Then and Now: Comparing the Soviet and Post-Soviet Experience in Latvian Autobiographies

2009

The article deals with an autobiographical representation of diverse experiences. Namely, through the analysis of post-Soviet Latvian autobiographies the framing of the Soviet and Post-Soviet era is revealed. The article suggests that instead of using progressive fame, which might give a positive estimation of the Post-Soviet experience, the autobiographers largely employ a nostalgic frame and continuation frame. Likewise, I argue that there are certain contexts that generate different framing practices: on the one hand, we can observe a professional context, which is typical to the former Soviet public officials, whose autobiographies utilize the nostalgic frame; on the other hand, there i…

Did We Miss the Social Commentary? Responding to Borat on Youtube

2011

Ever since the fictitious Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev became an icon of contemporary popular culture, many questions have arisen about the reception of Borat by the general public. Namely, how common people have created a shared representation of Borat and how the complicated character and comedic manner undertaken by Sacha Baron Cohen is being deciphered. To address these questions that, surely, also could be asked concerning other international media products, this article deals with the reception of Borat the character on YouTube. In particular, the viewers’ reaction to the YouTube video titled “The Best of Borat” is analysed. This video has been viewed more than seven million times…

Reconsidering media-centrism

2019