B.EAST Magazine

I have spent the last day looking through my newfound love: B.EAST Magazine.  I did a search for CEE magazines and this was the first one to come up. The one that really caught my eye was a post about Polish animation. 

I will refer to what's written there because it's not only better than what I would come up with, but I'm also against plagiarism.  (The link sends you to an article that beautifully articulates the issues surrounding plagiarism.)  I also want this blog to create a CEE-obsessed network.  There probably is one that I'm not privy to, but I'm making one nonetheless!  I want to connect to these people.  Maybe you do too.  I certainly want to hitch my wagon to B.EAST Magazine.  After browsing their issues on the Fbook page, I was likely drooling.  I might have also struggled with my desire to subscribe versus save money.  Still working on that one.

The number one reason I love this magazine: CEE.  The second reason: pop culture.  The third: writing.  What I've read on the website captivated me.  The discussion of pop culture happenings in the Eastern half of the world is smart and leads me to believe that art history majors who like to party work for B.EAST.  It completely matches my interests because pop culture reveals the sensibilities of a younger, post-socialist generation.  As an anthropologist, I prefer to look at the whole picture and understand the origins as much as the future.  The journey of culture takes twists and turns that no one is able to fully anticipate.  If I was in marketing, I'd like to know how to cash in and predict trends; since I'm in anthropology, I'd like to know why it's going there.  What does pop culture say about the society that produces it?  I've posed hypotheses about rap, Hungarian pop and Polish psychedelic rock, but there's so much more I don't know about.  B.EAST makes me look really square and incompetent in comparison and also reminds me of Nylon and the SLC magazine SLUG.  It's got a cooler-than-thou art school vibe, but without the pretense.  It's not catering to insiders as much as anyone who wants to know more.  As someone who's wading into the vast sea of CEE, I appreciate how clear and relatable the writing is.  The post about Polish animation doesn't assume you know anything about it, but doesn't read like you're an ignoramus who needs a full explanation.

In conclusion, I'm in love and need to find a way to connect myself to this magazine.  If you visit their website from here, maybe they'll trace their traffic to this source and they will offer me a free subscription for me to review.  It could happen.

Enjoy a video they posted of Jan Lenica's "Labyrinth".  So cool! via