for a better world is not to be manifested through long or short hair, loose or tight trousers, but through patient work, morale, and a positive attitude; that the external features mean almost nothing (JabS). At this point, the actual paradox appears – the regime puts significant effort into fighting something that “means almost nothing”. The documentary follows with the usual remarks on freedom as the greatest achievement, which was claimed by Communists surprisingly matter-of-factly to be the fundamental attribute of life in the state they were governing: It is a matter of everyone’s personal freedom KOPIA AUTORSKA 44 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s to decide about his/her own appearance – but it is a matter of the personal freedom of others as to what they think about it (JabS).48 3.3. The Criminalisation of “Mopheads” As is obvious from what was mentioned above, the analysed 1973 propaganda film presents the domestic, Czech vlasatci as individuals disturbing the norms of aesthetics and hygiene accepted within a socialist society, rather than as actual outclass elements (this is an expression very frequent during normalisation which in fact became a term).49 In contrast, foreign vlasatci, especially the American ones, are presented by the documentary not only as potential or actual criminals (Groups, or better said, gangs of boys and girls terrorising entire towns, JabS), but sometimes even as especially dangerous, psychically deranged individuals (Witchcraft sects that have appeared in the United States serve black devil’s masses, and the result of their protests are brutal murders, JabS).50 In connection with the aforementioned, an important place in the documentary is occupied by an opinion of a psychiatrist, introduced as “Doctor Zemek from a detention centre”. Softly, as if in a confidential manner, but with the professional interest of a specialist, he explains the basis of the fashion of long hair. He states that among the people admitted to the detention centre, i.e. drunk rioters, […] the number of long-haired ones is greater than those with a short haircut (JabS), and that […] long hair is sometimes an object that is, so to say, a source of attention (JabS). The important fact here is that the phenomenon of long-haired men is dealt with by a psychiatrist – the viewers are thus presented with the implication that long hair may be a symptom of a psychological disorder or even a deviation. To make the issue clearer, the presenter adds the following: We have been provided with information from a psychiatrist that a head of hair is very important for some boys (JabS). It was particularly the gathering of vlasatci, along with their shared solidarity resulting from pressure from majority society, as well as the potential exchange of non-conformist opinions, alcoholism, and drug abuse, that represented the basis 48 Following these words, with a certain mockery, the presenter puts a long-haired wig on a classical bust which, together with a bookshelf, creates the background of the space from which the “longstanding truth” is presented to viewers. 49 Particularly characteristic is the reprehension targeted against the signatories of Charter 77: So they hire [the Western enemies of socialist countries – note by O.B.] new “fighters” recruited from emigrants and apostates, the remains of the defeated bourgeoisie, various renegades, immoral and outclass elements; and all of these have received even a new fashionable label “dissidents” (RP, 12th January 1977). 50 What speaks for itself is the fact that in the footage of vlasatci dancing at a disco, the song playing in the background is one by the Scottish band Nazareth called Bad Bad Boy. KOPIA AUTORSKA The Criminalisation of “Mopheads” 45 for the general criminalisation of vlasatci. Hints of the above-mentioned are present in the opinion journalism’s reflections on the phenomenon of long hair already from the beginning of the normalisation period: She describes [a reader – note by O.B.] a story of her relative, whose daughter, “sensible, obedient, hard-working, always the best in class” got involved with a group of “mopheads”, so she interrupted her studies. Then she regretted it and attempted to commit suicide (RP, 1970, issue 270, p. 3e). The presenter or the analysed document Jablko sváru also visits an acquaintance – who seems, in his view, to be a good-hearted mother, in order to listen to what changes she observes in the behaviour of her adolescent son Vladimír, after he let his hair grow long. The mother states: Otherwise, he is quite a good boy; he is obedient, good at school. Sometimes I think that he doesn’t care so much about his hair, but then, when I see other youngsters, I’m worried about it. It’s somehow unnatural. I wonder why those girls like it […]. When he starts to talk about it, it’s weird, he even shouted at me; he’d never done that before […]. But we understand each other less and less [stated with a dramatically quiet voice – note by O.B.] – as if he was running away from me somewhere I can’t follow (JabS). With the increasing political pressure against vlasatci and with the escalating exhaustion of the intensively repressive bodies of the regime, the first half of the 1970s saw an increase not only in the extent of criminalisation of this group of young people, but also in the brutality with which the regime acted against vlasatci. An example may be the crackdown against the participants of rock concerts51 and the subsequent entertainment evening in the restaurant Na Americe in Rudolfov near České Budějovice which took place on 30th March 1974 (for more detailed information see Kudrna, Stárek 2015). The police “solution” to common riots escalated into an extensive ideologically flavoured repressive event where long hair in men was practically considered evidence that its owner was guilty of attacking the socialist establishment.52 Following the crackdown in Rudolfov with the subsequent necessary haircut provided to vlasatci, 335 people were investigated for an offence and 140 people were taken into custody (Necenzurované noviny [The Uncensored Newspaper], year 1992, issue 24, p. 11; see also Jirous 1997, p. 333). Another significant issue the authorities had to face was the punishment of female counterparts of vlasatci, as there was a considerable number of them among those arrested in Rudolfov – in such cases, the excuse for repressions was another 51 Among other performers, there was even the band The Plastic People of the Universe. Again, there is an example from the reactions to the presentation of Charter 77, dated several years later: I reprehend the attack of a handful of isolated enemies of the socialist establishment, attempting to discredit its amenities and advantages, as claimed by the Rector of Comenius University of Bratislava (RP, 14th January 1977). 52 KOPIA AUTORSKA 46 “Mopheads” as the Target of Verbal Aggression in Czech Media of the 1960s and 1970s “unusual” feature of their appearance,53 or for instance some loosely-defined offence such as resisting arrest. As a feature serving as evidence of antisocial attitudes, long-hairedness, labelled by the signatories of the well-known public protest as “the photogenic decorum of the criminal charges”,54 was even presented in the case of the greatest politically-motivated affairs of the 1970s: the lawsuit against the members of the band The Plastic People of the Universe in 1976 (the band members were arrested on March 17th) and the media campaign against signatories of Charter 77 the following year (the Charter was published from 6th to 7th January 1977), even though the regime denied through the media that there would be any direct relationship between the appearance of the accused and their thinking: There were even entirely hairless brass-band music players being sued for manifestations of such attitudes; there is a need to distinguish between the individual cases (Mladý svět, 3rd December 1976, p. 49; see Jirous 1997, p. 742). The adjective long-haired served during the normalisation period as a stable attribute of a socially harmful person used in the reports on criminal activities (the so-called Black Chronicles) and in columnists’ work, such as the following: A vehicle with flashing red lights skidded onto the pavement in front of the car. The door swung open; the long-haired youngster had no chance. A strapping policeman, whose shirt collar was coloured with blood, punched him in the stomach with his fist (RP, the supplement Haló sobota, 5th February 1977); or The third [bribe – note by O.B.] was, of course, immediately grabbed by the hairy maintenance worker (RP, 25th March 1977).55 If a long-haired man appears in media texts in a positive context, he is presented rather as a certain exception to the rule: Sometimes it was really problematic for me. It took a lot of effort to make some older co-workers understand that longer hair is not automatically a sign of a hooligan […]. Michal plays in a band; he likes having fun and organising parties […] (RP, 9 th July 1969); 53 Although this chapter is focused on the phenomenon of long hair on men, it is worth mentioning that another feature perceived in the 1960s and 1970s as problematic (unaesthetic, outrageous), although significantly less frequently, was considerably short hair on women. Cf. for instance the following: […] my boy-like haircut is history, the same as a number of “impish” songs I simply cannot sing anymore (Mladý svět, 1973, issue 39, p. 19d). 54 The declaration was signed by the literary scholar V. Černý, the philosopher J. Patočka, and the writers V. Havel, I. Klíma, P. Kohout, J. Seifert, and L. Vaculík: If it is overlooked that longhaired young people are sentenced as criminal offenders for their unconventional music today, then that makes it easier for any other artist to be sentenced tomorrow in the same way for their novels, poems, essays, and pictures – and it will not even be necessary for them to have long hair as a photographic decorum for the criminal charge (Machovec 2012, p. 145). Thanks to the German writer H. Böll, the text was published in the daily Franfkurter Allgemeine Zeitung (6th September 1976). 55 This stereotype was naturally manifested even in fiction, for instance in a detective story by N. Frýd from 1974, where there is mention of a certain torture tool (the so-called Spanish boot): If we used this today on those long-haired hooligans, we’d receive the order instantly […] (Frýd 1974, p. 136). KOPIA AUTORSKA Conclusion 47 Another three NC machines in a similar line are operated by twenty-three-year-old Antonín Jurák. At first sight, you’d say: a guy with dandyish long hair. But foreman Svatopluk Michálek cannot say anything bad about him, as he ranks among the best workers in the NC machine department (RP, 10th January 1977). Conclusion The 1960s–1970s campaign of the Czechoslovak Communist regime against long hair on men followed similar media-based campaigns criticising non-conformity in clothing and haircuts that had already taken place in the 1940s and 1950s (a campaign against potápky, bedly, páskové, against the havel and eman haircuts, etc.). From the perspective of the linguistic means used and the manner of presentation and factual relationships of long hair on men, the campaign was undoubtedly an aggressive one, although it did not result in a balance between the argumentation and the effects. The totalitarian regime was provoked to incite such a campaign by the obvious social non-conformity of the majority of long-haired men, which threatened to become a manifestation of direct revolt against socialist morals and policy. In the second half of the 1970s, the aggressivity of media proclamations about long-haired men decreased, and towards the end of the decade, the regime even tried to “adopt” the subculture of vlasatci at least partially (i.e. it diverted the focus to other bad habits and the enduring fashion of long hair was usually silently tolerated). KOPIA AUTORSKA