How did the comedian become the "steam release valve" of the dictatorship? Why was he able to parody János Kádár while he was close to the political elite of the time?
Gábor Mező was a guest of Patrióta, where he discussed the role and work of Géza Hofi with Dér Stefi. The legendary comedian's role in the Kádár era was not only entertaining, but also politically decisive.
Researcher and journalist Gábor Mező emphasized at the beginning of the conversation: Hofi was a great comedian, which cannot and should not be disputed.
At the same time, the author reveals that he received a lot of criticism for trying to look behind the Hofi phenomenon in his work, since many people loved the comedian.
We must classify Géza Hofi among the »valves«, stated Mező, who said that it was enough for Hofi that the former ÁVH's János Komlós stood behind him as a mentor, master, supporter and co-author. "There was no need for a stronger bond than this in the Kádár dictatorship," noted Gábor Mező, adding that in the later, increasingly transforming Kádár regime, the role of Hofi as an instrument became a very important phenomenon, just like the Dance Festival, with which they "enjoyed the people", as well as they demonstrated that this is no longer the bloody Rákosi era.
"If the average person said a bad word, they were immediately reported and had very serious consequences. It was precisely invented who could parody János Kádár. The János Kádár from whom he got his first Mercedes. They were in such a relationship, they even went hunting together, they were very good"
- explained the journalist, according to whom, however, if we listen more closely, we can notice that Hofi's texts do not actually contain any real criticism of the system, he only talks about the fact that this system can be criticized.
According to Mező, Hofi constantly played the simple proliger, even though he wasn't one.
Also, he acted as if he never really knew about anything, blamed everything on Komlós, which according to the author was made up, precisely so that Hofi would remain as clean as possible. "It wasn't just me who said these things about Géza Hofi, but others as well (…) in fact, he said it himself," remarked the journalist.
According to Mező, a Hofi-level talent would have made it at any age because he had the skills, but if he hadn't cooperated with the system at the time, he would have either had to remain silent or emigrate.
"But he didn't want any other choice. He could have had other choices, there are always other choices. You don't necessarily have to be the clown of a dictatorship. Let's not do that anymore. He made that decision and lived quite well.”
- said Mező, who said that Hofi did not feel good after becoming a right-wing government in Hungary, in fact, he described the era where his comrades were no longer in the leadership seat as a "dark world".
"Hofi was afraid. He was afraid that something would happen, since these people knew very well what they had done (…)
It's no accident that I call this era a system change instead of a change, since it was the Gézas of Hofi who saved themselves in all areas without a single hair curling," said the journalist. However, according to Gábor Mező, after the regime change, Hofi also had unacceptable performances, for example, when he trampled the laughing stock on live broadcast,
or when he said about the Hungarian army on the Don that "there were many people at Horthy's funeral - there were many, but many of them had not yet returned home from the Don Bend".
But it also reminds me: Hofi often criticized the politicians of Fidesz very strongly - literally in a disgusting style - for example, it is memorable when he talked about the fact that László Kövér's mouth was full of shit.
According to Mező, he certainly never allowed himself to do this during the Kádár era.
At the end of the conversation, Mező also talked about how, in his opinion, Hofi was not the best in humor, although he was talented, he was also very toxic to society.
Cover image: Géza Hofi should be classified among the "valves", messaged by Gábor Mező
Source: Facebook/BEST Magazin
