The 21st century has become concerned with social justice and equal rights for everyone, and along with this perspective has come the idolization of people who have dedicated their lives to trying to achieve these goals. Ernesto “Che” Guevara is a primary example of a man who gave his life defending the rights of the oppressed, and who is now stamped on t-shirts to represent ‘cultural sensitivity’ and ‘liberal-mindedness’.
Upon working on an in-depth conference project on Guevara, I became utterly disillusioned with the hunky man I had met while watching The Motorcycle Diaries. I became more disillusioned, and even outraged, at the t-shirts that I saw all around campus, which led me to one main question that I still cannot really answer: why does youth culture today idolize Guevara? Their signs of cultural understanding seem to instead represent a misunderstanding of Guevara’s main principles. He fought for more than just equal rights, but rather for socialism. “You are different, so are we,” would not exactly be Guevara’s motto.
The attraction to Guevara seems to be political on a certain level, but more likely, the attraction is based on his aesthetics: “With his hippie hair and wispy revolutionary beard, Che is the perfect postmodern conduit to the nonconformist seditious 60’s” (Fontova 10). It seems that our youth culture perpetuates the way in which Guevara is perceived, “it is semiotics, more than politics that leads teenagers ignorant of the Sierra Maestra to sport Che t-shirts” (The Economist 10/2007, 1). But, is it truly ignorance that leads to the mass production and popularity of Guevara as a revolutionary icon?
Regardless of Guevara’s initial intentions, his image fascinates the radical liberal youth of America, who would more likely than not disagree with many of Guevara’s principles. Even though he does represent a mobilization of the poor and repressed, a lot of his ideas seem to have been diluted to a 21st century ideal. However, the fascination with Guevara is not solely due to liberal youth, but also has to do with the commercial market in which we live (one of the key things that Guevara fought against). A new market has been created, making various memorabilia stamped with Guevara’s face, and in this way has begun a new wave of “commercialized dissent” (Gerson 2), a wave in which it is cool to fight against the ‘man’ in order to gain overall rights for the people. The economic market is currently playing with the ‘trendiness’ of politics based on the popularity of youth campaigns, such as the “Vote or Die” campaign that MTV uses to encourage young people to vote. But, what does this ‘trendiness’ actually do to change the world? It seems as if the political ‘trendiness’ is being used solely for fiscal gain, since I personally have seen little change in social justice due to t-shirts with Che Guevara’s face. All this ‘trendiness’ seems to do is further enforce the ideology of the market, which does not coincide with liberal philosophy (Gerson 2).
The representations of Che in the media coincide with the concept of ‘artistic self-expression,’ further mixing the pop culture and the political scene. Che Guevara has become a legend to many artists in the United States, mainly due to his misrepresentation. He is heralded as someone who fought for the rights of the people, which is true to a certain extent, and many people use this misrepresentation to express themselves artistically. Gisele Bundchen modeled a bikini that was stamped with Guevara’s face; Angelina Jolie and Mike Tyson both have tattoos of the revolutionary on their bodies; rap artist Jay-Z has referred to himself as “Che Guevara with bling on” (Fontova xxiv). The icon of Guevara has become more popular than Guevara the revolutionary guerilla:
“The man in ‘The Motorcycle Diaries,’ who loved lepers as Jesus did, who forded a river at great personal risk to show his compassion for them, is the man who declared that ‘a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate’” (Fontova xix).
The image of Guevara as a guerrilla is pushed below the surface, and practically ignored by most, if not all, of the population, but direct quotes from his own work remain true and probably unread. Using the parameters of the Cuban Revolution (his only basis for success), Guevara created a step-by-step guide on how to begin, as well as fight, a guerrilla war. This included such useful information as what footwear to wear when going into battle, and which types of weapons are preferable (Guevara 9).
In terms of ‘artistic self-expression,’ it is important to understand the relationship that Guevara had with art. Guevara imprisoned many young Cuban artists, and initiated heavy censorship, as per usual in dictatorships. Also, the idea of ‘self’ was something that Guevara fought against, considering group principles more important than individual rights and privileges. He had been quoted as saying that he wanted to “make individualism disappear from Cuba,” (Phillips 1), and also that “it is criminal to think of individuals…young people should learn to think and act as a mass” (1).
This example among others shows how the media has covered the negative images of Guevara and replaced them with a positive revolutionary. He was known for challenging the status quo, with his most popular example being the success of the Cuban Revolution. This success alone is enough for a youth culture to completely forget the failures of his other revolutions in the jungles of Bolivia, and the Congo.
Guevara’s life also provides another part of his appeal, since he was born into a rich and privileged family. In order to begin his revolution, he came out of that position and directly into the land of the peasants. The Motorcycle Diaries shows Guevara in both roles: the rich aristocrat, and the weary, dirty traveler. His selfless nature is a huge part of the appeal, and his transition into a life of poverty, which eventually led to death, can be seen as ‘the ultimate sacrifice.’
I believe the most crucial part of the legacy of Che Guevara is this death in the jungles of Bolivia which continues to be glamorized and retold ad nauseum. His death during an unsuccessful war he began led to a seamless transition into martyrdom among the people in Latin America first, and later, in the United States, “although his revolutionary convictions inclined him toward tyranny, he died a martyr’s death” (McCormick 1). His death in battle made him appear equal amongst his fellow guerrillas, and furthermore, among the poor. Was it his fights for and with the poor that make him idolized now?
Many of the perceptions of Guevara, however, seem to have come out of thin air, and seem to be based on the Hollywood-esque version of his life in The Motorcycle Diaries, as well as the Cuban government’s ability to censor “everything about Che that is not heroic” (Rohter 2). It is hard to ignore that The Motorcycle Diaries completely avoids the topic of politics, in order to appeal to a broader range of audiences (2). This movie version of Guevara has left the Western world with a very different vision of the man who fought desperately against Yankee imperialism. His image is misinterpreted so frequently that people have come to regard Guevara as pacific, which is not necessarily the case, considering that he was a guerrilla. Tom Morello, the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, regards Che as “an amazing example,” (Fontova 15), as well as a man “all about love and compassion” (15). These are words that ignore Guevara’s main life’s work, as well as directly contradicts this direct quote: “…we should not fear violence, the midwife of new societies; but violence should be unleashed at that precise moment in which the leaders have found the most favorable circumstances” (Guevara 147). He doesn’t seem too pacific after all.
I don’t necessarily have an answer to why Guevara appears around my campus so frequently. I have come to the conclusion that, to the wearers of his face, he represents a challenge to the status quo, as well as a challenge to United States imperialism. However, upon recognizing this, I say: spend your dollars better and go actually help people in the world who need it, instead of buying a t-shirt. By all means, keep on wearing Che Guevara proudly, as long as there is an understanding of what he truly represents.
Works Cited:
“Leaders: A Modern Saint and Sinner: Che Guevara” The Economist. London: October 13, 2007: pg. 18.
Fontova, Humberto. Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him. New York: Penguin Press, 2007
Gerson, Michael. “Where Soy and Chai Meet Che and Mao”. The Washington Post. October 19, 2007.
Guevara, Ernesto. Guerrilla Warfare: A Method. Foreign Language Press, 1964.
McCormick, Gordon H. “Che Guevara”. World Policy Journal. Vol. 14. Issue 4 (Winter 1997/1998): pgs. 63-80.
Phillips, Joseph C. “Hey, Che”. New Pittsburgh Courier. August 8-14, 2007.
Rohter, Larry. “Che Today? More Easy Rider Than Revolutionary”. New York Times: May 26, 2004.