The Masks of Pussy Riot

    With this week’s blog post topic being focused solely on the Pussy Riot documentary we watched in class, at first I was nervous as to what exactly I could write about with such a specific subject. Now, however, it’s clear to me that anyone in their right mind who saw the film, must find themselves as I do - with an almost overwhelming plethora of ideas and information to choose from. For my own sanity, I will refrain from addressing directly the injustice of their trial for the church performance, and the social and political climate they face in their home country. This is not out of disinterest for their struggle, but rather my own inability to put personal feelings aside and speak objectively as an individual from another culture. Instead, I would like to dedicate my entry this week to Pussy Riot’s use of masks.

    To be completely honest, before learning about them in class, if you had asked me why exactly the members of Pussy Riot wear masks, I would have guessed it was simply an artistic or stylistic choice. Perhaps to some degree it is, but we see in the video that this was far more deliberate than to create a certain look. The main idea behind the gear is to enforce the band’s role as a tool for social and political change. Anyone can put on the masks and become Pussy Riot. This is symbolic in that the members could be anyone you know, but also in that if you feel called to join the cause, technically you are free to do so.

    Perhaps as someone who already appreciates political punk, I am more easily enticed than most by this idea, but nonetheless I remain in awe of how clever it is. Think about it, not only does it offer a sense of liberation and unity, but it protects them in two different ways. First of all, it seems to protect any members who were never unmasked in public i.e. the remaining members that were not apprehended during the church performance. Second of all, it protects their status as a conduit for change. In theory, even if harm comes to each of the current and original members, Pussy Riot itself can live on through those that choose to maintain it.

    In this way, among many others, Pussy Riot show the systems they seek to oppose that they truly mean business. Many would argue that political activism through music fails to qualify as true activism, but the band continue even today to prove that that is not the case. After all, is going to prison and facing potential harm and discrimination for openly advocating for one’s beliefs, not one of the highest forms of activism? If not we need to broaden our definition of the term.

Pussy Riot and confusing intentions

     After watching the documentary this week on Pussy Riot, I feel like there can be a lot of discussion on their reasoning for their actions and the way they went about them. While the documentary was interesting and I definitely was curious to see how it turned out, I had a lot of questions as to why they approached it they way they did.

     While I agree with their message and the point they're trying to get across, did they really go about it the right way? While I feel like it was important for people to hear their standpoint, I also feel like there are certain people they just shouldn't involve. I don't think it was right of Pussy Riot to go into the church and disturb the peace with something they knew those people wouldn't agree with. When going into a place of prayer like that there are just certain things that are frowned upon, and what Pussy Riot did is definitely one of them. It was extremely rude and disrespectful of them. I mean don't get me wrong I'm sure there might have been some people in the church that might of heard them out or maybe even agreed with them, but they timing and place of their performance was very uncalled for. But, I also feel like the court was a little harsh and extensive with their punishment. I mean I don't know anything about Russian government but I feel like some of the charges they put on the girls were  meant to give them a longer sentence/out of spite and didn't have much evidence behind them

     Again I think the message that Pussy Riot is putting out is empowering to woman but that still doesn't make me feel like what they did was acceptable under any circumstances. There were so many ways they could've gone about their performance and so many other places it could've taken place. But, they held in a place where they clearly had the intentions of disturbing peace, getting lots of publicity,  and creating problems that they had to have know would back lash on them in an undesirable way.

Right message, Wrong approach

The documentary we watched in class this week brought many different thoughts and made me question many different things. My initial reaction to the whole thing had been conflicted, I didn't know whether I wanted to keep watching or if I was bored with it. The overview of the whole thing was very interesting and I thought the message the popular group had been trying to spread was very important. 

I do have to say that I was one who agree that they easily could have spread their message in a more peaceful way. They could have done it anywhere but they chose somewhere that people would obviously feel very strongly about. They had to have known there would be consequences. 

With still not knowing whether or not I liked the film or not, it was intriguing. Watching what they go through was very interesting. Especially seeing the way people react to things in different places around the world. As we spoke about in class, there is no way something like that would be taken to that extent here. 

Overall, it was interesting and I do like the message the all group was sending, I just feel they could have gone about it in a much better way. 

Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot

Prior to this class, I had never heard of Pussy Riot. To be honest, I don't like them. I don't like their music, or their attitudes. But, I can't say they deserved the sentence that they received. I don't know much about the Russian law, but it's hard for me to believe that sentencing people for blasphemy is legal. I mean, I'm not Russian Orthodox, but watching the group perform in a cathedral made me uncomfortable. I think the group took it too far. There is a protocol when entering a cathedral. It is a somber place. In most of Europe, there are dress codes. There are also places in the cathedrals that have restricted access to the public as they are seen as "most holy" places only for priests. Pussy Riot broke these rules.  But, I think legally, the best the church could have pinned them with was trespassing. I also disagree with the response from the defenders of the Russian Orthodox Church. I understand the feelings that they have, but I don't understand the threats and counter protests. The anger that the counter protesters were feeling should never have been actualized in a threatening way.

family loyalty

the documentary had so much detail about the pussy riots and how they went to jail but the parts of the documentary that stuck out to me were their families and their support for their daughters. the biggest supporters were their dads, the men in this society are held in a better light than women so seeing that their dads are willing to sacrifice their reputations for the cause was an interesting thing see. Nadia's dad was the one who went through the most changes with his daughter but he still stuck by her through everything. even when she did graphic things that will stay with you forever.

I believe that these girls are very lucky to have such a loyal support system on their side while they do what they feel is right. However from watching everything that unfolded in the documentary and what each parent said it shows that love is unconditional in the name of family. "Families are like branches on a tree. We Grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one." the quotes resonates with Nadia and her dad because they have different idea's on how they want to live their lives and what they would have done to make their political stance clear but in the end, they have an unconditional bond.