“Affective Nationalism” and Transnational Postcommunist Lesbian Visual Activism

Abstract

Puszta Cowboy is a nine-minute film made in 2004 by the Budapest Lesbian Film Collective, a group of semiprofessional lesbian filmmakers. On the DVD cover, its makers describe the film as “the first Hungarian Lesbian-Transgender-Paprika Western, complete with horses, gunfight, goulash, and traditional Hungarian csárdás-dancing.” The film opens by citing the epic poem Miklós Toldi, written by prominent Hungarian Romantic poet János Arany in 1846. The poem itself recasts the adventures of the eponymous folk hero to create an inspiring allegorical narrative and enduring role model for the nation, which is seen to be in perpetual need of defense from more powerful enemies. In the poem, Toldi, a peasant boy of extraordinary strength and impeccable moral fiber, rises from his humble surroundings on the Hungarian plains (the “Puszta”) to become one of the king’s most loyal soldiers in his fight against foreign intruders. The poem has become a fixture of the national literary pantheon and school curriculum. It also lent itself well to the communist state’s folk mythology, which was instrumental in the nation-state’s pedagogical mission to create a unified “people.”

An expanded version of this essay is forthcoming in Signs, Vol. 33, no. 2. I am indebted to Katrin Kremmler and members of the Budapest Lesbian Filmmaking Collective as well as Labrisz Association for making their work available to me, discussing it with me on multiple occasions, and providing feedback on drafts of this essay.