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Drawn Commuters: Caricature as a visual historical resource
125-150Views:44Despite of the fact that during the time of state socialism commuters meant a continuously
growing social group both in proportion and in size, writing about their social history has
been pushed into the background so far. The author’s aim is to fill this gap by trying to discover
the most of the available sources of different genres. The present study shows part of this
larger volume work, it shows what it can add to our knowledge about a social group through
traditional sources if we include caricatures of a given social group as visual historical sources
in the analysis.
In this paper, the author analyses sixteen caricatures of commuters, published in “Ludas
Matyi,” comparing written and audio visual sources. In the study, she tries, among other things,
to find out if there was a definite commuter picture of “Ludas Matyi”, and if so, to what extent
did this commuter’s image differ from that of other products in the press? To what extent did the
satirical portrayal of commuters refer to long-distance commuters and to what extent to daily
commuters? Were the real anomalies of commuting in the era reflected in Ludas Matyi?
The analysis discusses the economic and social processes that characterize the time of
publishing the caricatures, and denominates the external and internal characteristics and
emotions commuters were endowed with.The aim of the author is to present the method of
caricature analysis, which emphasizes the comparability of resources. -
„He only knows about everything, but does not experience anything!” – deciding on weekly commuting in terms of educational qualifications
20-37Views:31This paper presents the group of domestic commuters who can only go home and meet their
families – in the best case – once a week. It is based on a survey conducted in 2019 in which
24 commuters together with their family members at home were interviewed about why they
had decided on working far away from home. Looking for similar and different characteristic
features, we have analyzed the interviews in terms of the respondents’ educational qualifications.
Our results prove undoubtedly that the lower qualifications the respondents have, the fewer
job options they will have; moreover, they are also in vulnerable position concerning getting
accommodation, spending free time or finding suitable means of transport to go home. -
’If a worker’s hostel – let it be good’: The status of worker’s hostels in state and corporate social policy in Szabolcs-Szatmár county in the 1970s
43-61Views:57The presentation of the commuter’s ’second home’ is inevitable in connection with the research of commuting as one of the most defining social phenomena of the Kádár era. This is particularly justified in Szabolcs-Szatmár county, which area was closely connencted to the phenomenon of short-distance commuting. One of the main goals of the intertwining state and corporate social policy implemented in the era, especially from the first half of the 1960’s, was undoubtedly to ensure satisfactory living conditions and cultural services provided by workers’ hostels. While from the beginning of the 1970’s, the county’s political leadership, one of the companies employing the most commuters, the Szabolcs County State Construction Company, prioritized the matter of workers’ hostels, which had been operated since the beginning of the fifties, from the end of the sixties. The company’s efforts were mainly shown in connection with the creation of suitable hygienic conditions and the provision of cultural opportunities. However, despite the significant financial outlay, a lasting result was not achieved, as a result of which the corporate goals set in previous decades were also prioritized in the 1980’s.
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Some demographic characteristics of long-term commuting in Hungary
3-19Views:57The study aims to show the most important demographic characteristics of long-term
commuting workers and the emerging territorial disparities using the latest available statistics.
The main motivation for commuting, including long commuting, is still to get the job they deem
appropriate, but about a quarter of a million people take on much greater burdens than average
and only travel home weekly or less frequently in Hungary. Most of them make this decision by
force, as there are no job opportunities in their place of residence, but the income they provide is
very important for their families. Long-term commuters mostly do seasonal work (construction,
catering, etc.) and work in physical jobs. Unsurprisingly, men are more likely to take on the life
form with increased physical and psychological strain, but not only the heads of the family in
their forties, but also young people in their 20s who are not yet independent of their families
are represented in large numbers. Long commuting is characterised by marked territorial
inequalities, and those affected mainly start from villages, despite the fact that the high level of public employment in the most disadvantaged areas is affecting the direction of the stay of the
workforce.