93. szám // 2023. Politikai propaganda és társadalom
Tanulmányok
Megjelent: 2023.12.27.
Domokos Mariann
Propagandistic Pulp Fiction in Dualist-era Hungary: The Históriák, Nóták Series in the Service of Culture and Politics
Abstract
This study explores the Históriák, Nóták (Stories, Songs) series established in 1886, highlighting the distinctive genre of popular literature and the innovative form of mass communication known as popular education fiction. Supported by Ágoston Trefort, Minister of Religion and Public Education, and his successors, this series not only aimed to contribute to the cultural education of the common people but also served as a tool for disseminating and interpreting government measures and strategies. These publications of controlled content and distribution, designed by the elite for mass influencing, were driven by both ideological considerations and genuine socio-economic needs. These booklets can be seen as popular literary representations of the social and economic issues of the time, as well as reflections of education policies proposed to solve them. Works of educational pulp fiction not only documented conflicts between peasant lifeways and a society transitioning to industrialization and capitalism, but also played a role in transforming traditional knowledge and lifestyles by disseminating ideas of modernization and bourgeois values.