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Why Russians do not smile (2002)

chicagomaroon.com

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Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#11

Post by brixon »

nostromo wrote: post #5
b0rsuk wrote: post #3

Mona Lisa was special in part because it was uncommon for people to smile. In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. That's why facial expressions in medieval imagery are so serious. Today, being surprised a lot is often taken as a sign of stupidity, whereas in ancient Greece an owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Because, obviously, an owl is always surprised, and surprise is…

Smiling prominently for portraits seemed to become more popular only after modern dentistry became common. I imagine most people in the Middle Ages (and much later) had chipped, missing, buckled, crooked and stained teeth. Now pristine teeth are a signal of wealth (even though they're usually 100% fake veneers, at least among actors and models) so people want to signal their wealth by smiling prominently.

It was also an issue of the speed of capture. Paintings and old Cameras had long exposure times so you needed a pose that you could hold for a long time.

https://time.com/4568032/smile-serious-old-photos/

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#13

Post by dougmwne »

I wonder if any Russians can weigh in if this still feels accurate. I'm familiar with Polish Culture, which is less fun, frivolous, and happy than American culture, but a smile is certainly not an attack, just reserved for genuine occasions. Service people are in no way expected to smile unless there is some honest reason to.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#14

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

graeme wrote: post #8
zero_deg_kevin wrote: post #4

The thing that struck me most about this article was the frequent east/west framing. Is that common outside of the US?

It was more common in the past. In 2002 the cold war had ended only 11 years prior. Now we are 30 years out. Same as how back then you could say “in the war” and people knew you meant WWII, but nowaways youth may give you a confused look. But yes at least in Canada we used to use the east/west framing, and in respect of russia. In 2002 they were the more prominent power compared to China. That situation has heavily r…

I know a professor who taught at a community college in Brooklyn. He had a section on 9/11 and would warn his students if they had a personal connection to the events that they may want to skip those classes. Some students who were native life long New Yorkers didn't even know what 9/11 was.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#16

Post by j4yav »

dougmwne wrote: post #13

I wonder if any Russians can weigh in if this still feels accurate. I'm familiar with Polish Culture, which is less fun, frivolous, and happy than American culture, but a smile is certainly not an attack, just reserved for genuine occasions. Service people are in no way expected to smile unless there is some honest reason to.

I can imagine a drunk person reacting as described, but mainly because drunk people are unpredictable.

I think otherwise though it you smile a lot for no reason people will think you are a little foolish or loony, but it isn’t dangerous.

I agree with the author that Americans and Russians have a surprising amount of similarities when you get past some surface level differences.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#17

Post by dougmwne »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #12

But really, why do Americans smile?

Basically the article still applies. People who always have a smile on their face are praised as having reached a level of contentment and joy that the rest of us aspire to. That and you'll eventually get fired from your job if you never smile.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#18

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

nostromo wrote: post #5
b0rsuk wrote: post #3

Mona Lisa was special in part because it was uncommon for people to smile. In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. That's why facial expressions in medieval imagery are so serious. Today, being surprised a lot is often taken as a sign of stupidity, whereas in ancient Greece an owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Because, obviously, an owl is always surprised, and surprise is…

Smiling prominently for portraits seemed to become more popular only after modern dentistry became common. I imagine most people in the Middle Ages (and much later) had chipped, missing, buckled, crooked and stained teeth. Now pristine teeth are a signal of wealth (even though they're usually 100% fake veneers, at least among actors and models) so people want to signal their wealth by smiling prominently.

Used to be that you checked cattle's teeth for problems before buying - that's why it's impolite to "look a gift horse in the mouth".

Also done with slaves, from what I've read. Nowadays it's voluntary, sort of.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#19

Post by babypuncher »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #14
graeme wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was more common in the past. In 2002 the cold war had ended only 11 years prior. Now we are 30 years out. Same as how back then you could say “in the war” and people knew you meant WWII, but nowaways youth may give you a confused look. But yes at least in Canada we used to use the east/west framing, and in respect of russia. In 2002 they were the more prominent power compared to China. That situation has heavily r…

I know a professor who taught at a community college in Brooklyn. He had a section on 9/11 and would warn his students if they had a personal connection to the events that they may want to skip those classes. Some students who were native life long New Yorkers didn't even know what 9/11 was.

The only way I can fathom this being the case in Brooklyn is a combination of kids living under a rock and a total failure of the local public education system.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#20

Post by tut-urut-utut »

dosman33 wrote: post #10
zero_deg_kevin wrote: post #4

The thing that struck me most about this article was the frequent east/west framing. Is that common outside of the US?

Yes. Once while touring a space museum in Switzerland I was reading the placards about the Russian and US space programs. Yuri Gagarin was consistently referred to as "the communist" which seemed perfectly normal to me as an American. Then I saw one that referred to John Glenn as "the capitalist" which was a novel concept to my brain. It wasn't until that moment that I realized just how ridiculous it was for us to re…

> Yuri Gregorian

Yuri Gagarin

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