Video: The subculture of Soviet times: how the anti-Soviet dudes lived
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In the 1950s, when the USSR was separated from almost the whole world by the Iron Curtain. Almost everything related to the West was banned in the country: clothing, magazines, music, and more. It was at that time that a social phenomenon appeared - a youth subculture called "dudes".
The hipsters were distinguished by their deliberate apoliticality, cynicism in narrowing, indifference to the norms of Soviet morality, they wore bright, sometimes ridiculous clothes and showed a special interest in Western music and dances. Among these young people there were quite a few children of party workers and officials of various ranks.
The subculture got its name from the word "stylish", and they really had their own style. Young men usually wore tight trousers, wide-shoulder blazers, Hawaiian shirts, ties in flashy colors, and cane umbrellas. In footwear, boots with thick rubber soles were considered the most chic.
The girls wore heavily fitted American-style dresses, tight knee-length skirts, and trouser suits.
The hairstyles of the dandies were also unusual: the guys did the "kok" hairstyle, fluffing up the hair on their heads, and the girls wore high hairstyles or curled strands, laying them around their heads. Bright red lipstick was mandatory in the girls' makeup, which caused a sharply negative reaction from conscious members of the public.
The appearance, values and behavior of the dudes were in complete dissonance with the norms of Soviet morality, so the dudes were sometimes subjected to ridicule and open negativity from ordinary people.
And although the subculture of dudes ran counter to communist ideology, the motives of these young people, as a rule, were far from politics. It was more of an escapist subculture than a group of cultural protesters: the dudes essentially created their own colorful world under an egalitarian regime with many restrictions.
The behavior of the dudes was not so much a protest as a way of self-expression. The generation of post-war youth no longer wanted to fight for communist ideals, young people wanted freedom.
At the same time, the system and society dictated their own rules - “be like everyone else”, “do like everyone else”. There were practically no opportunities left for the manifestation of one's own individuality. Unless, of course, you were going to (or could not) set labor records.
Since the dudes were, as a rule, representatives of the "golden" youth, they had free access to Western magazines, music and films. And this is understandable: high-ranking parents were ready to do everything for their beloved children, even to open the forbidden curtain.
Young people not only listened to Western music and danced "forbidden" dances, young people imitated Western musicians in everything. For example, a lot of dudes have styled their hair in the style of Johnny Weissmüller, who starred in the Tarzan film series.
Another dude bump is to chew chewing gum ostentatiously, as James Cagney did in his films. Since it was quite problematic to get the gum, it was replaced with a piece of paraffin.
Many of the dudes were quite creative and made their own clothes and accessories. Some made musical instruments with their own hands or converted acoustic guitars into electric ones for jazz. And they also recorded records with their favorite music themselves - on old X-rays.
In addition to the style of clothing and hairstyles, music was very important in the subculture of dandies. The hipsters mostly listened to jazz and swing, but their favorite song was "Chattanooga Chu-chu" from the soundtrack to the movie "Sun Valley Serenade".
Despite the fact that the dandy subculture was extremely provocative, these unusual youth did not participate in any activities that were officially prohibited by law, and no one forbade dressing and meeting with interest groups. To solve this problem, the authorities began to try to present the dudes as antisocial, "alien to human society" elements.
Suffice it to recall the massively replicated slogan "Today you play jazz, and tomorrow you will sell your homeland." Various "exposing" articles and posters were also issued.
In the sixties (during the "thaw"), when the Soviet Union began to be more tolerant of various subcultures, the style gradually disappeared. Many former dudes have even become successful directors, artists and musicians.
Soviet propaganda knew no boundaries and worked on all fronts. We have collected 34 propaganda posters from which you can learn the history of the USSR … Each of them is a separate era.
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