Romanian Popular Culture
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capitalist market, with its large variety of goods, advertising principles, discounts
and sales. Compared to the unbelievable scarcity of goods of the pre-1990 decade,
the Romanian shopping mall, though of a much more reduced size, is seen both as
a blessing and as an icon of capitalist economy. Similarly, fast-food restaurants
(McDonalds, Wendy’s, KFC, Pizza Hut) are regarded as an oasis of capitalist soci
ety. People, disregarding all the unhealthy food propaganda, go to these places
primarily because they are clean and air-conditioned. As the prices are generally
high compared to the Romanian salary, fast-food restaurants are places where people
usually go for a treat. Some McDonalds, for instance, have become children-friendly,
a place where families may spend whole afternoons treating their children and
supervising their play. They are less the quiet place where people hurriedly grab a
bite or take the burger away and more a busy place of leisure and entertainment.
While malls and fast-food restaurants have been easily integrated into people’s
every-day life, the Dracula theme park, with its commercial and entertainment
purpose, met with strong opposition. It could probably have been accepted more
easily if it were not for the idea of dedicating it to Dracula, whom most Romanians
refuse to see as a national myth. The controversy became very strong when the
Romanians were faced with its construction in one of the most renowned medieval
cities, in the heart of Transylvania, where people still liv R