Abstract
The current thesis examines how alcohol consumption and alcoholism were interpreted in Soviet movies between 1953 and 1991, taking into consideration the shifting ideological constraints and anti-alcohol campaigns, as well as alcohol and film politics. With the help of 43 films, this research explores the socio-cultural aspects of drinking as represented in Soviet films, uncovers the beliefs about alcohol consumption and alcoholism, and observes how films as cultural texts reflect society back onto itself. Moreover, through film readings of four Soviet alcoholism movies, the research illustrates how the attitudes towards alcoholics and alcoholism developed during the 1970s and 1980s.
The study shows that in a state where, in ideological principle, socialism and alcoholism were incompatible, alcohol consumption was portrayed frequently--although filmmakers were cautions with their cinematic interpretations. Drinking occasions were very often intertwined with humorous situations and sketches that satisfied the audiences’ yearnings for entertainment. The seriousness of certain scenes was hidden or brightened up with the help of catchy phrases or smoothed down through light musical compositions which gave the situation comical connotations. Similarly, it turns out that drinking location, the way alcohol is consumed and alcoholic beverages encompass various allusions both to the nature of the celebration and the social status of the drinker which, in turn, fed various societal clichés.
Moreover, one might think that anti-alcohol campaigns that intended to utilize the movie industry in educational and explanatory work would have resulted in more rigorous censorship and thematic plans calling for production of movies with anti-alcohol character. Yet, before the mid-1970s such movies were impossible to find. It was only then when the Soviet audiences were shown the images of true-to-life sobering-up stations and alcoholism treatment, orphanage with handicapped children of alcoholic parents, and drinking binges that ended with death. Therefore, in a situation when official statistics about alcohol consumption and alcoholism was inadequate or missing, we can definitely say that in one way or another, cinema played a huge role in mediating the official views and public opinion about alcohol consumption habits and alcoholism to the Soviet audiences.