The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Kitsch

Kitsch in Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being
Milan Kundera touches on several philosophical ideas in his novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. One of these ideas is the idea of kitsch. The term “kitsch” is associated with works of art that are popular but have no real value. The images are saturated in emotion and include many themes that people can easily identify. Kitsch is a simple concept that takes away individuality and creativity. However, it is the sentiments and emotions behind those images that categorize them as kitsch. Kundera states the basic of kitsch is sentimentality and delves into the kitsch of totalitarianism to convey that communism or one dominant political system endangers individuality through Sabina’s relationship
The dazzling smiles on the May Day parades, were not because of the political agreement with communism but the inspiration and hope it drew for each person. The truth behind the parade was that it was advocating for life, not for communism. Political kitsch is not just associated with communism but also for any political movements. Kitsch is the aesthetic ideal of all politicians. They live in the fake reality and ignore the unpleasantness of the world. Totalitarianism bans anything which restricts on its kitsch. Therefore, there is no individualism. For example, the American actress makes an emotional speech linking the suffering of children with Communist dictatorship. She ends her speech in tears. However, her speech angers the representatives of the left-wing represented at the conference by the French, who are against her American kitsch. Because of the illusion that the world is perfect, Sabina wants darkness and unpleasantness to exist so that creativity and individuality can
She lives with an elderly couple, which helps to diminish her betrayals. However, Sabina hides the fact that she is Czech to escape kitsch, for fear of people judging her. She still carries on the struggle against the communist tyranny afflicting her homeland. She continues to see kitsch in America. She sees political kitsch when a Senator smiles at children. The first tear of the senator represents how moved he was by the lovely children because “it is the second tear that makes kitsch kitsch.” Sabina tries to get away from kitsch throughout the novel. However, she can never get rid of it because it is part of human