Radio voice as regime of intermediality in Soviet culture

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theoretical aspects of the concept of intermediality and the possibilities of its application in the context of Soviet studies. Based on already developed approaches, intermediality is understood as a reference within one medium to the medial characteristics of another. However, such a definition is not enough in the context of Soviet culture. Using the example of the radio voice and its functioning in artistic media products, the author shows that in Soviet culture intermedial configurations are deeply connected to the ideological and anthropological constructs. The medial characteristics of radio (disembodied voice, abstract material mediator, collective listening, structuring attention and others) transmit the current cultural order and can be found in other media, in particular in the films. Thus, a radio voice can be considered not only as an audio phenomenon, but also as the particular discursive mode manifested through materiality of the medium (technical and physical), visual practice of listening to this voice, contexts of listening and textual representation of the voice that “comment on” visual canons. The author suggests using the concept of intermedial regimes for the analysis of such cultural forms.