The Post-Human as the New Other: Cyborgs, Fembots, and Androids in Russian Television Series

This event will be held virtually as a Zoom webinar and streamed via YouTube Live. There will be no in-person event.

Register here for the Zoom webinar, or tune in on YouTube Live.

Please join us for a meeting of the Russian Film Club with speakers Tatiana Mikhailova (Columbia), Elena Prokhorova (William & Mary), and Sasha Prokhorov (William & Mary). Moderated by Daria Ezerova (Harriman Institute) and Mark Lipovetsky (Columbia University). This event is part of our Contemporary Culture Series.

The interest in robots and androids in Russian film and television has come and gone since the second half of the 20th century, from the success of Planet of the Storm (1961) and The Adventures of Elektronik (1979) to near-oblivion in the 1990s. In the 2010s-2020s, with the series like Better Than Us (2018) and Project “Anna Nikolaevna” (2020), cyborgs, fembots, and androids returned to the Russian screen. While the interest in the topic may stem from the global success of the likes of Westworld and Blade Runner 2049, these series offer a fresh way of commenting on Russian realities, touching upon the issues of gender, power, and corruption, and posing a broader question of what is compelling about the post-human as a theme in Russian television.

Better than Us is available on Netflix.
Project Anna Nikolaevna is available on YouTube.