GENERATIONAL MODEL OF THE 1960S: BETWEEN CULT AND DISCREDITATION ; ПОКОЛІННЄВА МОДЕЛЬ ШІСТДЕСЯТНИЦТВА: КУЛЬТ ЧИ ДИСКРЕДИТАЦІЯ

Abstract

The author of the article examines the role of the generation of the 1960s in the national and cultural development of independent Ukraine. The paper posits that the demand for the heroic myth of that generation is based on the credibility gained due to its protests against the repressive politics of the Soviet regime. It also became the yardstick for generations of the 20th century. On the other hand, the paper pays attention to the sharp criticism of the phenomena of this generation in different discussions from the early 2000s to the present. Both trends – cult and discreditation – refl ect the public opinion concerning the current reevaluation of the 1960s generation. Intellectuals and artists consider the generation of 1960s to be the leading one in the new history, as it was the fi rst one who liberated totalitarian regime and had caused the decline of it. There is no doubt in the value of this generation. In the sphere of culture, they controverted so-called «Soviet values», which was the cause of absolute crisis of the Soviet model of state at the end of 1980s. Social and cultural activity of the representatives of the 1960s generation has provoked the appearance of new intellectual formations, which were set up in the early 1990s at the same time with establishing newly independent states, especially Ukraine. At the time when Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, the generation of the 1960s (shistdesiatnyky) was the most infl uential and determined the cultural priorities of the young state. It was not accidental that a number of writers of 1960s got engaged in the political life (I. Drach, V. Yavorivskyi, P. Movchan, M. Zhulynskyi), some of them became ambassadors (Y. Shcherbak, D. Pavlychko, L. Lukyanenko), while other continued working in artistic societies and in mass media (Yu. Mushketyk, B. Oliynyk, R. Ivanychuk) or just wrote their literary works that were free of censorship and ideological limitations (V. Shevchuk, L. Kostenko, Y. Hutsalo, V. Drozd). Thus new merits and success, achieved by the 1960s writers had strengthened their authority in society and promoted creation the cult of generation, which has its place in literary and cultural discourse till now. Public opinions, obligatory school lectures and unchanged literary cannon attest their strong position in the contemporary life of the country. However, even such position did not secure the representatives of 1960s from sharp and discriminative critic of their cult. There were a few reasons for this, which provoked tensions in the wide discussion of the problem. That tension was also shown in media or during public debates. We can see it even in fi ction, for example in the novels by Lina Kostenko, Oksana Zabuzhko and others. Under postcolonial circumstances and due to different social and cultural complexes and re-sentiments, the position of the 1960s generation is projected onto the broader problem scope. Firstly, the paper elucidates the issues of national consciousness and rebuilding of separate Ukrainian identity. Secondly, what is very important, Ukrainians undergo a complicated period of destroying of the Soviet stereotypes and break away from totalitarian traumatic past. In this case, the generational differences are not only interesting, but also essential, since they show the changes of social consciousness which are not always visible for the general public. Keywords: the generation, the moral authority, society, literature, culture, identity. ; Розглянуто роль і місце покоління 1960-х років у національно-культурному становленні незалежної України. Зауважено затребуваність героїчного міфу цієї формації, що здобула авторитет своїм протестним потенціалом у минулому і стала осьовим поколінням ХХ століття. З іншого боку, характерною є також гостра критика покоління, що звучала в дискусіях 2000-х років, а також залишає простір дискусійного напруження донині. Обидві тенденції – культу й дискримінації – відображають суспільну думку щодо сучасної переоцінки шістдесятництва. Ключові слова: покоління, шістдесятники, моральний авторитет, суспільство, література, культура.