Representations of Russians in Hollywood and Bollywood

No other art form is as effective in influencing public consciousness and as articulate in reflecting prevailing attitudes as cinema. Considering this power of the silver screen and its wide reach, a scan of typical portrayals of Russians in the two leading film industries of the world – Hollywood and Hindi films, aka Bollywood, indicates their perceptions of Russia.  

Hollywood: The Usual Suspects – KGB, Mafia, and Occasional Allies

“Hollywood films about Russia were fated to play a special role” – Harlow Robinson, Professor, University of California, writes in his book Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood's Russians – “for most of the twentieth century, Russia/USSR was the primary ‘other’ in the American consciousness, the ideological and military enemy, with vast and terrifying resources, by the middle of the century capable and apparently desirous of blowing us all of the planet.” During the Cold War, presenting Russians as enemies allowed America to define its own identity.

Sylvester Stallone starrer Rocky IV (1985) is a classic application of this formula. Rocky, a benevolent and conscientious American is pitted against Drago, a cold-blooded and unethical Soviet in a boxing match which serves as a metaphor for their corresponding nations coming face-to-face. Rocky not just wins the battle but also Soviet hearts and imparts his famous ‘everyone can change’ speech. A popular witticism goes – ‘Rocky IV almost ended the Cold War but Rambo III rekindled it’ – the third movie in Rambo series was blatantly anti-Soviet. A sub-narrative of the movie contrasts Rocky’s resilience to the harsh Siberian climate with his accomplice, Paulie’s longing for the cushy life in America.

The world popular James Bond series which is a collaboration of British and American studios presents a range of stereotypes of their Russian antagonists. Of these probably the most symbolic are Red Grant in From Russia, With Love, and SMERSH. The agency which serves as Bond’s archrival is a masterstroke by Ian Fleming – a believable, original, and exclusive literary device, based on nothing more than bits of information and pieces of legend.

Bond series have adapted with changing times. Rashmi Doraiswamy, Professor, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, points out – “The Bond films create villains who reflect their political anxieties and prejudices. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the post-Cold War period the energy and pipeline geopolitics is the fuel that pumps the narrative of The World is Not Enough (1999).” The villain, an ex-KGB assassin-turned-terrorist, steals plutonium from a former Soviet missile base in Kazakhstan and later a Russian nuclear submarine to sabotage a Russian oil pipeline in an attempt to create monopoly for another pipeline.

Another widely successful spy film series, Mission Impossible has not missed Russians either. In M:I-2 (2000) a Russian bio-chemical expert is forced to develop a deadly virus. In the 2012 edition of the series, a terrorist’s plot to start a nuclear war between Russia and US is thwarted by the American agent Ethan Hunt, who clears the misunderstanding building between the two countries and saves the day. 

Though the contemporary representations of Russians in American films are evolving towards a broader outlook, the military, political and KGB motifs are still present. In quite a few movies a supposed Russian mafia has replaced Soviet spies. In The Incredible Hulk (2008), the power-hungry Emil Blonsky is a Russian-born, British Royal Marine on loan to US Armed Forces. An earlier Marvel comic book introduces his character, The Abomination, as a KGB agent. In the latest Batman movie, The Dark Night Rises (2012), a Russian Nuclear Physicist is captured by the villain and forced to activate a nuclear bomb.

There has been a reconfiguration of Cold War era archetypes albeit with open-ended connotations, even when Russians are portrayed as allies. In Independence Day (1996), Russian fighter pilots join hands with Americans against a common enemy. In Armageddon (1998), cosmonaut Lev Andropov is an inebriate who beats a faulty instrument with a spanner to get it to work.