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Social Realism Discussion Board Assignment

For Discussion Board 3, please address any of the questions below. As always in this class: you are required to make a minimum of THREE (3) posts per module. At least one of your three posts should be your own original comment; at least one – should be a response to or comment on something another classmate has posted; the third post can be either your own original post or a comment on a classmate’s post. Keep in mind that your response should NOT simply be a summary of the assigned reading. A higher grade will be awarded to posts that demonstrate student’s ability to provide an original interpretation of the topic while also applying relevant concepts, issues, and theories covered in the course.

1. If you recall, Birgit Beumers argued in one of Module 1’s essays that socialist realism limited “the emotional or intellectual challenge of the artistic product.” Now that you have read some actual examples of socialist realist texts, do you agree with Beumers’ statement? Did you get a sense that, while creating their fairy-tales, the writers have simply followed a strict, almost “bureaucratic,” formula? Give specific examples from the fairy-tales you read.
2. One impetus for the creation of socialist realism was Stalin’s desire to streamline artistic expression (thereby controlling any type of dissident activity). Stalin also believed that literature and art had to be accessible to the masses. Remember how many of you in your discussion posts said that you often had a hard time following acmeist or futurist poetry or weren’t sure where the poet was going with that work? Well, Soviet population in the 1930s wasn’t any better positioned to understand very complex art works either! (Keep in mind that a large percentage of Soviet proletariat was not educated; most people had 3 – 4 grades of elementary school at best). Discuss if, in your opinion, socialist realism had a potential for broader appeal to many strata of Soviet population. Give specific examples.
3. Discuss elements of socialist realism in Kataev’s “The Flower of Seven Colors” (it might be fruitful to see if you can identify the workings of key socialist realist principles in this tale). What is the didactic message of this fairy-tale? Who are its villains and heroes? While one could perhaps argue that the values in his tale are fairly universal (don’t be greedy, think of others, etc.), is the world in this tale identifiably Soviet? Give specific examples from your readings. Compare and contrast Kataev’s tale to the other tales from this module.
4. Discuss elements of socialist realism in Gaidar’s “Tale of the Military Secret” (yet again, it might be useful for your own analysis to pinpoint specific “postulates” of socialist realism at play in this work). Who are the villains and heroes of this tale? How is the utopian solidarity of young Soviet citizens shown in this tale? How does each new generation continue the revolutionary struggle waged by the previous one? Compare and contrast Kataev’s tale to the other tales from this module.
5. Discuss elements of socialist realism in the film Old Genie Khottabych. Did you think visual elements in Khottabych enhanced the ideological message of socialist realism? Explain how Soviet reality interacts in this film with the world of fairy-tales. What is the role of magic vs. progress? Do you feel that, in the end of the film, the children protagonists are empowered by the Genie? Is the Genie ultimately “disempowered”? How does the film present the tropes of collectivism and conformity? Is conformity presented as a vice or a virtue? (think about Khottabych having to give up a large part of his identity to become a Soviet citizen).
6. Since you just read quite a few Soviet adaptation of fairy-tales, try to offer an analysis of a fairy-tale adaptation in your own society. Be sure to address how this particular tale (in a cinematic, literary, or visual form) reflects a certain era in this particular country’s history. What does this particular tale tell about the culture at that particular moment? Is the tale intended as subtle criticism of society? What is being criticized? Have any ideological imperatives guided the author in creating this particular tale? Is the tale intended exclusively for children?
7. As it is probably quite obvious to you now, since the early 1930s Soviet society attempted to exercise tremendous control over the kinds of narratives that Soviet population had access to. Now how exactly unique is this situation? To put things into a slightly more familiar perspective, I would like you to reflect upon the control of information exercised by the Walt Disney Company, one of the largest global media conglomerates. What role do you think Disney plays over the imaginations of today’s children? Do you feel the Disney corporation’s narratives contain gender, race, or ethnicity stereotyping? (Can you give specific examples?) Do you believe that the society needs to take certain steps towards media literacy and / or media education to teach children to evaluate various forms of cultural production for themselves? Should this type of critical evaluation be taught in schools?
8. Pick ONE (1) of the two fairy tales from this module (“Tale of the Military Secret” or “The Flower of Seven Colors”). Discuss how the main principles and characteristics of socialist realist doctrine are at play in this particular tale. Make sure to discuss (1) ideological commitment; (2) Party-mindedness; (3) popular spirit; (4) historicism; (5) typicality; (6) superrealism; (7) monumentalism; (8) classisism; (9) heroic spirit.

Write at least 400 words for the questions you select from above, and for the two posts below, write a response for each post at least 200 words, total is 800 words.