Ukrainians cut down on theater-going and picnicking but are increasingly glued to TVs
Two consecutive US nightclub tragedies have forced local residents to revise their attitude toward this kind of leisure. American sociologists claim on the basis of public opinion polls that clubbing is now viewed here with some fear. This is only natural. First, twenty people died at the Chicago E2 club where a release of pepper spray caused a stampede. The other tragedy occurred just a week later in Providence, Rhode Island: a discotheque fire claimed the lives of 96 people, leaving another hundred badly injured.
DISCOTHEQUE IN LIEU OF A POLITICAL LECTURE
Managers of Kyiv nightclubs say that all this has instilled no fear in the Ukrainians, at least in the 4.5% that, according to the polls, prefer clubbing. “The number of frequenters does not fall, liquor sells very well, and we make a profit.” Yet, Mykola Podriezan, founder of the discotheque and club movement in Soviet Ukraine, thinks that the overall commercialization of clubs is a negative rather than positive thing. Oddly enough, self-sufficiency and business make club owners think about profits, not the quality of the spectacle. Selling liquor is the main source of profit for local clubs, Mr. Podriezan says, while inviting “stars” and staging shows loses money and takes up time. Cover charges cannot offset expenses.
This brings back to mind such early-1980s Kyiv spots as the Polytechnic, Baby Sparrow, Mikas, etc. Those who bought a ticket knew very well that the first half hour would be filled with the so-called thematic block, i.e., a literary-musical or audio-visual composition. Quite popular were stories about Michelangelo, Botticelli, Goya, and John Lennon. As to the dancing part, it was unthinkable without the educational element. DJs would tell the story of a pop group or a musical trend in the brief pauses between numbers. This, Mr. Podriezan says, was a breath of fresh air for the young, a two-hour escape from ideological indoctrination in the spirit of the great proletarian leaders. In this field as well Komsomol functionaries made attempts to take the initiative: they would inquire who the thematic block will be about: “About whom? About John Lennon? No, it won’t do.” As a result, young people would stay outside for half an hour while the communist lecture was being delivered and only come in to dance. According to Mr. Podriezan, it was clear to one and all even then that it was impossible to check the drive for change. The hippie movement was international, as was ideology of the Beatles. In a way, the 1980s club and discotheque expansion resembled, but was not the dissident movement. The official idea was that even two hours without a lecture on the “main thing” had a decaying effect. Still, it was an element of democratization. Scientifically minded young people would enthusiastically organize soirees and set musical numbers. They viewed this as a way to realize their creative potential, and, unlike liberal arts students, they usually enjoyed success. A notable contribution to the discotheque movement was also made by East German students. The latter must have felt even more stifled here, Mr. Podriezan says. Besides, censors were more lenient to them. Now very few are interested in getting any information at a discotheque: why should I pay money if I can watch free, say, “Melorama” on TV?
LYING LOW IN THE LAIR
Historians believe the way free time is spent is an indicator of the quality of life in any age. First, you can measure the share of idleness and, secondly, since leisure harmoniously combines the conscious and the unconscious, this can help shed light on the peculiar feature of the national mentality.
The recreation theory claims that a human must relax as long as a quarter of the year, naturally divided into parts. Doctors believe this is the only way for the organism to be able to restore the spent resources and avoid burnout. Our forebears did precisely this, even without scientific validation. Serhiy Kylymysty, senior lecturer at the Tourism Institute’s Department of Special Tourist Disciplines, says Ukrainians used to schedule their holidays so that they lasted for three months on average. We differed from the West European nations in preferring to make merry in winter, while the West considered it unacceptable to feast on a cold day. Yet, the Ukrainians proved the opposite by their own experience: they braved the cold by means of intoxicating drinks and warm relationships. They cultivated interpersonal communication and preferred role playing to competitive mass cultural events. Besides, our ancestors liked round dances. The idea was that the linking of hands helps retain the positive energy generated during the communion.
Despite traditions, all this mass merrymaking potential is clearly on the wane. At the same time, many of our and Western firms project the image of a prospective employee on the basis of how he spends his leisure time and thus include the relevant entries in his resume. Psychologists maintain that the No. 1 cause of the decline in leisure activities is shortage of money and worries about one’s survival. However, the surveys conducted by the Ukrainian Institute of Social Research point to the lack of desire rather than funds. For example, compared to 1994, we do 50% less morning exercises and jogging; 30% less picnicking, listening to music and embroidering; 13% less reading fiction; and 30% less visiting theaters, concerts, and exhibitions. At the same time we read newspapers, go to church, and watch television more. Candidate of Sciences (Psychology) Iryna Holovniova puts the blame for leisure passivity on the absence of any social requirement for recreation. Even if this need exists, it is either unstable or extreme-oriented: first you lie low in your lair and thoughtlessly push the buttons on the remote control, then you indulge in uninhibited gluttony and inebriation for a few days. The pressure of economic instability is not strong enough to dissuade one from mixing with others. This is further proved by the statistical data that the degree of Ukrainian hospitality has not changed with time. The problem is that too little attention is being paid now to the satisfaction of this requirement. Of course, we have now far more opportunities to spend our free time, but, in Mr. Kylymysty’s opinion, they all do not comply, as a rule, with the peculiarities of our national character. The Americans have created and successfully learned to sell their own forms of leisure. And, while the French, after appraising all the advantages and disadvantages of imports, still prefer to do their own thing, Ukrainians failed to stand their ground. This is, in his view, one of the reasons why this country is not very attractive for tourists. For example, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to see the Greek sirtaki dance, the Venetian carnival, or the celebration of the Dutch queen’s birthday. Conversely, we can only offer foreigners what they already know all too well — but with worse packaging. We know almost nothing about our own culture, including that of leisure. Staying abroad, we usually present our fatherland as a materially and spiritually wretched country. Mr. Kylymysty thinks the overall cause of all this is that nobody in this country deals with or creates a demand for mass culture.
STAMP COLLECTORS ON MONDAYS AND BIBLIOPHILES ON TUESDAYS
The requirement of communication is being met, albeit on a small scale, by means of, say, fan clubs and interest groups. Psychologists think this is the right place to relieve stress and feel that you are not alone, when a fifteen-year-old can argue with a seventy-year-old over, for example, the way the suit of Russian pop star Valery Leontiev affects his image as a singer. Were there a law on charity with tax exemptions for those who promote culture, the leisure situation would perhaps be slightly different, Mr. Podriezan says. A rich person could have rented premises for an interest group, thus deriving pleasure for himself and his colleagues as well as a profit. Another option is the municipal club, where, figuratively speaking, stamp collectors could get together on Mondays, bibliophiles on Tuesdays, etc. This kind of club would strive to increase public culture and provide for meaningful leisure rather than to make a profit. For it is no secret that the more groups and subgroups a society has to meet its contemporary requirements and mentalities, the richer its leisure is. As culture researchers note, it was not so difficult to keep a child off the street when all parents could afford to sign their kids up for a club or a group. Moreover, there was no dramatic rise in the number of homeless children. Now, not only does the line between leisure and rest become finer with each passing year (most of us finish on weekends what we failed to finish during the workweek) but also the people who have time and funds no longer know how to rest.
For example, a travel company employee says that, although his bosses understand that a weekend implies breaking the daily routine, they do not offer the so- called weekend tours for lack of demand. Conversely, foreign countries established long ago a mighty industry that specializes in organizing weekend leisure. Numerous travel companies offer tours that begin as a rule on Friday evening and end on Sunday. In this country, by contrast, most of those who come to a travel agency just have no idea of what kind of recreation they would prefer, the company employee says. Hence, what sometimes becomes the main criterion is prestige. If we offered the most awful tours without comfortable accommodation, excursions, and other components of a good travel, but said that it was truly cool, these tours would undoubtedly be some of the most popular. An equally interesting story was also told by professional toastmaster Leonid Zahulsky. He claims people invite him to wedding parties not to liven up the feast but just because it is the done thing. They pay him money without paying any attention to his initiatives.
Polls show, that on the whole compared to 1995, 5% more Ukrainians feel they lack full-fledged leisure and 4% fewer feel they have enough of it. Psychologists put this down to our reluctance to heed our inner self, while the choice of recreation is, first of all, the result of self-analysis. In some cases, lack of full-fledged relaxation is caused by moving to a new residence. Mr. Kylymysty says he has often met villagers who had come to the city and failed to find their way in the new place because they had left behind their customary forms of leisure.
Yet, leisure researchers (a rarity indeed) see a way out, although they think it is easier to let individuals line their pockets than to tackle this kind of problem. Top on the list is propaganda and the formation of supply and demand. In the US, for example, there are over 20,000 charitable foundations, each of them spending 20% of their funds on cultural and entertainment projects. Russia also pays considerable attention to this. This is evidenced among other things by the number of Internet sites dealing with leisure. All we have to do now is attract sponsors to the field of leisure and entertainment, says culture researcher Petrova. Otherwise, the crisis in this sphere will be another festering wound of our society.
