03.10.09 4:30 PMHigh Stalinism: Jochen Hellbeck on Germans in Stalingrad
219 Aaron Burr Hall @ 4:30 pm.
Guilt and repentance, reflection and transformation, were core attributes of Stalinist autobiographical practice. The talk describes how this cultural practice shaped the memory of a captive German soldier, and what became of it after he returned to West Germany.
03.05.09 7:00 PMRussia on Reels: Easy Life (Dir. V.Dorman, 1964) Totalitarian Laughter: A Series of Soviet Comedies.
East Pyne 010; 7pm
A quote from the film: "What’s this? – This is a cream for facial mimicry!"
Stalin was one of the most devoted fans of Volga-Volga. He even sent a copy to Roosevelt in 1942 for his education. Stalin apparently had the film screened so often that as he viewed it he would recite many jokes before they came up on the soundtrack.
Totalitarian Laughter: A Series of Soviet Comedies. 7pm, East Pyne 010.
Prolific director Grigory Alexandrov scored his first major success with The Jolly Fellows, which was distributed worldwide as Jazz Comedy, The Shepherd of Abrau and Moscow Laughs. Strongly influenced by Hollywood musicals, the film is a showcase for Alexandrov's talented and popular wife, Lyubov Orlova. Director Alexandrov's bubbling-over ebullience and clever staging of musical numbers is a welcome relief from the dogmatic Russian propaganda pieces then in vogue.
