Authors

Serian Carlyle¹;  ¹ UCL, UK

Discussion

Two key ideological issues that preoccupied the Soviet authorities in the late Brezhnev era were the falling birth rate and concerns about youth responsibility. Given the role of cinema in the Soviet Union, it is unsurprising that these issues were reflected in studio directives. This paper therefore sets out to examine the ways in which late Brezhnev-era cinema addressed themes connected with young people’s health and vitality.

As its name suggests, the Central Gorʹkii Studio for Children and Young People (Tsentralnaia kinostudiia detskikh i iunosheshkikh filʹmov imeni Gorʹkogo) played a key role in producing films for young people. I will take as case studies two popular films made at the studio by Pavel Liubimov: A School Waltz (Shkolʹnyi valʹts, 1978), about a love triangle between high-school students, one of whom becomes pregnant, and Faster Than His Own Shadow (Bystree sobstvennoi teni, 1980), released during the Moscow Olympics, which follows the life and career of Petr, a young runner.

Considering the films in their socio-ideological context, I use close analysis and a comparative approach to probe Liubimov’s representation of ideological themes connected with young people’s health, arguing that the films demonstrate the gendered nature of vitality. In making this argument, this paper will explore the way that film also gave a voice to its youth audiences.