Mario's a communist

XZeroII

Lifer
Jun 30, 2001
12,572
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uh hu. Isn't there one of these sites for just about everything in the world?
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
I'd swear I heard him whistling "If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning" a few times too. :D <---------- (famous pro-communist song)
 

Mo0o

Lifer
Jul 31, 2001
24,227
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i think its fine now. good read. i like the family resemblance part

EDIT: Bah nm
 

Cyberian

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2000
9,999
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Originally posted by: jjsole
I'd swear I heard him whistling "If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning" a few times too. :D <---------- (famous pro-communist song)
I never heard of any pro-Communist ties to that song.
Can you tell me where you heard that?

 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
Originally posted by: Cyberian
Originally posted by: jjsole I'd swear I heard him whistling "If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning" a few times too. :D <---------- (famous pro-communist song)
I never heard of any pro-Communist ties to that song. Can you tell me where you heard that?

I'll have to a little research on it because a quick google review found some but not great info on it (what I went through so far.)

The song was written by someone that was expressing a communist-sympathetic outlook towards Soviet workers, and the "hammer" I believe refers to the "hammer and sicle" (sp.?) of the soviet flag. It wasn't as much of an anti-american outlook as it was a more liberal sympathetic view towards communist workers' issues, or something like that (please don't quote me on it ;).

Pete Seeger sang the song publicly in the 50's and was basically blackballed (to put it mildly) from the entertainment industry for decades for doing so, particularly because it was in the era of the mccarthy paranoia and hollywood communist witchhunts and fingerpointing that was going on. Seeger was deemed communist and then was unfairly outcast. (director Eli Kazan (sp.?) was another that got fingered and it hurt his career significantly too - he directed Brando's early films "on the waterfront" and "a streetcar named desire", which were outstanding).

In the 60's Peter, Paul, and Mary sang the song and made it world famous, however Seeger was still blackballed.

I'll try and come up with more because it will help refresh my memory. Not alot of people knew the origins of this song, but PBS or someone had a special on it a few years back.
 

HombrePequeno

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2001
4,657
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Nintendo changed the color of the flag in Super Mario All Stars. I'd imagine it was because some people thought it was the communist star. That 'peace' symbol is probably a skull otherwise it would just look like a green Mercedes symbol. I got a kick out of the family resemblance part though. :)
 

smp

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 2000
5,215
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DOH :Q
/me slaps forehead!
So THAT'S why I'm such a fvcking commy!!!
Mere brainwashing!

Eh .. it's good that I got deprogrammed of all that anti-semitism I picked up off of the smurfs.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
Originally posted by: Cyberian
Originally posted by: jjsole I'd swear I heard him whistling "If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning" a few times too. :D <---------- (famous pro-communist song)
I never heard of any pro-Communist ties to that song. Can you tell me where you heard that?
From what I just read the song (which Seeger wrote) wasn't actually referencing communism but was during the congressional communist witchhunts, and congress subpeona'ed Seeger to question his possible involvement in communism based on his 'liberal' (anti-war) perspective. He declined to testify (legally), but as a result his songs were banned from the radio for 15 years.

Here's a quote from him, according to this site:
"Why was it controversial?" Pete reflected. "In 1949 only 'Commies' used words like 'peace' and 'freedom'. ... The message was that we have got tools and that we are going to succeed. This is what a lot of spirituals say. We will overcome. I have a hammer. [...] No one could take these away." The Weavers never had the opportunity to make a hit of this - that honor fell to Peter, Paul and Mary - but they had the satisfaction of seeing that no edict and no committee could kill [the] song. (Dunaway, Seeger 157)