The Next Generation



The “cult of Bánk” owes its genesis not only to the memories of former campers and their successors, but also to a process of rediscovery and interpretation that commenced in the 1980s. Arising from the period just prior to the political changes of 1989 was a newfound ability to bring up the past, one that favoured “big stories,” heroes, and other phenomena with symbolic content adaptable to a narrative of resistance and counterculture. Some of the people who retold the stories of Bánk were more famous than they were reflective of the camp’s ideals, having only attended on one or two occasions: what was important was not what they said, but that they were saying it. And as it is the wont of the media to hold up for scrutiny phenomena it can paint as special, exciting, or unique to the age, it is precisely the characters and habits that are interesting from a cult perspective that receive much of the spotlight.