The Cultural Revolution Tarot

[James Battersby]

Interested in Asian decks, or more specifically Chinese themed decks? Like seeing decks in the works as and when they happen? With well over 1000 fans and counting, what was once a small personal project between two lovers from opposite sides of the planet and of two different ethnicities, has now become a much anticipated work of art that has garnered many fans from all walks of life and from such diverse places as China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, Europe, the U.S and Canada, a testament to the strength of both the imagery and the conceptual ideas that are packed into this brightly coloured highly unique, highly controversial deck of cards.

or.....just go see for yourself

www.facebook.com/TheCulturalRevolutionTarot

 

[swimming in tarot]

What amazing energy is in the artwork of this deck!

 

[jillkite]

Cultural Revolution Tarot

Sorry, but I don't get it.

I keep seeing pictures of this tarot popping up on the feed of a tarot facebook group i am on and every time i just wonder WHY?

WHY would someone make a theme tarot deck based on a movement that was involved in crushing spirituality for millions of people?

For me tarot is something spiritual, and to put it together with the cultural revolution, it just DOESN'T GO.

I often spend a couple of months per year in Dharamsala, India, I am here right now. This is where the Dalai Lama lives, and where the Tibetan Government in Exile has it's base. Ask the Tibetan people what the Cultural Revolution has meant to them, then make a tarot about that. It will be a dark deck, very very DARK.

Sorry but I don't feel any joy at seeing anything to do with the Cultural Revolution, it repulses me. Would someone bring out a Holocaust Tarot with colourful comic style pictures of the Nazi's and the Holocaust, I don't think so. The Cultural Revolution has been a kind of a Holocaust for the Tibetan people. Do the people who are creating this deck have a complete lack of awareness about that?

If someone is making money with this deck maybe they could donate some of the proceeds to the Tibetan cause to make some kind of balance??

 

[feynrir]

Yeah...

I can see where politics as human connection (as tarot) can make for an interesting piece, but this kind of stuff is too specific to be transcendent as a tarot deck. It's simply distracting and garish.

It's interesting as an art piece to see tarot archetypes translated into this context, but the translations don't work for me, either. So the deck really won't get anymore of my attention, regardless of its political implications. The politics being hearkened to in this tarot deserve discussion elsewhere IMO--too much to say, too much to say. I'm merely thinking about this as a deck right now, and that's enough for me.

Screams "I WANT CONTROVERSY" and does not earn my respect.

Positive: the colors are nice.

 

[Tippyjane]

WHY would someone make a theme tarot deck based on a movement that was involved in crushing spirituality for millions of people?

If someone is making money with this deck maybe they could donate some of the proceeds to the Tibetan cause to make some kind of balance??

Well said, jillkite. Thank you.

 

[Zephyros]

There was a previous thread about this deck in which I expressed much the same views as jillkite. This deck is a horrible whitewashing of the suffering of millions of people.

The Cultural Revolution has been a kind of a Holocaust for the Tibetan people.

Exactly, and not only for them. The Cultural Revolution was so horrific that even the Communist Part declared it a bad idea. I find it repulsive that someone would make a deck based on it, that is actually one that includes propaganda posters. Nice idea, like the USSR Tarot, but there is a grave difference, as the CR was designed and aimed at its horrific aims.

Millions of people were persecuted in the violent struggles that ensued across the country, and suffered a wide range of abuses including public humiliation, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, sustained harassment, and seizure of property. A large segment of the population was forcibly displaced, most notably the transfer of urban youth to rural regions during the Down to the Countryside Movement. Historical relics and artifacts were destroyed. Cultural and religious sites were ransacked.

What's next, a deck glorifying Stalin's purges? And why not make a deck made of Nazi propaganda posters? They were just as colorful and fun as any other repressive regime, after all.

This one, this is the deck I gave as an example (in the thread about the Ghetto Tarot) of a deck people should be horrified about but aren't. I vehemently disagreed with detractors of the Ghetto Tarot, because at least those people tried to make a statement, to do something with what they had. This one? This is just offensive, and is the most revolting display of historical revisionism I've seen in a long time. Why deal with history when you can just make a Disney version of it? This kind of thinking exactly is the kind that made Pocahontas (which, incidentally, what the audience did not see is that she was actually twelve, was raped on multiple occasions and kept as a sex slave to her white captors, and was eventually forced into an arranged marriage).

Way to go.

I eagerly expect the next deck in the series, the Armenian Holocaust deck, I'm sure that its creators will be able to find lots of cute scenes appropriate for a cute Tarot deck in there.

 

[Holly doll]

Yuck , no thanks...

 

[jillkite]

hi Closrapexa, yes I saw your post on the other thread about this deck and completely agreed with it. I couldn't believe the flippant way that the creator of the deck replied to you. Yet their reply is totally in tune with the flippant way they have made a cutesy deck about something so horrific. I wouldn't mind so much if they'd made a dark deck about it.

I was thinking of posting on the other thread as well, I think they should be aware that there are people out there who find this deck really distasteful and maybe even just plain wrong. But perhaps as Feynrir mentioned, like a rebellious teenager they are looking for controversy, looking for a reaction. I really don't know. The whole thing is mind boggling.

Yes, I know it is not only the Tibetans who suffered under the Cultural Revolution, but they are perhaps the most obvious example, and it seems that there needs to be a very obvious example - I can't beleive no-one else (apart from Closrapexa) has been posting about this and that their deck has over 1000 likes on facebook!! It's really quite scary.

They are proudly announcing on their facebook group that their deck will soon be showing up on Aeclectic....... I wonder if the powers that be at Aeclectic would consider veto-ing this deck??? Or are there no boundaries?? Are collectors planning to add it to their collection just because they collect, or are some people drawing the line at this deck?

Interested to hear the reactions of others.

 

[MaryHeather]

From looking at both the Facebook page, and the blog the artists have set up, it's pretty obvious that they are working through a lens of "anti-capitalism" (perhaps we can debate the irony of an anti-capitalist self-published deck in another thread).

Is it a different take on the tarot? Yep. Have they romanticized a political era of dubious social value? Yep. That is the nature of communist propaganda. Whether their goal was to make a deck that showed a dark historical era in a good light, or just to rile people up, we don't know. Hell, it could even be a poorly applied attempt at irony.

Personally, I don't like this deck. However, I am not the filter through which all decks should be judged. This isn't the first deck I don't like because of what it represents, but that is not a good enough reason for me to say "ban it from AT!", nor should that be a good enough reason for anyone else to demand it be banned.

Vote with your wallet. Don't buy it. If you feel so inclined, don't shop from retailers that sell this deck (if it ever goes mainstream). Don't go to a pro reader that uses this deck. If someone uses it in the AT forums, ignore the thread. Let people know why.

 

[luiner]

I just saw this today and i went to their FB.
It was mind blowing, not in a good way.
I scrolled down seeing each cards and kept saying "nope, nope. ugh."
And then i saw The Tower. It's horrifying.
Nope, i don't like it, i don't want it, and i don't want to see it ever again.

The creator wants controversy, then he achieves that.