Cultural recycling of the Soviet in internet memes: semiotic linguistic interpretation

   The article studies linguo-semiotic features of Soviet cultural recycling in Internet memes. Cultural recycling chosen as the conceptual framework of the study fosters the analysis of functional meanings acquired by symbolic and precedent elements of the Soviet past in terms of cultural processing in the modern discourse space. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject preconditions the use of elements of a systemic functional multimodal analysis of semiotically complicated texts, structural-semantic and discourse methods of analysis. Internet memes, which serve as integrative polycode semiotic unities, are characterized by immanent openness both at the informative-semantic and pragmatic levels. Any of the codes used could potentially incorporate reminiscences of the Soviet era. The main criterion for the selection of practical research material was the presence of the semantic component “related to the USSR, Soviet” in the precedent element actualized verbally or non-verbally in an Internet meme. The analysis of cultural recycling of the cultural and historical heritage of the Soviet era and its use in Internet memes revealed several spheres / form elements / objects that have the highest frequency of actualization: 1) fonts, inscriptions, posters; 2) artifacts of music legacy; 3) gluttony precedents (“the taste of childhood”); 4) movies and cartoons; 5) everyday life artifacts. Each of the categories is specified in terms of the range of verbal / non-verbal precedent elements used, structural and semantic features of polymodal units, typical semantic construction models, new functional meanings and the pragmatic potential of use (both in certain contexts and generally as regards the memetic complexes) . It is concluded that along with nostalgic motifs, the recycling of the Soviet past in Internet memes is characterized by prospective trends in the development of functional meanings and actualization in the construction of modern discourse practices.

1. Abel’ E. Serp i kegl’: shrifty USSR (The sickle and the type size: the types in the USSR). URL: https://skillbox.ru/media/design/ussr-fonts/ (Accessed: 20. 07. 2022). (In Russian).

2. Abramov R. N., Chistyakova A. A. Nostal’gicheskie reprezentatsii pozdnego sovetskogo perioda v mediaproektakh L. Parfenova: po volnam kollektivnoi pamyati (Nostalgic representations of the late Soviet period in the media projects by L. Parfenov: on the waves of collective memory) // Mezhdunarodnyi zhurnal issledovanii kul’tury. 2012. No. 1 (6). P. 52–58. (In Russian).

3. Bugaeva L. D. Sovetskoe proshloe na postsovetskom teleekrane (The Soviet past on the post-Soviet television screen) // Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Iskusstvovedenie. 2022. No. 2 (12). P. 243-258. (In Russian).

4. Vol’skaya N. N. Pretsedentnye verbal’no-vizual’nye fenomeny kak osnova istoriografii v «Terebenevskoi azyuuke» – pervoi politicheskoi karikature v Rossii (Precedent Verbal-Visual Phenomena as the Basis of Historiography in “Terebenevskaya Azuuk” – the First Political Caricature in Russia) // Mediaskop. 2015. No. 3. URL: http://www.mediascope.ru/1803 (Accessed: 12. 09. 2021). (In Russian).

5. V’yugin V. Yu. «Kul’turnyi resaikling»: k istorii ponyatiya (1960-1990-e gody) (“Cultural recycling”: on the history of the concept (1960–1990s) // Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. 2021. No. 3 (169). P. 13-32. (In Russian).

6. Ganskaya E. N. Sovetskaya massovaya pesnya kak forma ideologii (Soviet mass song as a form of ideology) // Litera. 2019. No. 2. P. 251–261. URL: https://nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=29760 (Accessed: 20. 07. 2022). (In Russian).

7. Gudkov D. B., Zakharenko I. V., Krasnykh V. V., Bagaeva D. V. Nekotorye osobennosti funktsionirovaniya pretsedentnykh vyskazyvanii (Some features of precedent utterance functioning) // Vestnik MGU. Ser. 9. Filologiya. 1997. No. 4. P. 106–118. (In Russian).

8. Erokhina T. I., Zheltov E. S. Reprezentatsiya sovetskoi epokhi v otechestvennykh komiksakh (Representation of the Soviet era in national comics) // Verkhnevolzhskii filologicheskii vestnik. 2021. No. 1 (24). P. 185–192. (In Russian).

9. Zhurkova D. A. «Starye pesni o glavnom»: al’ternativnaya antologiya sovetskoi estrady (“Old songs about the main thing”: an alternative anthology of the Soviet stage) // Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. 2021. No. 3 (169). P. 148–164. (In Russian).

10. Zaitseva D. Pozvoni mne, pozvoni: kak rabotayut sluzhby doveriya (Call me, call me: how emergency services work). 3 iyunya 2020 g. URL: https://heroine.ru/pozvoni-mne-pozvoni-kak-rabotayut-sluzhby-doveriya/ (Accessed: 20. 07. 2022). (In Russian).

11. Zakharenko I. V., Krasnykh V. V., Gudkov D. B., Bagaeva D. V., Pretsedentnoe vyskazyvanie i pretsedentnoe imya kak simvoly pretsedentnykh fenomenov (Precedent statement and precedent name as symbols of precedent phenomena) // Yazyk, soznanie, kommunikatsiya. 1997. Issue. 1. P. 82–103. (In Russian).

12. Zakharov R. A. Tipografika v sovetskom reklamnom plakate v period NEPa (Typography in the Soviet advertising poster during the NEP period) // Gumanitarnye nauchnye issledovaniya. 2016. No. 4. URL: https://human.snauka.ru/2016/04/14905 (Accessed: 03. 05. 2022). (In Russian).

13. Zlotnikova T. S., Kuimova V. M. Nostal’giya po sovetskomu v sovremennom mediaprostranstve (Nostalgia for the Soviet in the modern media space) // Yaroslavskii pedagogicheskii vestnik. 2021. No. 2 (119). P. 133-143. (In Russian).

14. Karaulov Yu. N. Russkii yazyk i yazykovaya lichnost’ (The Russian language and the linguistic persona). Moscow: Nauka, 1987. 263 p. (In Russian).

15. Kraus T. Razmyshlyaya o sovetskom cheloveke (Reflecting on the Soviet man) // Chelovek sovetskii: za i protiv = Homo soveticus: pro et contra / V. M. Amirov, A. V. Antoshin, V. I. Bortnikov [i dr.] ; pod obshchei redaktsiei Yu. V. Matveevoi, Yu. A. Rusinoi. Ekaterinburg: Izdatel’stvo Ural’skogo universiteta, 2021. P. 18–31. (In Russian).

16. Levchenko M. Eto nasha istoriya k kotoroi my budem vozvrashchat’sya i nostal’girovat’ (This is our history to which we will return and be nostalgic). URL: https://design.sredaobuchenia.ru/sovietlettering (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

17. Mardieva L. A. Vizual’naya pretsedentnost’: teoreticheskie i prikladnye aspekty (Visual Precedence: Theoretical and Applied Aspects) // Voprosy sovremennoi lingvistiki i izucheniya inostrannykh yazykov v epokhu iskusstvennogo intellekta. Moscow: RUPF publ., 2020. P. 143–148. (In Russian).

18. Mardieva L. A. Virtual’naya deistvitel’nost’: verbal’nye i neverbal’nye reprezentatsii obrazov vizual’nogo povedeniya v tekstakh sredstv massovoi informatsii (Virtual Reality: Verbal and Nonverbal Representations of Visual Behavior in Media Texts). Kazan’: Otechestvo, 2015. 278 p. (In Russian).

19. Mardieva L. A. Kollektivnaya kul’turnaya pamyat’ obshchestva (pretsedentnye vizual’nye obrazy i fenomeny) (Collective cultural memory of society (precedent visual images and phenomena) // Vestn. Perm. un-ta. Rossiiskaya i zarubezhnaya filologiya. 2011. No. 3 (15). P. 202–207. (In Russian).

20. Mardieva L. A. K probleme oboznacheniya neverbal’noi sostavlyayushchei semioticheski oslozhnennogo teksta (On designating the non-verbal component of a semiotically complicated text) // Filologiya i kul’tura. Philology and Culture. 2014. № 4 (38). P. 155–158. (In Russian).

21. Marchenko T. V. Internet-mem kak fenomen mediakommunikatsii: Tipologicheskie kharakteristiki i potentsial pretsedentnosti (Internet meme as a phenomenon of media communication: typological features and precedence potential) // Zhanry i tipy teksta v nauchnom i mediinom diskurse: mezhvuz. sb. nauch. tr. – vyp. 16 / ed by A.G. Pastukhov. Orel: OGIK, OOO «Gorizont», 2019. – P. 209–220. (In Russian).

22. Marchenko T. V. Pretsedentnost’ v diskursakh mediaprostranstva: k probleme issledovaniya verbal’nykh i neverbal’nykh fenomenov (Precedence in media discourses: on the study of verbal and non-verbal phenomena) // Gumanitarnye i yuridicheskie issledovaniya. 2021. No. 2. P. 143–150. (In Russian).

23. Marchenko T. V. Simvol’noe nasledie sovetskoi epokhi v sovremennom sotsiokul’turnom prostranstve (The symbolic heritage of the Soviet era in the modern socio-cultural space) // «Diskursy “novyi chelovek” i “sovetskii narod” kak obshchnost’ v sotsiokul’turnom prostranstve SSSR»: sb. nauch. tr. Stavropol’, 2022. P. 200–215. (In Russian).

24. Maslinskaya S. Magiya pionerskoi simvoliki: sovetskoe proshloe v sovremennoi detskoi literature (The magic of pioneer symbols: the Soviet past in modern children’s literature) // Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. 2021. No. 3 (169). P. 165–178. (In Russian).

25. Mem «A ty napisal stat’yu?» URL: http://risovach.ru/kartinka/5759588 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022).

26. Mem «Vzyal stul?» URL: http://risovach.ru/upload/2014/12/mem/sovetskiy-plakat_68235996_orig_.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

27. Mem «Vse uzhe bylo…» URL: https://cs12.pikabu.ru/post_img/2022/04/28/12/1651178100186358941.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

28. Mem «Zheleznyi chelovek…» URL: http://i.mycdn.me/i?r=AzFIxPtkV78jcmdRfpoIOyaJgIU5rgeDWat3onnQzasBmzO7EuABt8t6j6ROsg0SwU4 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

29. Mem «Zhen’ka, spokoinoi nochi» URL: http://risovach.ru/upload/2014/03/mem/ohuenno_45050955_big_.jpeg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

30. Mem «I snitsya nam ne rokot» URL: http://risovach.ru/upload/2016/10/mem/kot-spit_128100488_orig_.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

31. Mem «Kogda skazal» URL: https://medialeaks.ru/1512ndi-txt-fur-hat-meme/ (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

32. Mem «Lyubimyi desert» URL: http://i.mycdn.me/i?r=AzEPZsRbOZEKgBhR0XGMT1RkhJJBKh_xI7k8KNRZKARscaaKTM5SRkZCeTgDn6uOyic (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

33. Mem «Mul’tfil’my…» URL: http://rusdemotivator.ru/uploads/posts/2009-12/1261604427_513163_multfilmyi.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

34. Mem «Ne boltai» URL: https://dev.meme-arsenal.com/create/meme/675066 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

35. Mem «Pozvoni» URL: https://demotivatorium.ru/sstorage/3/2013/08/12210407266831/demotivatorium_ru_pozvoni_mne_pozvoni_27315.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

36. Mem «Pozvoni mne radi gaza» URL: https://www.meme-arsenal.com/memes/64098426dcbf0538b90c1a33e6999101.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

37. Mem «Sendvich» URL: https://i12.fotocdn.net/s113/8a5dc642b9e75def/public_pin_m/2542674339.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

38. Mem «Test na vozrast» URL: https://cs6.pikabu.ru/post_img/big/2015/05/27/5/1432707709_1597008814.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

39. Mem «Trololo» URL: https://avatars.mds.yandex.net/i?id=5471a790c1fe1d1b5017092fc4de09edc819a71d-7051380-images-thumbs&n=13 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

40. Mem «Ty obrabotal ruki» URL: https://www.meme-arsenal.com/create/meme/2244176 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

41. Mem «Tyumen’ – luchshii gorod» URL: http://batona.net/uploads/posts/2013-04/1366609605_012.jpg (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

42. Muzyka iz reklamy SberZdorov’e (Music from SberHealth advertising). URL: https://muizre.ru/dir/246-1-0-11422 (Accessed: 03. 06. 2022). (In Russian).

43. Ozhegov S. I. Slovar’ russkogo yazyka (Dictionary of the Russian language). Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Oniks. 2007. 1200 p. (In Russian).

44. Pikuleva Yu. B. O stepeni pretsedentnosti sovetskikh kul’turnykh znakov v sovremennoi reklame (On the degree of precedence of Soviet cultural signs in modern advertising) // Sovetskoe proshloe i kul’tura nastoyashchego: monografiya v 2 t. T. 1. Ekaterinburg: izd-vo Ural. un-ta, 2009. P. 148–162. (In Russian).

45. Pikuleva Yu. B. Pretsedentnyi kul’turnyi znak v sovremennoi televizionnoi reklame: lingvokul’turologicheskii analiz (Precedent cultural sign in modern television advertising: linguoculturological analysis): avtoref. diss. ... kand. filol. nauk. Ekaterinburg, 2003. 22 p. (In Russian).

46. Pikuleva Yu. B. Pretsedentnye kul’turnye znaki sovetskogo vremeni v kommercheskoi i politicheskoi otechestvennoi reklame (Precedent cultural signs of the Soviet era in national commercial and political advertising) // Sovetskaya kul’tura v sovremennom sotsioprostranstve Rossii: transformatsii i perspektivy. 2008. URL: https://elar.urfu.ru/handle/10995/1828?mode=full&ysclid=la0v4yvixe209663034 (Accessed: 10. 11. 2021). (In Russian).

47. Radbil’ T. B., Pomazov A. I. Pretsedentnye fenomeny kak sredstvo sozdaniya attraktivnosti v polikodovom tekste internet (Precedent phenomena as a means of creating attractiveness in the polycode text of the Internet) // Vestnik VolGU. Seriya 2, Yazykoznanie. 2020. No. 1 (19). P. 140–154. (In Russian).

48. Sekushina Yu. A. Voobrazhaya proshloe, preobrazhaya nastoyashchee: kul’turnyi resaikling sovetskogo proshlogo v diskurse osoznannogo potrebleniya (Imagining the Past, Transforming the Present: Cultural Recycling of the Soviet Past in the Discourse of Conscious Consumption) // Sibirskie istoricheskie issledovaniya. 2021. No. 4. P. 160–182. (In Russian).

49. Sovetskoe kak diskursivnyi fenomen: sposoby kontseptualizatsii proshlogo: monografiya. Irkutsk, 2013. 249 p. (In Russian).

50. Sovetskoe proshloe i kul’tura nastoyashchego (Soviet as a discursive phenomenon: ways of conceptualizing the past). Ekaterinburg, 2009. 244 p. (In Russian).

51. Chelovek sovetskii: za i protiv = Homo soveticus: pro et contra (Soviet man: for and against = Homo soveticus: pro et contra). Ekaterinburg, 2021. 412 p. (In Russian).

52. Moser W. Recyclages culturels. Élaboration d’une problématique // La Recherche littéraire: Objets et méthodes / Sous la direction de C. Duchet et S. Vachon. Montréal (Québec): XYZ, 1993. P. 433-446.

53. Reynolds S. Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past / Simon Reynolds. L.: Faber and Faber, 2011. 458 p.