Emotions in Art Embodied: Fear and “Body of Russia” in the Music Video "Strashno" by Russian Group Shortparis

Abstract

The article consists of two closely related parts. In the first part, the author formulates the basic theoretical assumptions that form the framework for the cultural analysis of a selected multimodal text – namely, the videoclip of the Russian artistic group Shortparis – conducted in the second part of the article. Referring to selected approaches to emotions which emphasize their relational nature, the author assumes that emotions are extended and embodied; that the object of emotion is culturally constructed (Loman); and that it circulates (Ahmed). The main aim of the article is to reconstruct the cultural meanings and emotions encoded and embodied in the analyzed videoclip. The Russian socio-cultural and political contexts remain crucial, as they allow the recipient to understand the cultural construction of the object of emotion – in this case, fear. This object proves to be ambiguous, transitory, and subject to constant circulation, leading to disorientation and a sense of perpetual threat. The object can be anyone, anywhere, which constitutes an “ontology of insecurity.”