SOVIET COMEDY MOVIES OF THE 1960 – 70-IES:
REALITY BEHIND THE COMEDY
TIDE-1910
Fall 2014 Syllabus
Tuesdays 5:00-6:15pm
Newcomb Hall, Room 404
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Alexandra Raskina
Newcomb 305D
504-862-3089
[email protected]
Wednesday 2:15 – 4:15 or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course is dedicated to a special genre of Soviet comedy movies that were out during the last two decades
of the USSR. These comedies used Aesopian language to satirize shortcomings of the Soviet system. The satire
within these films was an important factor in eroding the overall legitimacy of the Soviet rule, thereby
contributing in a serious way to the ultimate collapse of the USSR. Despite the country's severe censorship, the
comedies found ways to address the troubled moral climate of the country and at the same time provided the
needed entertainment. These comedies enjoyed broad popularity within Soviet society and became an
indispensable part of the public discourse.
The course provides an opportunity for students to explore a body of rich and complex cultural problems under
the guidance of a teacher who was an immediate witness to the process. It also looks at the role of satiric films
in bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Questions like “Can humor be revolutionary? Can satire
bring down a dictatorship?” will be discussed. At the same time, the organization of the course around comedic
films provides an atmosphere in which students can both enjoy themselves and gain an important insight into
the art and wit of the best Soviet comedy filmmakers of the period. This is a one-credit course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
On one hand, the course aims at introducing the students to conscious approach to movies, and analyzing
them. The other aim is to introduce them to Soviet culture: a specific culture of a totalitarian society; and to the
role of the cultural phenomenon of movies, in particular, comedies, within this society.
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SOVIET COMEDY MOVIES OF THE 1960 – 70-IES
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The students of TIDE-1910 will:
1) Get an understanding of the important events in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union.
2) Learn how to consider the interrelation of the social life, history, and culture.
3) Get familiar with several Soviet comedy movies, learn about the reality behind the comedy, and the place
of the movies within the culture as a whole.
4) Be able to analyze movies, giving their interpretation and communicating it in writing and in oral
discussions.
5) Have fun, I hope.
ASSESSMENT
Students’ mastery of the objectives will be assessed based on discussions in class; on essays they will be asked
to write; and on take-home quizzes testing whether they understand correctly the materials given to them.
TOPIC OUTLINE
The discussions are supposed to be centered around several topics based on the means which a film director
uses to convey his or her message and around the movie plots and details.
The tentative questions triggering the discussions are:
1) What is the PLOT of the movie, and what is its THEME (different things!)?
2) What is the main message?
3) What is the target of the satire in the movie?
4) What artistic means do the creators use to achieve their goals?
5) What do you find that is similar to the American reality? What is different? Is there anything in the reality that
the film shows that you wouldn’t be able to bear?
6) How do the epoch and the Soviet regime reflect in the film?
The tentative specific issues:
1) Why did such and such character behave this way?
2) What did this scene mean? What is its role in the movie?
3) What triggers the comic effect in such and such scene?
4) What do you think was the funniest moment in the movie? Why do you think so?
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SOVIET COMEDY MOVIES OF THE 1960 – 70-IES
The list of the movies (in Russian, with English subtitles), with short blurbs:

Circus, 1936, director Grigori Alexandrov (A typical Soviet comedy of the 30’s glorifying Stalin and life
under his rule. The movie is not of the time period announced in the course title – but we’ll watch it for
comparison’s sake).

Watch Up the Cars! – 1966, director Eldar Riazanov (About a Robin-Hood-like man who stole cars from
“bad guys”).

Kidnapping Caucasus-Style, 1968, director Leonid Gaidai (Arbitrary actions of the local authorities
against the backdrop of the Caucasus ethnic traditions).

Ivan Vasilievich Changes Occupation, 1976, director Leonid Gaidai (A time machine invention leads to
an apartment complex manager in Moscow of the 1970’s changing places with the Tsar Ivan the Terrible
(16th century) – of whom he turns out to be a spitting image).

Irony of Fate, or Did You Have a Good Bath? 1975, director Eldar Riazanov (Uniformity of the Soviet city
architecture as a symbol for the universal uniformilty of Soviet life, and the search for identity,
individuality in the Soviet Union).

The Diamond Arm, 1968, director Leonid Gaidai (Two con artists think that a humble accountant keeps
the diamonds smuggled from abroad under the plaster cast on his broken arm. The film is made in the
action-movie style, but it is actually about Soviet people’s ignorance of life abroad and about their lack
of privacy at their homes).
On the 30th of September Professor Sam Ramer from History Department of Tulane is invited to talk on Ivan the
Terrible/ Stalin/ Mikhail Bulgakov (the author of the play on which the movie “Ivan Vasilievich Changes
Occupation” is based).
On the 14th of October Professor William Brumfield from German & Slavic Department is invited to talk about
the architecture of Russian cities.
The traditional TIDE-1910 field trip, meeting people from the Russian community of New Orleans, tasting
Russian food and listening to Russian music, is planned. The event, called “Russian tea and entertainment”, will
take place at the home of Natasha Ramer, the Artistic Director of “Moscow Nights”, the non-profit organization
for promoting Russian culture in Louisiana.
You can find information about the course field trip on “Moscow Nights” website:
http://www.moscownightsus.com/education.html
(and more about this organization, on http://www.moscownightsus.com)
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SOVIET COMEDY MOVIES OF THE 1960 – 70-IES
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The students are required to read up to 20 pages a week. The reading material will be chosen by me from the
following list:




Stites, Richard. Russian Popular Culture: Entertainment and society since 1900. Cambridge, 1992.
Horton, Andrew, ed. Inside Soviet Film Satire: Laughter with a Lash. Cambridge, 2005.
Woll, Josephine. Real Images: Soviet Cinema And The Thaw. I.B.Tauris Publishers, 2000.
Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing about Film. New York: Longman, 2001.
Also the students will be given computer-printed or photocopied materials prepared specially for them by the
instructor; naming some of them: “History of Russia” – the basics (17 pages), “The minutes of Joseph Brodsky’s
trial (1964)”, and such.
The pieces they’ll read will help the students to participate in class discussions: the books that I chose mention
and analyze the movies we’ll watch, and, which is not only important, but absolutely necessary for the course,
they give the historic and political perspective describing the background of the movies, telling about the
atmosphere the movies appeared in, and the viewers’ reaction to them. I am also including in the list the book
by Corrigan which is supposed to teach the students the specifics of film analysis.
The students will also have to write several essays (about 1.5 computer pages) on the material they read or the
movie they watched, and to turn in at the end of the term an essay of at least 3 pages on one of the following
themes (the choice is students’):
1) Compare the Soviet movie “Ivan Vasilievich Changes Occupation” and Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”. 1
2) What are the main differences between American and Soviet life, culture and mentality of the 1970’s, and
what is similar, according to the movies we watched?
3) What signs of the criticism of the Soviet system could we see in the movies we watched?
4) Soviet comedy movie – art or propaganda?
The requirements are: every student has to attend all screening sessions (and finish watching the movies at
home on YouTube or in the Language Lab) as well as the discussion ones. All written assignments have to be
turned in in time. The reading must be done in time. Participation in discussions is necessary.
GRADING
The course grade will be calculated as follows:
Homework
Participation
Final essay
1
40%
20%
40%
Chaplin’s movie should be watched by the students in their own time.
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SOVIET COMEDY MOVIES OF THE 1960 – 70-IES
TENTATIVE CALENDAR
8/26
Introduction, watching the movie “Circus”
9/2
Discussion on the book “Hope Against Hope” by Sarah Carr (Tulane’s reading project)
9/9
Talking about the movie “Circus”, in particular, the tragic fate of the actor Solomon Mikhoels. Watching
the movie “Watch Up the Cars!”
9/16
Discussing “Watch Up the Cars!” Watching “Kidnapping Caucasus-Style”
9/23
Discussing “Kidnapping Caucasus-Style”, and “reality behind the comedy”, in particular the minutes of
the 1964 trial of the young Leningrad poet Joseph Brodsky. Watching “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His
Occupation”
9/30
Guest speaker Sam Ramer talking on Ivan the Terrible image in Russian culture
10/7
Discussing “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Occupation”. Watching “The Irony of Fate”
10/14 Lecture of Prof. William Brumfield about architecture of Russian cities
10/21 Discussing “The Irony of Fate”. Watching “The Diamond Arm”
10/28 Discussing “The Diamond Arm”
11/4
Summing up.
The date of the field trip at Natasha Ramer’s house: 5231 St. Charles Ave. # D (one of the late October or
beginning of November weekends) will be announced later. It will be chosen considering the schedule of Tulane
events – so that they don’t coincide; and the students must know that showing up at the field trip is not
optional, but absolutely obligatory, being a significant part of the course.
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