this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024
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I mean, that's one interpretation. The other one is the reality that the Soviet Union didn't always treat political prisoners particularly well, and being a former/current western spy, he was pretty smart to err on the side of caution in case they were the ones in charge.
It's honestly a great joke just because it can be so multi-layered given the character of Austin Powers being a free-love, hippy-ish, world-class spy. He genuinely could have both genuinely hoped that communism won, but also a smart tactic to potentially avoid being sent to a gulag, knowing that if he was wrong, the potential repercussions would probably be less severe.
It's been years since I've seen them movie but I recall having a third interpretation of the joke.
I thought Austin has assumed the communists won because prior to being frozen he felt that USSR had a stronger standing in the cold war and would be the more likely victor, regardless of Austin's personal opinions on communism and capitalism.
To expand on this, you could also imply that Austin assumed the capitalists lost because he was frozen. He knows he's a great spy, what chance did capitalism stand without him fighting for it?.
I don't intend to rewatch the movie because my life experiences since then have made it impossible to enjoy media that uses homophobia and transphobia as common punch lines, but I can still agree that it's a great joke, a great movie for it's time, and cleverly written.