Resistance through culture (also called cultural resistance, resistance through the aesthetic, or intellectual resistance) is a form of

nonconformism Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

. It is not open dissent, but a discreet stance. A revolt "so well hidden that it seems nonexistent", it is a quest "to extend the boundaries of official tolerance, either by adopting a line considered by authorities to be ideologically suspect, or by highlighting certain contemporary social problems, or both." Criticized for being "utopian, and thus inadequate to the realities of that age", during the time of the Communist regimes in Europe, it was also a surviving formula, a modality for writers and artists to cheat Communist censorship without going the whole way into open political opposition.

Romania

One of the most sharply criticized phrases in post-revolutionary Romania, considered to be not much more than "blowing in the wind" by Romanian-born German

Nobel literature prize ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

winner

Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Nițchidorf (german: Nitzkydorf, link=no), Timiș County in Romania, her native language is G ...

, and "not only resignation ..but complicity with the terrorist communism" by Romanian exiled writer

Paul Goma Paul Goma (; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refug ...

, so-called "resistance through culture" has often been linked to

Constantin Noica Constantin Noica (; – 4 December 1987) was a Romanian philosopher, essayist and poet. His preoccupations were throughout all philosophy, from epistemology, philosophy of culture, axiology and philosophic anthropology to ontology and logics, ...

's so-called "Păltiniș School". In the fine arts,

Corneliu Baba Corneliu Baba (; 18 November 1906, Craiova – 28 December 1997) was a Romanian painter, primarily a portraitist, but also known as a genre painter and an illustrator of books. Early life Having first studied under his father, the academic pain ...

, among others, is sometimes considered to be an example of a painter who was nonconformist in this way.

References

{{Reflist Eastern Bloc Criticisms Culture Social change