Why Are Bad Characters in Hollywood Movies “Russian”?

Numerous villains of Bond films, Rocky IV Ivan Drago‘water and Iron Man 2’ Ivan Vanko‘water, first Viggo Tarasov from John WickYuri Komarov from A Good Day to Die Hard, John Rambo Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Podovsky of the movie… And Villanelle of Killing Eve, an anti-hero character from more recent history that we all fell in love with.

How much more in American and European films? with Russian villain Have you ever noticed what you encounter? If the same thing were done for another nation, there would be serious anti-racist reactions, but most of us would not find it strange when we encounter a Russian evil character. Being bad and being Russian in movies are now so intertwined.

Russians were always a threat to Europe and America. But the antagonization that was reflected in the movies started during the Cold War.

“The Cold War” When we say, between 1947 and 1991, the world’s two superpowers, the USA and Soviet Union We are talking about the ideological and political tension between

Someone capitalistthe other is socialist The two countries, which were the greatest representatives of values ​​in their period, entered into an indirect competition with each other through other countries they could influence, instead of fighting each other directly.

In this period proliferation of nuclear weapons, espionage activitiesAlthough many tactics were used by both sides, such as spreading ideological propaganda all over the world, there was no hot conflict. However, the rivalry between the two countries determined the entire world politics.

The 1940s and 1950s were periods when America engaged in intense anti-Soviet and anti-communist propaganda.

“Red Menace” Thus, a serious climate of fear about communist espionage activities and Russians was spread by the state. This wind HollywoodHe also reached . “House Committee on Un-American Activities” (HUAC) closely monitored the film and television industry, as well as many other industries, for any communist connections.

all this government pressure Hollywood producers, who wanted to prove their loyalty to the country, created characters whose characters were rather one-dimensional. Soviet spy They gave plenty of space to these characters and produced violent films that turned these characters into enemies.

Thus, the Russian villain cliché emerged and became normalized with movies spread from Hollywood all over the world.

This situation continued for many years and countless films. In the same years, he approached cinema from a more artistic perspective. Hitchcock There were also important productions by important directors such as those who were critical of this stereotyping.

Yet racism and character stereotyping or by another name labeling It was a time when it was not discussed as much as it is today, and Russian villains appeared in thousands of movies.

If the Americans were good, the Russians must have been bad.

Such labeling and stereotyping are actually always social It is based on a story. excluded by society gay, black etc. Bands are often easily squeezed into narrow or bad molds instead of being the headliners.

Sometimes directly by the state, current political ideology It is done to spread. For the USA, placing this issue in films is to geopolitical rivalries It also helped the audience to easily accept this suggestion.

After the Soviets collapsed, there began to be a noticeable decrease in the number of Russian villains in films.

During these periods, the balances in world politics were changing. Especially September 11 attacks After this time Middle Eastern There was an increase in the number of bad characters.

But strangely, these stereotypes can be interpreted much more easily than writing a Russian villain. with anti-racist reaction was encountering.

What to do now to write a Russian villain? The Cold War nor American propaganda You had to be involved with it. The first thing that comes to your mind when writing a bad character might be that he is a Russian with a serious and cold attitude. Therefore, although Russian bad characters have decreased, they have not disappeared.

The decline in bad performances did not last long.

Putin’s The rise of far-right policies, occupation of Crimea and especially invasion of Ukraine which has always been established in Western societies along with Russian antipathy rose again. This situation was immediately reflected in the film industry; today, the rate of Russian villains in films is close to the Cold War period.

Unfortunately, we are going through a period where racism is rising again around the world. This means that all Russian people Putin and his policies It can lead to being identified with. But this is not the case for any people, state ideology It is necessary to remind ourselves again and again that the individual and the individual are completely different things, and to stand against such stereotyping.

Our other related content: