Popular music tends to serve an important role in society as a soundtrack for life's ups and downs, hitting on themes such as joy in relationships and weakness in love, not to mention emotional frustration, anger and confusion. We hear the songs at work, in the store, on the radio and in the clubs - both in Russia and the West. But due to cultural developments, 'circle of life' themes such as pregnancy, and videos about a couple's innocent pranks, are something the Western circuit has not seen for decades (click each image for a sample):
Nothing like this, innocent or traditional, exists in the West. Young girls grow up in the West listening to Beyoncé tunes, like the anthem about girls running this mother**** world, or Taylor Swift's hit telling everyone to "calm down" and just accept LGBT culture - the sort of message the LGBT community wishes it could send to Russia:
Russia is not immune from these forces on the culture; it remains to be seen whether Russia can keep native, radical feminist and social revolutionary groups like Pussy Riot - and the general Femen movement - from influencing the next generation.
For those who are unfamiliar with Pussy Riot and Femen's work, both use shock tactics to promote their ideas about things like genderbending, female sexual liberation and abortion in Russia. In one incident, a member of Pussy Riot engaged in a state museum sex orgy to mock Russia's efforts to increase the birth rate:
Russia' leader, Vladimir Putin, criticized authorities for not pressing charges for these public sex acts, but declined to intervene further. It was a limp-wristed response and, as we will examine below, probably calculated to not draw the ire of the West's modern leaders.
Earlier, charges had been filed against Pussy Riot in connection with a different incident, and the subsequent trial resulted in considerable tensions with the West. Putin tried to diffuse the situation by suggesting that the group stood for something that the West was conditioned to go into hysterics about: anti-Semitism. In reality, Pussy Riot had just been pronounced guilty of hooliganism, for stirring up religious hatred while storming a Moscow cathedral - a Christian site - to perform a punk rock protest act.
Although a poll at the time found that about 41% of the Russians felt "animosity" towards Pussy Riot, nearly all machinations of power in Western mainstream thought rallied to the protest group's defense. Europe's courts got involved and Amnesty International began lobbying in the group's favor:
Western clergy leadership even nominated Pussy Riot for the "Martin Luther Prize" for "fearless speech" (yes, you read that correctly). And American politician Hillary Clinton posed for pictures with the group and called them "strong and brave" on Twitter:
The reasons for this support are probably complex. But, it is important to understand that Pussy Riot is not only in line with modern Western mainstream social attitudes, but a vehicle to implement change in Russia - perhaps even towards a color revolution.
Russia may be responsible for its own lot, however; because, while it may seem like radical feminists or encroachment of modern Western culture are to blame for things like Pussy Riot, let us take a closer look at what young Russians are watching. Indeed, there is something about Russia's leading children's show, the internationally-successful Masha and the Bear, that caught my eye - and the eye of many others, too.
Have a look at these reviews of the show which were left on the opinion site Common Sense Media:
Note how many of these reviews reveal how the show influenced their children. We see that most reviews are coming from the West - perhaps even from conservative parents who are looking for something other than the Feminist Baby or Her Body Can variety. Perhaps they will have to keep looking for the sort of programming they are seeking.
Is there a hidden motive behind Masha and the Bear concerning feminism and the like? On the subject, all we could find was that the creator, Oleg Kuzovkov, was inspired by shows like Tom and Jerry, a popular 1940 animated show featuring a cartoon cat that tried to catch and pummel a cartoon mouse to no avail. Perhaps we are missing something, but it seems any effect Masha may have on young children boils down to an unintended side effect of opting for a human animated character.
Pertaining to that exact theme, one reviewer wrote that "[the bear] should say no more often and leave [Masha] crying" or handle Masha better with an "a** whooping or something." Ironically, to some degree, that is exactly how the Cossacks handled Pussy Riot after the group's more recent antics at the Sochi Olympics:
It is also to be noted how Russian men can handle unruly and verbally-abusive "Mashas" of all ages thanks to the leniency of Russian law, including a "slapping law" that was passed to prevent women from pushing men until the snap, which in the West is just another weapon used for revenge for any petty thing - with the result of arrest and destroying a man's life completely before waking away triumphantly with his wealth.
Nothing like this, innocent or traditional, exists in the West. Young girls grow up in the West listening to Beyoncé tunes, like the anthem about girls running this mother**** world, or Taylor Swift's hit telling everyone to "calm down" and just accept LGBT culture - the sort of message the LGBT community wishes it could send to Russia:
Russia is not immune from these forces on the culture; it remains to be seen whether Russia can keep native, radical feminist and social revolutionary groups like Pussy Riot - and the general Femen movement - from influencing the next generation.
For those who are unfamiliar with Pussy Riot and Femen's work, both use shock tactics to promote their ideas about things like genderbending, female sexual liberation and abortion in Russia. In one incident, a member of Pussy Riot engaged in a state museum sex orgy to mock Russia's efforts to increase the birth rate:
Russia' leader, Vladimir Putin, criticized authorities for not pressing charges for these public sex acts, but declined to intervene further. It was a limp-wristed response and, as we will examine below, probably calculated to not draw the ire of the West's modern leaders.
Earlier, charges had been filed against Pussy Riot in connection with a different incident, and the subsequent trial resulted in considerable tensions with the West. Putin tried to diffuse the situation by suggesting that the group stood for something that the West was conditioned to go into hysterics about: anti-Semitism. In reality, Pussy Riot had just been pronounced guilty of hooliganism, for stirring up religious hatred while storming a Moscow cathedral - a Christian site - to perform a punk rock protest act.
Although a poll at the time found that about 41% of the Russians felt "animosity" towards Pussy Riot, nearly all machinations of power in Western mainstream thought rallied to the protest group's defense. Europe's courts got involved and Amnesty International began lobbying in the group's favor:
Western clergy leadership even nominated Pussy Riot for the "Martin Luther Prize" for "fearless speech" (yes, you read that correctly). And American politician Hillary Clinton posed for pictures with the group and called them "strong and brave" on Twitter:
Great to meet the strong & brave young women from #PussyRiot, who refuse to let their voices be silenced in #Russia. pic.twitter.com/7JVkZ9TYx3— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 4, 2014
The reasons for this support are probably complex. But, it is important to understand that Pussy Riot is not only in line with modern Western mainstream social attitudes, but a vehicle to implement change in Russia - perhaps even towards a color revolution.
Russia may be responsible for its own lot, however; because, while it may seem like radical feminists or encroachment of modern Western culture are to blame for things like Pussy Riot, let us take a closer look at what young Russians are watching. Indeed, there is something about Russia's leading children's show, the internationally-successful Masha and the Bear, that caught my eye - and the eye of many others, too.Have a look at these reviews of the show which were left on the opinion site Common Sense Media:
Note how many of these reviews reveal how the show influenced their children. We see that most reviews are coming from the West - perhaps even from conservative parents who are looking for something other than the Feminist Baby or Her Body Can variety. Perhaps they will have to keep looking for the sort of programming they are seeking.
Is there a hidden motive behind Masha and the Bear concerning feminism and the like? On the subject, all we could find was that the creator, Oleg Kuzovkov, was inspired by shows like Tom and Jerry, a popular 1940 animated show featuring a cartoon cat that tried to catch and pummel a cartoon mouse to no avail. Perhaps we are missing something, but it seems any effect Masha may have on young children boils down to an unintended side effect of opting for a human animated character.
Pertaining to that exact theme, one reviewer wrote that "[the bear] should say no more often and leave [Masha] crying" or handle Masha better with an "a** whooping or something." Ironically, to some degree, that is exactly how the Cossacks handled Pussy Riot after the group's more recent antics at the Sochi Olympics:
It is also to be noted how Russian men can handle unruly and verbally-abusive "Mashas" of all ages thanks to the leniency of Russian law, including a "slapping law" that was passed to prevent women from pushing men until the snap, which in the West is just another weapon used for revenge for any petty thing - with the result of arrest and destroying a man's life completely before waking away triumphantly with his wealth.
Of course, the Western mainstream press (which until the LGBT movement worshipped everything vagina) was outraged by these developments and began fuming about "Putin's war on women" and "making domestic violence legal [for] thugs" (1, 2), all the while reminding the public that there are women who die of domestic violence. But what is more interesting is that the Western man has no way to handle unruly and verbally-abusive women. Leave, and she will be happy to "leave" with half of your things in future divorce and child custody proceedings; use physical force of any sort and, if you are a male, it will land you in jail, taint your record and darken your fate in any future divorce or child custody proceedings. So, there is basically nothing in place to stop the "Mashas" in the West and restrain the very impulses that were pushed as a guide. God help us.
