A Farewell to Communism: Audio and Visual Culture of Perestroika

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The late Soviet period, also known as perestroika, was filled with hopes and skepticism about the future. The accelerating degradation of the communist system of belief and diversification as well as exposure to cultural materials are some key aspects of the period. Different artists came up with strategies for raising their voices and promoting formerly silenced approaches to art. This panel investigates how audial and visual media such as film and radio contributed to the changing ideological landscape through different narrative, visual and sonic structures.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Birgit Beumers, Aberystwyth U (UK)

Papers

• Kto ubil Loru Palmer?: David Lynch and Perestroika Cinema - Raymond Scott DeLuca, Emory U

• Documenting Voices of Change: Juris Podnieks' 'Homeland' and the Baltic Singing Revolution - Samantha Bodamer, U of Pittsburgh

• Authorial Voice on the Short Waves: Vladimir Voinovich’s Radio Performance of Moscow 2042 - Anna Sbitneva, U of Southern California

Discussant

• Matthew Kendall, U of Illinois at Chicago