Fear Before the Fall

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by Alexander Herbert

Type

Studies

Subject

Countries > Russia / USSR

Keywords

Soviet cinema, horror, 1980s

Publishing date

2023

Publisher

Zero Books

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 144 pages
5 ½ x 8 ½ inches (14 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-78904-979-4

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Book Presentation:
Alienation, generational tensions, rampant nationalism and the pervasiveness of atomic danger are all topics that haunted late Soviet citizens, and those fears are reflected in the films meant to represent their horror genre. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, production of horror movies from independent filmmakers and Hollywood skyrocketed. It was a time of intense Cold War conflict and a resurgence of conservative ideals. It's not difficult to imagine that the ascent of horror occurred in conjunction with an increasingly scary and alienated world, and horror reflected those freights in the form of nuclear holocausts, toxic waste pollution, alien clown invaders and undead houseguests. Everyone was at risk - teenagers especially - because their present and future remained most uncertain. If we can agree that such feelings underpinned American viewers in the age of Reagan and neo-liberalism, then what about late socialism? How did film makers depict Soviet society's fears?

About the Author:
Alexander Herbert is a PhD candidate in Soviet History at Brandeis University, specializing in environmental activism and the history of technology leading up to collapse. He lives in East Providence, RI.

See the publisher website: Zero Books