This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
In Soviet Russia Joke launched as In Soviet Russia Trope Mocks You Discussion: From YKTTW
Moved from In Russia Trope Mocks You:
Fencedude: Shouldn't this be "In Soviet Russia Trope Mocks You"?
Unknown Troper: Yes, yes it should!
(random passer-by): also, goulash is Hungarian, not Russian. Or is the writer talking about popcultural perceptions of Eastern Europe in general?
Sikon: I'm a Russian, and I can confirm that the country looks (and looked) nothing like Hollywood portrays it. Is it worth mentioning? :)
SAMAS: Kinda. Although the fact that the trope is here in the first place implies that already.
Citizen: I'll move it to In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You later if no one else does, but I want to wait and see how this page develops before I throw my name into the process.
HeartBurn Kid: @random passer-by: Hey, nobody said that the Hollywood Atlas was accurate. :)
Mister Six: Done!
Rock: The example about Metal Gear Solid 3 is wrong; it isn't that there were no Russians, but that Snake's fluency in Russian was such that he understood them perfectly. This is more an example of Translator Microbes.
Morgan Wick: This page is starting to be linked to as though it were a trope about "In Soviet Russia Noun Verbs You". Should it be split?
Anonymous Apathy: revised an argument over semantics ("hot") with a statement that is (hopefully) much more concise.
<random troper>: This should probably be expanded to include the 'Russian women are ugly and/or psycho bitches' trope found in a lot of action movies (From Russia With Love, the new Indy flick, etc.).
Silent Hunter: I wouldn't call Cate Blanchett ugly. Plus you're ignoring the fact that while Rosa Klebb is definitely ugly and psychotic, Tatiana Romanova is certainly not.
Moechi_Vill: Hey, lots of Russian women are hot - like Swedes or the brunette kind.
Skazka: Still, it could be noted. "Ugly and/or psychotic", right alongside "gorgeous but icy, at best a Defrosting Ice Queen". And on a tangential note— hey, guys, the upper midwest isn't that bad...
Keiler: It's worth noting that the term "comrade" was used in official situations only. Only a hardline or overzealous communist would say "the comrade next door" or "I'm going with comrade Petrenko today". Of course, in 50's (especially prior to 1956) people couls say something like that in fear that some may consider this a "lack of revolutionary vigilance" and pass such information to secret police.
das: Not really, it was (and is) also used in roughly the same sense as the word was used in the West (and in the Russian Empire; there are some subtle differences) before it became associated with revolutionaries and/or communism. It's not as widespread now, but still is often enough used as a synonym for "friend" or similar. (And ofcourse there is an "uniquely Russian" form of a financial corporation called a "comradeship", extant before the Revolution, during the New Economic Policy and to a lesser extent today).
On another note, the origins of vodka are shrouded in mystery and the exact time and country are unknown. It wasn't even called vodka until later, it used to be "bread wine".
BritBllt: Removing, for now...
Theatre
- In the musical Leave It to Me (1938), one of the main characters is in Russia, and is handed a telegram. He reaches for a tip, but is told, "No tipping. In Soviet Russia, messenger tips you."
In 1938, they not only used the joke, but used the more recent addition of "Soviet" rather than just plan "Russia"? Maybe the troper meant that in a recent performance, an actor ad-libbed that line? I haven't seen it, but I can't imagine that was part of the original script (and searching online turned up nothing).
Prfnoff: This is not Wikipedia; we don't have verifiability guidelines, and Internet searches aren't as exhaustive as everyone thinks. I'm restoring the example, which isn't an ad-lib; it's from the only published edition (in a musical theatre anthology) I know to exist. I'm also curious why you would consider "Soviet Russia" more recent than 1938.
