ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the use of vulgar language (mat) as a sign of protest in contemporary culture. It proceeds to an analysis of images of protest as created in documentary and fiction films in an attempt to show the performative aspect and the spectacle created by the Russian protest movement. This 'spectacle' stands in contrast to the protests on the Maidan in Kiev in 2014, which are shown largely through static shots of a moving crowd that is almost oblivious to the camera. In the world of literature, one of the most prominent cultural phenomena to promote vulgar language is the so-called New Drama movement, which emerged in the late 1990s following attempts (including of foreign masters) to revive Russia's theatre scene and inject fresh blood into playwriting. The work with documentary footage requires a great degree of responsibility during the shooting and editing process.
