LESSON NOTES

All About S1 #10

Top 5 Hungarian Pop Culture
Things You Need to Know

CONTENTS
2

Grammar

10

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GRAMMAR
The Focus of This Lesson is Hungarian Pop Culture Facts You Should Know

In this lesson, we're talking about the Hungary of today. That's right, Hungarian pop culture.
Popular Music

One of the more developed aspects of pop culture in Hungary is the music scene. Recently,
Hungarian pop music has featured more heavily in the charts than classic Hungarian music.
Hungarian music and traditional folk songs are still favorites of the older generation, of
course, but you can also see their influence in modern pop.
Hungary today has a very developed rock and alternative music scene, with Tankcsapda and
Quimby being your host's favorite, but pop groups are always the favorite among younger
people, and more recently hip-hop has been getting more popular too.
Talent shows are popular worldwide, and Hungary is no different. The X-Factor and a local
show called Megasztr are the two most popular. These shows rate well, and they always
choose at least one legendary musician to be on the panel like Presser Gbor and Nagy
Fer.
Popular Movies

Hungarians love to go to the movies, and like many European countries, the top movies on
the billboards today are Hollywood movies. But Hungarian cinema is still dear to a lot of
Hungarians, and many classics are still shown. Although production of Hungarian movies is
in decline, the Hungarian movie industry itself has been doing quite well in recent years, with
many big budget foreign films and television series being produced there. Despite the
decline, classic Hungarian films still have a place in the hearts of Hungarians.
Some Hungarian film directors have also gained international fame. Szab Istvn, the only
Oscar-winning director of Mephisto and Sunshine, is from Hungary. Hajdu Szabolcs and Tarr
Bla are both known for directing art films.
Comedy is among the most popular genre of Hungarian films, and standouts from the last

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ALL ABOUT S1 #10 - TOP 5 HUNGARIAN POP CULTURE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

decade or so include vegtigris and Valami Amerika.

Famous Hungarians in Hollywood

In Hollywood there have always been quite a few American-born Hungarians (or half
Hungarians), like Drew Barrymore and the late Tony Curtis. Recently, the most well-known
Hungarian director has probably been Antal Nimrd, the director of the 2010 summer
blockbuster, Predators.
Hungary and Sport

Water polo is very popular in Hungary, and large part because the Hungarian national team
does so well at an international level. The mens' team has won gold at three Olympic Games,
and consistently places first at competitions around the world. Players like the legendary
Benedek Tibor have become celebrities in Hungary.
Despite a long stretch of poor performances by the national team, soccer is still popular, but
mostly because of Hungarian players abroad, such as Dzsudzsk Balzs. Formerly a player
for PSV Eindhoven, he's been working hard to help Hungarian football return to its former
glory.

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ALL ABOUT S1 #10 - TOP 5 HUNGARIAN POP CULTURE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW