ABSTRACT
Anika Bradinski is a Polish immigrant. It is how she refers to herself and often, in conversation, she refers to her Polish identity, her language, to Poland itself, and to the communist government which she left behind when she migrated to the United States 15 years ago. The communist government came up often in her speech, as in, “This American television. It’s propaganda. It’s worse than the communists!” And then she laughs, which accompanies much of what she says. She laughs as she states her strong opinions, as if you both should and should not take her seriously. For example, when I ask what she dislikes about television, she responds, “They give only an American perspective and I cannot stand their primitive, manipulative way of treating the audience! Only a moron would believe it!” And she laughs again.
