EVOLUTION OF RUSSIAN BIKE CULTURE FROM MAD MAX TO NIGHT WOLF

Abstract

The subject of this article is the specifics of the representation of the biker figure in modern screen culture and the influence of this representation on Russian bike culture. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the evaluation criteria used by sociologists in relation to the foreign culture of bikers are not applicable to the Russian bike culture, which was formed in a different historical and cultural situation. The author puts forward a hypothesis according to which the image of the hero in the bike culture “Night Wolves” was formed under the influence of the series of films “Mad Max” directed by D. Miller. However, identification with the images of bikers presented in D. Miller’s films in this subculture went along the line of separation from them, towards identification with the main character Max. For the first time, the long-term spectacular activity of the “Night Wolves” in the field of creating New Year’s fairy tales for children is considered as an example of the evolution of the image of the hero in this bike culture from Mad Max, as a warrior driven by personal revenge, to the Night Wolf, embodying the image of a folk hero. It is concluded that the image of the main character of the film is D. Miller Max Rokatansky became the starting point in the creation of a unique wolf epic by representatives of the “Night Wolves” subculture. The study is based on the results of a study of street communities. Thrasher, the theory of primary and secondary identification of the viewer with the movie character K. Metz, studies of the genres “biker movie” and “road movie”, the concept of the development of self-awareness of the personality of V. S. Mukhina.

For citation:
Semenova, E. A. (2024). Evolution of Russian bike culture from Mad Max to Night Wolf. Experience industries. Socio-Cultural Research Technologies (EISCRT), 2 (7), 156-186. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.34680/EISCRT-2024-2(7)-156-186