Comments on Chirayliq: Honorary Russian: Viggo Mortensen

Etymology of the word "free" in English:free (adj....

2008-08-12T19:26:00.000+02:00

Etymology of the word "free" in English:

free (adj.)
Old English FREO "free, exempt from, not in bondage," also "noble, joyful," from early Germanic *frijaz (cf. Sanskrit priyah "own, dear, beloved," priyate "loves;" Old Church Slavonic prijati "to help," prijatelji "friend;" Welsh rhydd "free"). The adv. is from O.E. freon, freogan "to free, love." The primary sense seems to have been "beloved, friend, to love;" which in some languages (notably Gmc. and Celtic) developed also a sense of "free," perhaps from the terms "beloved" or "friend" being applied to the free members of one's clan (as opposed to slaves, cf. L. liberi, meaning both "free" and "children"). Cf. Goth. frijon "to love;" O.E. freod "affection, friendship," friga "love," friðu "peace;" Old Norse friðr, German Friede "peace;" O.E. freo "wife;" O.N. Frigg "wife of Odin," lit. "beloved" or "loving;" Middle Low German vrien "to take to wife, Dutch vrijen, German freien "to woo."

Modern use extends to economic sense in English, unlike in many other languages:

Sense of "given without cost" is 1585, from notion of "free of cost." Of nations, "not subject to foreign rule or to despotism," it is recorded from 1375. Freedman "manumitted slave" first recorded 1601. Colloquial freeloader first recorded 1930s; free fall is from 1919, originally of parachutists; free-hand is from 1862; free-thinker is from 1692. Freebie dates back to 1942 as freeby, perhaps as early as 1900. Free-for-all "mass brawl" (in which anyone may participate) first recorded 1881.

Ooops, sorry for linking to the Japanese trailer f...

2008-08-05T23:23:00.000+02:00

Ooops, sorry for linking to the Japanese trailer for "Vor", of all possible versions. I wasn't looking.

The theme of Scandinavian Asians sounds quite intr...

2008-08-05T20:26:00.000+02:00

The theme of Scandinavian Asians sounds quite intriguing! Post, post!

Well, the fight scene is very realistic and ugly, ...

2008-08-05T20:19:00.000+02:00

Well, the fight scene is very realistic and ugly, and the nudity is more raw than pretty, so I don't know if mum should be exposed to it. :op

Hmm, I don't think there are any contemporary films made about Vory v zakone that early on.
From Soviet times I only know the comedy "Gentlemen of Fortune" and the miniseries The Meeting Place Cannot be Changed set in the postwar Soviet Union.

In the 1990's there was apparently an explosion in popular history and romantic depictions of the Russian mafia. Most of it is said to be crap. There was recently a New York Times article about Vory v zakone, where a Russian expert claimed that "Eastern Promises" was the best depiction of them that he had seen on film(!).
Still, there are the Brat (Brother) films, and also Antikiller, a great Russian bockbuster action movie ... Hmm.
One less glorifying depiction is the film "Vor" about a young mother and her son who shortly after the war get involved with a handsome professional thief who claims to be an army officer. But it's perhaps more of a parabel about Stalin.
"Brigada" is a very popular miniseries about a group of good friends who become gangsters, and their lives from 1989 to 2000. It looks like parts of it are on YouTube, and guess who is in it? - Farhad Mahmudov!
Most of these films aren't really much of ethnographical depictions of Vory v zakone, though.

Not only trüe Vory got/get tattoos in the prisons and camps, but the criminal tattoo culture is in any case very interesting, though it is said to be degrading these days. There is a very interesting documentary film about Russian criminal tattoos called "The Mark of Cain".
Here is a fun article about both Eastern Promises and The Mark of Cain.

An acquaintance of mine in Moscow, a funny Swedish girl, had a Russian ex-boyfriend who was a criminal (maybe, maybe not a trüe Vor). He had his whole body covered with tattoos, and according to eyewitnesses he was the most handsome man anyone had ever seen. :o)
Maybe I should try to look her up again and see if she has any photos of him still ...?

Hmm, the word "fraer" most likely comes from German, but I don't know how exactly. I do know that in Romanian it means a dupe, someone who can be easily fooled. I don't know if it came into Romanian from Russian, but in any case the meaning is similar, though more specific in Russian.
I think the German "Freier", and Swedish "Friare", are nouns formed from the verbs that are both from the old Germanic word vrîen, to suit, to marry, identical with the Icelandic frjá, to love. I suspect that it might be ralated to something about "setting free" a woman from her family so you can marry her, "vacating" her into the position where she can be married to you. The evolution of "Freier" to mean "john" is probably quite simply sarcasm.
I don't know how this word came into Russian and Romanian and came to have a slightly different meaning. Maybe German men came to Russian families to suit their daughters and the Russians thought they were pathetic and could fool them very easily? :o/

Awww, but I haven't been in Russia for a long time. Russians would probably also think it was fun to see me in Russia. The ones in Berlin already laugh at my accent and say it's cute. ;_; I need to practise more again.

Another thing (I should sleep now but I don't have...

2008-08-05T02:03:00.000+02:00

Another thing (I should sleep now but I don't have any sense): It would be fun to do something about these eternal Hollywood Scandinavians who get to play the "ethnic Other". You know, Peter Stormare as a crazy Russian cosmonaut or German punk, Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, or if you go even further back, with Nils Asther as a Chinese warlord in "The Bitter Tea of General Yen" and Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund in Västerbotten, any Finn or Saame in him by chance?) as Charlie Chan and Dr Fu Manchu.

My pet theory: Although Scandinavians were assumed to be the "purest of the pure" Germanics/Aryans/Caucasians, whatever the current trend might have been, they were exotic for those who identified as Anglo-Saxon. Thus, during the worst hysteria against "yellow peril" and racial mixing, a Scandinavian in yellowface was exotic *and* safe for the white audience and censors. They were believeable enough as villains or good guys, but after all, they where white actors from the whitest part of the world.

For some strange reason, the selected Scandinavian actors did not always need much makeup or enhancements to look "convincingly" Asian...

Would a post on this theme suit Chirayliq or is it way out of party line?

A family website! Well I never... Of course, I try...

2008-08-05T01:35:00.000+02:00

A family website! Well I never... Of course, I try to follow the golden rule: Never post anything that would hurt Mum's feelings. That should keep me safe... (though not from the government)

Viggo is so adorable when he is making "Russian faces". Eyebrows, lips, it's spot on. Your selection of images is like a little handbook, I have to use some of those expressions for my characters (Volkov!). Of course, it's best to go to the sources. Do you know any good Russian movies about gangsters in the 20's and 30's? That "Vory v zakone" stuff sounded intriguing. I also wonder about the etymology of the word "fraer". Does it come from German "Freier"? (And how come it's the German word for "prostitute's customer" now, although it looks like it means "free person" and earlier meant "suitor"? Is the evolution something like "free man" -> "free to court a lady"?)

It is striking how language extends to physical expressions, and sometimes it is possible to "blend in" a community by successfully learning the common body language, although your looks may be different or your speech might have an accent. (I might mention some Finns in Japan who have adapted well...)

It would be fun to see you in Russia, Tinet!