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20-476: Pearly Kings and Queens , known as pearlies , are an organised charitable tradition of working-class culture in London , England. The practice of wearing clothes decorated with mother-of-pearl buttons is first associated with Henry Croft (1861–1930), an orphan street sweeper who collected money for charity. At the time, London costermongers (street traders) were in the habit of wearing trousers decorated at

40-645: A class struggle viewpoint see working-class culture as a vital element of the proletariat which they champion. One of the first organisations for proletarian culture was Proletkult , founded in Russia shortly after the February Revolution , supported by Alexander Bogdanov , who had been co-leader of the Bolsheviks with Vladimir Lenin . The group included both Bolsheviks and their critics, and Bogdanov struggled to retain its independence following

60-583: A "civil religion", "the bedrock upon which the American story has been anchored", and part of the American identity (the American Dream ) This theme is celebrated in the lives of famous Americans such as Benjamin Franklin and Henry Ford , and in popular culture (from the books of Horatio Alger and Norman Vincent Peale to the song "Movin' on Up" ). The American Dream Report , a study of

80-534: A budget of over 9,200,000 rubles, whereas the entire Adult Education Division received 32,500,000 rubles. The Izo-Narkompros (Изо-наркомпрос), or the section of visual arts (отдел изобразительных искусств) created on 29 January 1918. It consisted of two parts: the collegium (deliberative organ) and the section proper (executive organ). The first collegium was headed by Vladimir Tatlin and included Kasimir Malevich , Ilya Mashkov , Nadezhda Udaltsova , Olga Rozanova , Alexander Rodchenko , Wassily Kandinsky . It

100-414: A critique of contemporary literary movements such as Futurism and emphasised a need of cultural autonomy for the development of a socialist culture. According to literary critic Terry Eagleton , Trotsky recognised “like Lenin on the need for a socialist culture to absorb the finest products of bourgeois art”. Trotsky himself viewed the proletarian culture as “temporary and transitional” which would provide

120-486: Is a range of cultures created by or popular among working-class people. The cultures can be contrasted with high culture and folk culture , and are often equated with popular culture and low culture (the counterpart of high culture). Working-class culture developed during the Industrial Revolution . Because most of the newly created working class were former peasants , the cultures took on much of

140-714: The Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. His erstwhile ally Anatoly Lunacharsky had rejoined the Bolsheviks and was appointed Commissar for Education . In Literature and Revolution , Trotsky examined aesthetic issues in relation to class and the Russian revolution. Soviet scholar Robert Bird considered his work as the "first systematic treatment of art by a Communist leader" and a catalyst for later, Marxist cultural and critical theories. Trotsky presented

160-578: The Commune) of which 19 issues appeared between 7 December 1918 and April 1919. Lenin saw film as the most important medium for educating the masses in the ways, means and successes of communism . As a consequence Lenin issued the "Directives on the Film Business" on 17 January 1922, which instructed the Narkompros to systemise the film business, registering and numbering all films shown in

180-465: The Czech Republic and Slovakia). The Brookings Institution found Americans surveyed had the highest belief in meritocracy —69% agreed with the statement "people are rewarded for intelligence and skill"—among 27 nations surveyed. Another report found such beliefs to have gotten stronger over the last few decades. People%27s Commissariat for Education Lunacharsky protected most of

200-554: The Economic Mobility Project, found that Americans surveyed were more likely than citizens of other countries to agree with statements like: and less likely to agree with statements like: In the US only 32% of respondents agreed with the statement that forces beyond their personal control determine their success. In contrast, a majority of European respondents agreed with this view in every country but three (Britain,

220-567: The Organizing Bureau for the National Proletkult argued that Narkompros, as a state organ, had responsibilities for the whole of society, whereas Proletkult asserted its autonomy as an organisation set up specifically for workers class. However, there was concern with "parallelism" - the situation which arose when similar work was carried out in parallel by different organisations. In early 1918 Narkompros gave Proletkult

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240-416: The avant-garde artists such as Vladimir Mayakovsky , Kazimir Malevich , Vladimir Tatlin and Vsevolod Meyerhold . Despite his efforts, the official policy after Joseph Stalin put him in disgrace. Narkompros had seventeen sections, in addition to the main ones related to general education, e.g., Some of these evolved into separate entities, others discontinued. Pavel Lebedev-Polianskii , as chair of

260-510: The domain of the practitioner. Knei-Paz also noted key distinctions between Trotsky’s approach on cultural matters and Stalin's policy in the 1930s . Marxist–Leninist states have declared an official working-class culture, most notably socialist realism , whose constant aim is to glorify the worker, in contrast to typical independent working-class cultures. However, Lenin believed that there could be no authentic proletarian culture free from capitalism and that high culture should be brought to

280-477: The foundations for a culture above classes. He also argued that the pre-conditions for artistic creativity were economic well-being and emancipation from material constraints. Political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz characterised his view on the role of the party as transmitters of culture to the masses and raising the standards of education, as well as entry into the cultural sphere, but that the process of artistic creation in terms of language and presentation should be

300-496: The localised folk culture. This was soon altered by the changed conditions of social relationships and the increased mobility of the workforce and later by the marketing of mass-produced cultural artefacts such as prints and ornaments and commercial entertainment such as music hall and cinema . In academia, working-class socio-economic circumstances are conventionally associated with smoking , alcoholism , domestic abuse , obesity and delinquency . Many socialists with

320-555: The seams with pearl buttons that had been found by market traders. In the late 1870s, Croft adapted this to create a sequin suit to draw attention to himself and aid his fund-raising activities. In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley , north London. Croft's funeral in January 1930 was attended by 400 followers and received national media coverage. In 1934, a memorial referring to Croft as "The original Pearly King"

340-489: The workers. The millenarian nature of socialist working-class art is evident in the goals espoused by the leaders of revolutionary movements. The art forms for the masses were meant to shape a new consciousness and form the basis of a new culture and new man. Many Americans strongly believe the U.S. is a "Land of Opportunity" that offers every child an equal chance at social and economic mobility . The idea of Americans rising from humble origins to riches has been called

360-716: The years. The oldest is the Pearly Guild, which began in 1902. Modern additions include the London Pearly Kings and Queens Society, which started in 2001and the Pearly Kings and Queens Guild. Despite the rivalries, each group is associated with a church in central London and is committed to raising money for London-based charities. A parade of real-life Pearly Kings and Queens was featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony . Working-class culture Working-class culture or proletarian culture

380-634: Was subdivided into a number of subsections. Lunacharsky directed some of the great experiments in public arts after the Revolution such as the agit-trains and agit-boats, that circulated over all Russia spreading Revolution and revolutionary arts. He also gave support to Constructivism 's theatrical experiments and the initiatives such as the ROSTA Windows , revolutionary posters designed and written by Mayakovsky, Rodchenko, and others. Izo-Narkompros also published Iskusstvo kommuny (Art of

400-764: Was unveiled in St Pancras Cemetery and in a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised £5,000 for those suffering in London's hospitals. The pearlies are now divided into several active groups. Croft's founding organisation is called the Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association. It was reformed in 1975 and holds the majority of the original pearly titles which are City of London , Westminster , Victoria, Hackney, Tower Hamlets , Shoreditch , Islington , Dalston and Hoxton . Other groups have also been established over

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