Soviet Pop Artists in Russian TV Series: Integration of Dramatic Models of Psycho- and Socio-Biography

Abstract

This article deals with the dramaturgical and musical patterns of modern Russian television biopic series about Soviet pop artists. The concept of psycho- and sociobiography as developed by the Polish researcher Eva Mazerski is used as a means of analysis. The first section describes the regularities of particular dramatic models and traces their development in late Soviet cinema. The second section examines the convergence and integration of these dramatic models on the basis of extensive material drawn from Russian TV series dedicated to Soviet pop music stars. Special attention is paid to two series: Anna Herman. The Mystery of the White Angel (2012) and Born a Star (2015) with elements from the biography of Edita Piekha. In the final part of the article the soundtrack of these two series is analysed making use of the psycho- and sociobiographical model. On one hand, one can identify how the songs played in these series correlate with the dramatic collision of the episodes in which they appear. On the other hand, one can also identify the principles behind the selection of repertoire. These can be traced, in particular, to the ratio of songs related to civil and lyrical subject matter. The article concludes that, if in the late Soviet period the models of psycho- and sociobiography still exhibited some autonomy, an autonomy inversely proportional to the ideological consistency of the film, then the current stage is determined by the active convergence and integration of two models that no longer exist in their ‘pure’ forms. As for the musical dramaturgy and selection of repertoire in the soundtrack, Soviet pop star series continue to develop an active lyricisation of the Soviet scene, replacing civil and patriotic themes with foreign hits. Nevertheless, playing Soviet pop songs serves to reconfigure the cultural and historical context of the past.