Cultural Studies paper by Pereszlényi, Mártha Pintér
‘Ölelem a Térded!’ I Hug Your Knees (Not Kiss Your Hand!): Béla Zerkovitz, Dezső Kosztolányi, and Joséphine Baker
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
From dirt-poor beginnings in early 20th century racist America, African American cabaret performer Joséphine Baker rose to heights of global fame in interwar Europe, taking Paris by storm, later bedazzling the rest of Europe including two visits to Hungary. In 1928, this “Bronze Venus” was almost banned by the Hungarian Conservative Party, but after being screened before the police committee, her show was a huge success at the Orfeum Theatre in Budapest. According to a contemporary account from TIME Magazine, a Hungarian cavalry officer behaved too amorously, displeasing the Italian “Count” serving as her manager who challenged the officer to a sword-fighting duel. They met in a cemetery while Baker cheered from atop a tombstone. During her second Budapest visit, a young fan, hopelessly in love with Baker, shot himself after one of her concerts. Kosztolányi wrote a glowing article about her in the Pesti Hirlap. Béla Zerkovitz’ internationally renowned hit song, “Gyere Jozefin. . . ölelem a térded,” appears in the musical comedy Csókos Asszony/Kissing Lady, still regularly performed in the 21st century, though most spectators are clueless regarding the origin of the song. Despite her success as a Jazz Age mega-star, her worldwide performances were denounced as animalistic. Condemned as a primitive threat to civilization, still, she played to full houses who found her fascinating and amusing. This paper argues that Hungary was not isolated in post WWI European malaise, and by embracing Baker, who symbolized the Other of urban interwar European modernity, the country sought to evoke “metropolitan” or “European” culture and transform its capital city into a cosmopolitan metropolis.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Mártha Pereszlényi-Pintér is the former Chairperson of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures and Associate Professor of French at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. She earned her Ph.D. in Romance Languages from The Ohio State University, and studied at the Institut de Touraine (Tours) and the Bryn Mawr Program (Avignon) in France. Her research and publication accomplishments include French and also Hungarian Literature and Culture of the pre-modern period (Medieval, Renaissance, 17th century), Film, and Language for Business & the Professions. She has read papers at national and international conferences. While at OSU, she wrote or co-wrote 16 manuals for individualized instruction in both French and Hungarian with group grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Annenberg Foundation. She was born in Austria and emigrated to the USA with her Hungarian parents. She is also a past President of AHEA, and chaired or co-chaired four past AHEA annual Conferences.