apocalypse now the culture of the 90s. the culture of apocalypse yury lotman: semiotics of russian...
TRANSCRIPT
Apocalypse Now
The Culture of the 90s
The Culture of Apocalypse
• Yury Lotman: Semiotics of Russian Culture.• Binary nature of Russian history• Absence of purgatoryi in Orthodox
Christianity: heaven or hell• Culture and Explosion: Russia evolves through
a series of catastrophes between prolonged periods of calm.
Vasily Kandinsky: Portraits of Apocalypse
Vasily Kandinsky
Two Sources of Apocalyptical and Utopian Thinking
• 1. The last book of the Bible: the Revelation of John the Divine.
• 2. Peasant folk beliefs in a mystical city called Kitezh that sank into the waters of the Lake Svetloyar.
The Legendary City of Kitezh
Another vision by T. Zubkova
Boris Ryzhy (1974-2001)
• Born in Cheliabinsk• Parents moved to
Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg)
• Graduated as geophysicist
• First poems published in 1994
• Committed suicide in 2001
Ryzhy’s poetry
• Gypsy woman
• In that flat lived ex-convicts
• Translations of poems
• Evgeny Mironov reading Boris Ryzhy
Liudmila Petrushevskaia (b.1938)
“The New Robinson Crusoes”
• From: There Once Lived a Woman who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby (Penguin Books, 2009)
• Questions• 1. What is the tone of the story?
2. How does it affect you, the reader?• 3. How does it end?
The New Saviour...
• Imagining a new Leader to bring Russia out of its suffering.
• Strong, cool, Robin hood type...
• Film: Brother (1997)
Sergei Bodrov Jr. (1971-2002),“hero of our time”
• Son of a film director• PhD in Art History• Iconic actor of late 1990s,
star of Balabanov’s films• Talk show host• Film director• Died Sept. 20, 2002:
buried by a glacier in the Caucasus, along with the whole crew, while directing a film.
Sergei Bodrov’s selected filmography:
Actor:• Prisoner of the Caucasus
(1996) (dir. Sergei Bodrov, snr)• Brother (1997) (dir. Aleksei Balabanov)• Est-Ouest (1999) (dir. Régis Wargnier)• Brother II (2000) (dir. Aleksei Balabanov)• War (2002)
Other:• Sisters (2001)Director• Morphine (2008)(dir. Aleksei Balabanov)Scriptwriter
Sergei Bodrov’s character Danila Bagrov:the new / old Russian hero, Brother
• Common man: ex-soldier, orphan, poor mother, friends with bums and street girls.
• Restores justice, stands up for the wronged, fights evil “others” (Chechens, black pimps in Chicago, Ukrainian mafia).
• “Ivan the fool” of Russian folktales– chains of fortunate chances, obstacles overcome.
• Cyber folk tale, like computer game – kills opponents to get to bag of money; gets help from unexpected quarters (allies include the long-distance truck driver). Random problems quickly solved.
Brothers (Brother, 1997)