The Haunted Present by Elena Prokhorova

The Haunted Present by Elena Prokhorova

Emerging from the shadows of empire and memory, this groundbreaking study reveals how contemporary Eastern European film and television use neo-noir to confront unresolved trauma, power, and injustice in the post-Soviet world.

This collection explores for the first time the pervasive presence of neo-noir film and TV series (including releases on widely popular streaming channels) in recent Balkan, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian cinema and television. Classic western noir’s structural pessimism was driven by a utopian desire for a just society, a quality which made it attractive to all eastern European countries. The films and series in the collection present modern iterations of a still-relevant colonial past, such as the repression of dissent and of sexual minorities, culpability in World War II, and the activities of the security services. Contemporary narratives reveal the effects of the violence released after the collapse of the Soviet Union—the continuing trauma and scars of an unprocessed past, social dysfunction, organized crime, ecological degradation, exploitation of indigenous populations, and restorative nostalgia for previous systems of governance.

“This lively and well-written collection is a timely contribution to both Slavic cultural and film studies, which illuminates how noir and neo-noir have served as a ‘dark mirror’ exploring unprocessed traumas of the Soviet/socialist experience: corruption, repression, historical erasure, treatment of minority populations, patriarchal gender constructions, and othersIn its comparative approach and interrogation of noir and neo-noir cinema in a range of cultures and time periods, including classical Hollywood noir and Nordic neo-noir, the book is also an outstanding contribution to global film studies.”

—Dr. Justin Wilmes, Associate Professor of Russian Studies, East Carolina University 

“This innovative volume examines how a growing set of neo-noir productions in contemporary Eastern European film and television address and mediate historical trauma. Bringing together incisive essays analyzing media from across the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Russia, The Haunted Present deepens our understanding of noir’s transnational reach and significance. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of film and television, as well as to noir enthusiasts more generally.”

—Dr. Christine Evans, Associate Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Alexander Prokhorov is Professor of Russian and Film Studies at The College of William & Mary.

Elena Prokhorova is Professor of Russian and Film Studies at The College of William & Mary.

Rimgaila Salys is Professor Emerita of the Russian Program at the University of Colorado Boulder and an expert in 20th century Russian literature, film, and culture.