I was told a story that this was said after the fall of the Soviet Union during a cultural exchange type of thing.
Is this the case and if so, does anybody know where I get the exact quote? у нас нет секса is not exactly
googling well...
Thanks
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I was told a story that this was said after the fall of the Soviet Union during a cultural exchange type of thing.
Is this the case and if so, does anybody know where I get the exact quote? у нас нет секса is not exactly
googling well...
Thanks
Yes and no. I've definitely watched that show, but I was a kid of 8 or 7 back then, so my recollections of the details are vague and (EDIT: may or may not be) based on later second-hand retelling.
[An American] (Asks something about sex&violence on TV.)
[Russian girl] There's no sex in the USSR!
// laughter.
[Russian girl] ... In TV shows, I meant... (blush)
But the line was wa-a-a-ay too good as it was, so the latter part had been dropped.
Oh, and the exact quote was "В СССР секса нет! ... на телевидении..."
The show was called "Telebridge" or something like that the host was Vladimir Pozner.
As I recollect that show, I somehow remember the question was: "How's the sex in the Soviet Union?", and a Russian lady answered: "There's no sex in the Soviet Union, there's love."
But that was long time ago, so I'm not a reliable source for that matter.
Russian Wikipedia has the article on the subject. :-o
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92_%D0 ... 0%B5%D1%82
So my recollections were right... Then again, it's Wikipedia, the thing might still be an urban legend... But I'm sure it isn't.
And there it is!!
However, I don't recollect that being said in relation to Afghanistan.Quote:
В общем, начался телемост, и одна американка говорит: да вы из-за войны в Афганистане вообще должны перестать заниматься сексом с вашими мужчинами — тогда они не пойдут воевать. И пальцем всё время тычет. Я ей и ответила: в СССР секса нет, а есть любовь.
Yes, but Pozner himself gives my version. (Or I'm giving his. As I said, I have no exact recollection, and the details in my post might be hearsay.) Besides, both have a reason to invent some excuse for the utterance in question, so strong one, in fact, that they themselves might believe it...
Everybody remembers only the funny (or embarrassing, depending on your point of view) part. If only someone had a tape of the show... This is nearly criminal. Tens of millions of people saw it live, and no one can agree what happened, including the participants! How could it be?
Anyway, either version makes sense in the context.
Maybe Parfenov in his TV series for the year '86 might mention that and show the footage?Quote:
Originally Posted by ac220
I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm one of those freaks who don't watch TV. (since I was 14, I watched... Err... CNN (?) broadcast on 9/11, a few documentaries on the topics that interest me deeply, and New Year Eve programming. That one because everybody else did. ) I do also watch DVDs and some online 'casts but that's not the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
Before that I was a veritable TV addict though, so I know how to switch the thing on at least.
About this: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%...B4%D0%BD%D0%B8Quote:
Originally Posted by ac220
I don't remember the question. The woman answered "There is no sex in th USSR", after that Posner took the microphone hastily and said "This is mistake". So the woman had no chance to clarify her answer.
It's worth to said that the word "sex" had strong negative connotation then. It is somewhat similar to the question "How are n#ggers in the USA?" The meaning would be quite different for Soviet and American people. I think she just misunderstood the question.
Definitely worth looking at...Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
Yes, it meant roughly "porn" or "perversion" in colloquial or even journalistic usage, that was definitely major part of it, and yes, your analogy is right on. Close-to-Western usage of "sex" wasn't adopted until late 90's or so... Still everybody, even 7-year olds knew what the word was supposed to mean, and blandly denying the existence of the phenomenon was... well... :oops:Quote:
Originally Posted by Полуношник
When I saw this topic, the first thing that rang the bell was the quote from "Deja vu" movie when main character (american gangster) was asked about entertaiments he prefer and his answer was: "Sex, boxing & jazz", he immediatly got responce: "We don't have sex here".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkX6v-vF0II
And here goes yet third account. :roll: Half the kingdom for a tape!Quote:
Originally Posted by Полуношник
And THE FOURTH! :shock:
"No sex in the USSR, or Rashomon in the Rue Morgue"
Из филма Дежа Вю:
Что вас больше всего интересует в жизни, товарищ американец?
- Джаз, бокс и секс.
- Секса у нас нет, джаза тоже.
Here's a line from the Soviet movie Deja Vu:
Russian - What are you most interested in comrade American?
American - Jazz, boxing and sex
Russian - We don't have sex, jazz neither.
Basil77, you stole my thunder! :wall:
Funny story!
It's unbelievable that they would ask ask a question like that on live TV in the Soviet Union....
Talk about culture clash!
The best answer would have been "None of your business!" or "Better than you can imagine in your wildest dreams...."
@ac220 - same here. I only watch TV if somebody else that I'm with wants to watch.
:P :tease:Quote:
Originally Posted by sperk
It was live and largerly unscripted, or so it seemed. Anything can happen in such a show :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Johanna
Watching the relevant episode of "Namedni" now.
And good to know I'm not alone :)
At that time in the USSR the word "sex" had only one meaning - "to f@ck" (бл@дство in Russian).
The Soviet people saw many American films in which a guy meets a girl, they drink, and in a minute... they already in the bed. This simplicity was called "sex" in the USSR.
Erm... But isn't that what it really means? I mean, 'sex' not a synonym for 'love', at least in Russian.Quote:
Originally Posted by BappaBa
I needed to add "with hardly familiar person" =) I mean at that time nobody told "I had sex with my wife/girlfriend" but "making love".Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
and/or done in public. "Они хотели показать нам СЕКС!" /mock horror/ was a rather popular comedic line. Then again, I indeed was (rather precocious) provincial kid back then, I might have missed some nuances.Quote:
Originally Posted by BappaBa
Anyway, although "Namedni" mentions Pozner's telebridges, and mentions the infamous goof, it DOESN'T SHOW THE ACTUAL FOOTAGE! Is this a conspiracy, or what?
On the other hand, this is understandable, the poor lady became infamous enough as it is. :-(
On the still other hand this is nonetheless a crime against history.
I'm glad to hear it actually happened. Even if no footage can be found, what a line!
The word "sex" seems to have negative connotations in Russian even now. Some people on the net even misspel it on purpose in strange and ugly ways :-) like "секас". Brr.
I suppose, in English, it doesn't have those negative coonnotations, since the first meaning is "gender." Actually, I know that now the word "gender" is preferred in some contexts.
Interesting version from the wiki but what a naive suggestion. :-o
Quote:
В общем, начался телемост, и одна американка говорит: да вы из-за войны в Афганистане вообще должны перестать заниматься сексом с вашими мужчинами — тогда они не пойдут воевать. И пальцем всё время тычет. Я ей и ответила: в СССР секса нет, а есть любовь. И вы во время войны во Вьетнаме тоже не переставали спать со своими мужчинами.
<…>
Но все запомнили только начало фразы. А что, я не права? У нас же действительно слово «секс» было почти неприличным. Мы всегда занимались не сексом, а любовью. Вот это я и имела в виду.
to have sex and to make love are two different things in American culture also just for clarification.Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
"Deja vu" movie is from 1989, but those "TV-bridges" with Pozner were about 1986. So the copyright should be from the real life. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil77
Одному мне кажется, что автор так ничего и не понял?Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
I guess "секас" came from here :) :Quote:
Originally Posted by starrysky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cN9ninkr3E
Всем. Вообще, вырывать фразу из контекста - мерзкое дело.Quote:
Originally Posted by BappaBa
Have I caused offence?! And why does it appear that I have understood nothing? I merely asked for validity and it appears theQuote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
context is disputed.
С одной стороны да. И мне нечаянного автора этого перла по-человечески жалко.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
А с другой, - из песни слова не выкинешь, так уж получилось что фраза вошла в историю именно так. :( И не вошла бы, если бы в ней не было доли правды.
И с третьей, - как раз точного контекста мы и не установили.
No, not really. It's just that, like most unintentional comedy, it's only fun until you consider what the participants ought to feel now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
Just imagine billions of people laughing at you forever and ever... Ok, this might be a hyperbole, but not that far from the truth.
It appears so since even after it's been said the phrase has been cut out of context, you still exclaimed: "[...] what a line!"Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
The truth is that there was no "line" at all. There were other very funny things back then (and some awful too), but every time this "line" is brought up I realize why "democrats" in Russia can't win. They have to be honest first and not use just about anything that can help them to make the USSR look bad. The creation of such "lines" makes people skeptical about the other [a lot of correct] things they say.
Yes but I felt that irrespective of context, it was simply a humourous sweeping statement to have ever been made.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
Yes, the phrase was really said. But the speaker didn't meant what a common person would think having heard the phrase. She meant 'no sex on the Soviet TV'.
Well, that I understood!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ленивец
It's also that this phrase is commonly used to demonstrate how brainwashed were the Soviet people [to only display the positive sides of the SU] that they couldn't even admit they had sex.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
Really? Even to this day?Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
?? Excuse me, what do you mean exactly? Yes, I said that, but later although we have failed to find a definitive proof, everybody who had heard that agrees that the phrase was out of context. No one could prove what that context was exactly, of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by danova
And that's amazing, in its own way, and a bit scary, but that's besides the point. What it was caused by some sort of severe misunderstanding of the question is indisputable.
Re political implications. Ребят, давайте жить дружно. Неужели вы считаете, что Niamh поднял(а) эту тему, чтобы ещё раз посыпать соль на рану "патриотам*"? Он(а) просто поинтересовалась, произошло ли такое на самом деле и как такое могло произойти.
*В смысле самоназвания определённой группы течений русской мысли и политики, а не в смысле абстрактной любви к Родине. (Анархист тоже может любить "[С] картинки в своём букваре,// Хороших и верных товарищей,//Живущих в соседнем дворе".) Потому в кавычках.
Thanks- no salt to wound scenario was intended. As I have said, I have heard this phrase referenced a few times. But I merely wanted to clarify if it was a urban legend and if possible establish the context. Offending or mocking was not a side agenda!Quote:
Originally Posted by ac220