Socialist Realism Essay Research Paper The civil

Socialist Realism Essay, Research Paper

The civil strife and chaos that had torn Russia limb from limb in the early 20th

Century, although brutally devastating, did not hail the end of the stability

and power that had characterized the massive country for so much of history. The

continuing strength of what was now the Soviet Union lay in the newly formed

support structure provided by Socialist Realism, a force that directed the

awareness of, and the arts produced by, the Soviet people. The ideals of

Socialist Realism deified Lenin and Marx, attributed the Bolshevik ranks with

heroism undaunted by overwhelming opposition, and directed the proletariat

towards a better future through reconstruction and industrialization of the

state. Socialist Realism was essentially a Party tool that, combined with the

Bolshevik ideals of collectivization and unity, would transform the people into

a formidable, indestructible mass force. Socialist Realism’s central code of

conduct was, in Stalin’s words, to "above all portray life

truthfully." Any form of art that depicted Bolshevik life was to do so in a

realistic and accurate manner, "on its way to socialism"; "that

will be socialist art, that will be Socialist Realism." (Lincoln 333) This

was the paradigm that all Soviet art was to be modeled after; implemented in

1934, the formula of Socialist Realism would heavily influence artistic life in

the Soviet Union until the 1960s. The rise of Socialist Realism was rapid and

dramatic. It dampened Europe’s excitement over Russia’s post-schism, secular art

by redirecting art inward towards the Soviet people and forcing form and

function upon it rather than abiding by the ideal of "art for art’s

sake." Once again, the ancient religious ideals of Orthodox Russia were

shunned, and the Party replaced God at the forefront of Soviet life. The Party

mimicked Socialist Realism as a model for the people, who were expected to take

the example of their heroic yet humble forefathers and arise from the masses to

submit themselves to the principles of Lenin, then confidently lead their

comrades forward to a bright Bolshevik future where both nature and human

opposition would bow to the power of the Soviets. Although the Soviet Union was

markedly secular, it adopted Orthodox Russia’s replacement of the individual

with the collective. Many artists collaborated on gigantic pieces that depicted

the immense size and grandeur of their unified country. Overwhelming all other

artistic principles, Socialist Realism became synonymous with the state. It

modified the past and the future by making both conform to reality and to

Lenin’s timeless ideals. Most importantly, it portrayed the Soviet Union’s

future as being filled with an unequaled prosperity that would forever shame

capitalism and its proponents. However, much of the "reality" that

Socialist Realism depicted existed solely in the minds of the Soviet people.

Socialist Realism portrayed life only as the Bolsheviks wanted it seen, and in

many ways created an idealistic world of fantasy that "overlooked massive

failures" (Lincoln 335) such as the death and suffering that continued to

prosper in labor camps throughout the country. Socialist Realism was Stalin’s

aesthetic cover-up of the horrid, truly real Soviet reality, and if an artist

intentionally or accidentally ventured too far "behind the scenes" in

his work, official confession and apology to the state did not always prevent

him from being sent to one of many labor camps. Socialist Realism was largely

effective in indoctrinating simple-minded men and women with Bolshevik ideals.

Nowhere else was this practice more effective than in Soviet literature, which

was directed towards the unsophisticated, newly literate masses rather than the

intellectual elite. Much of this literature focused on the Russian Civil War and

the immortalized heroes that were crucial to socialism’s victory. It was meant

to instill the proletariat with a nationalistic pride that would direct its

minds and hearts towards the interests of the state. Because of their

overwhelming prominence, the influences of Socialist Realism were nearly

impossible to escape. One of the most paradigmatic, and also one of the first

Soviet heroes was Vasilii Chapaev, a Red soldier killed in the Civil War and

elevated to the status of legend through the efforts of Socialist Realism. The

author Dmitrii Furmanov wrote a novel depicting Chapaev’s exploits, which was

made into a screenplay in 1934 and became one of the most effective products of

Socialist Realism. The book, entitled Chapaev, glorified the efforts and

persistence of Chapaev’s comrades even in the face of overpowering opposition

and thereby turned the Bolshevik cause into a heroic mission. The message of the

novel was preserved even t

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