Representations of Dissent against Communism in Romania: Anti-Communist Heroes,“Prison Saints,” and (Extra)Ordinary Citizens

Abstract

This article discusses the uses and functions of visual representations in the articulation of a comprehensive memory of dissent against the Communist regime in Romania. Through qualitative research using the interdisciplinary study of the art and politics of memory, the study answers the question of how artistic renditions of the past differ from official discourse on dissent and how these representations are used politically. This article argues that these artistic representations enrich the understanding of dissent against the Romanian Communist regime and thus play a political role in consolidating a missing or limited memorialization of diverse forms of opposition to the Communist regime, thus disrupting the narrative of perfect control. Artistic discourses about the Communist past include at least three types of portraits of dissenters: (1) anti-Communist heroes who participated in the armed resistance of the 1940s and 1950s; (2) Communist prisoners who are recalled either as victims or “prison saints”; and (3) (extra)ordinary citizens who had nonconforming ideas either through their political activity or through their cultural choices. The latter are recalled as participating in workers’ strikes, as exercising a form of personal opposition through their refusal to comply with the regime’s natalist policies (dissenting women), or as taking part in broader cultural opposition forms, such as watching Western films on videocassettes. These artistic discourses vary from heroization to politicization, serve to build legitimacy for the democratic regime, explain how dissent had a role in the change of regime, and accentuate individuals’ agency.