Stilyagi

Jag har ju nämnt filmen Hipsters tidigare som en av mina förhandsfavoriter inför Stockholm Filmfestival. Jag såg den och den var precis lika underbar som jag trodde. Det är en otroligt varm och färgsprakande film, med bl a Oksana Akinshina från Lilja 4-Ever. Jag tror inte den gett samma effekt hemma i tv-soffan i och för sig, rekommenderas som biofilm. Och med ett väldigt oväntat men effektfullt slut som fick mig att böla lite.
Det jag inte visste innan är att hipsters var ett verkligt fenomen som uppstod under slutet av 40-talet i Ryssland...

Stilyagi, or hipsters, were members of a youth subculture that existed from the late 1940s until the early 1960s in the USSR. Stilyagi generally opposed the mainstream Soviet ideology of that time and were primarily distinguished by their snappy or unfashionate clothing, considered politically incorrect and contrasting the communist-socialist realities. Moreover, their non-political views, neutral or negative attitudes toward Soviet morality, and their open admiration of Western (especially American) lifestyles were key characteristics that slowly developed during the 1950 decade and further influenced their ideologies.

In the mid 1950s, many people were arrested for making recordings on "bones." Those found guilty of manufacturing and distributing such recordings received from three to five years of imprisonment in labour camps (for copyright infridgement). Today, the stilyagi are regarded as part of Russian historical social trends which further developed during the late Soviet era (notably the Great Stagnation) and allowed "informal" views on life (such as hippies, punks and rappers).

Fruktansvärt intressant! Mycket mer finns att läsa här.