«Куба - любовь моя»: символизм мужского и женского в советских репрезентациях Острова свободы
“Cuba is my love”: the symbolism of male and female in the Soviet representations of the Island of Freedom

Summary/Abstract: The article based on an analysis of Soviet mass culture of the 1960s (feature films, documentaries, popular songs) examines the representations of Cuban masculinity and femininity in the context of the Cold war during the 1960s. The authors conclude that the images of men and women, masculinity and femininity have become a noticeable component of Soviet representations of the Cuban Revolution. Female images were used to explain the just nature of the revolution, to demonstrate that only socialism can provide a solution to women’s issues. Representations of revolutionary Cuban masculinity made it possible to show the ability of Fidel Castro and his associates to defend the cause of the revolution, as well as the invincibility of the revolutionary movement in the world. The attraction of male and female symbolism contributed to the creation of the enemy image, portraying him as immoral, inhuman, cruel, and cowardly, in demonstrating that he poses a threat to humanity. The function of the defender of Cuba as a woman was one of the main ones in the representations of Cuban masculinity. These images were also used in the politics of Soviet identity. Emphasizing the youth of revolutionary masculinity Barbudos was included in the demonstration of the youth of the USSR as a country aspiring to the future together with all progressive humanity. It created an opportunity to carry out a kind of rebranding of the October Revolution, to show that its work continues.

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