‘Information Turned Entertainment’: Images of the Enemy and Conspicuous Patriotic Consumption in Russia

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Information Turned Entertainment’:

T2 - Images of the Enemy and Conspicuous Patriotic Consumption in Russia

AU - Skvirskaja, Vera

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian andUkrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and the ways in which they are deployed and consumed in the overlappingrealms of Russian social media, fashion and pop art. Alongside top-down propaganda,a number of folk terms and memes has emerged to designate and stereotypethe enemy. One of the key terms and memes is vatnik (a traditional Russian paddedcotton jacket of Chinese origin), which was initially used to designate a xenophobicRussian patriot easily brainwashed by the state propaganda. With time, vatnik hasbecome a playground for ironic appropriations that create political commoditybrands as well as signal a range of diverse political allegiances present in Russian society.Drawing on the anthropological notion of the assemblage, the paper traces howpatriotic branding and the entertainment of stereotyping the enemy unsettle and ‘jam’patriotic consumption and identification. Here, vatnik has become a good example ofconspicuous patriotic consumption, indicating not only ‘expensive wastefulness’, butmore importantly, the excess of signification attached to this commodity qua brand.The paper argues that while excessive commodification and branding of patriotic images(e.g. leaders, heroes, places, etc.) for mass consumption is indeed very commonworldwide, the Russian ironic genre of stiob often appears to be an important technologyof (non)patriotic consumption in Russia.

AB - The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian andUkrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and the ways in which they are deployed and consumed in the overlappingrealms of Russian social media, fashion and pop art. Alongside top-down propaganda,a number of folk terms and memes has emerged to designate and stereotypethe enemy. One of the key terms and memes is vatnik (a traditional Russian paddedcotton jacket of Chinese origin), which was initially used to designate a xenophobicRussian patriot easily brainwashed by the state propaganda. With time, vatnik hasbecome a playground for ironic appropriations that create political commoditybrands as well as signal a range of diverse political allegiances present in Russian society.Drawing on the anthropological notion of the assemblage, the paper traces howpatriotic branding and the entertainment of stereotyping the enemy unsettle and ‘jam’patriotic consumption and identification. Here, vatnik has become a good example ofconspicuous patriotic consumption, indicating not only ‘expensive wastefulness’, butmore importantly, the excess of signification attached to this commodity qua brand.The paper argues that while excessive commodification and branding of patriotic images(e.g. leaders, heroes, places, etc.) for mass consumption is indeed very commonworldwide, the Russian ironic genre of stiob often appears to be an important technologyof (non)patriotic consumption in Russia.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Russia, vatnik, enemy stereotype, irony, patriotic branding, fashion, pop art, stiob

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2043-7633

VL - 16

SP - 9

EP - 29

JO - Digital Icons

JF - Digital Icons

ER -