Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer is a documentary about a Russian protest group made up of young women that sometimes uses shocking methods to make its points. The central protest in the film involves a performance at a Russian Orthodox cathedral where the protesters sing sacrilegious lyrics, for which they are later arrested and jailed. There's also an event depicted where protesters have public sex (we see naked bodies and thrusting from three couples in the same room; breasts are visible, but no genitals; one of the participants is heavily pregnant). The young women and others use a few curse words and sing songs featuring violence and obscene language. Viewers will learn a lot about the history of Russian protest and the political and social milieu in Russia; they may also be given much to consider about the nature of protest and social change. Much of the movie is in Russian, with subtitles.
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What's the Story?
Members of Russian protest group Pussy Riot made headlines in 2012 after they were arrested for a peaceful political action inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral. PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER follows the group from just before that action to several months later, when three members have been arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. Nadia, Masha, and Katia are the three members in question, and they're smart and articulate Russian women who despise Vladimir Putin and his regime. Why can't women give services and stand at the altar in the Russian Orthodox church, they ask. Why do the Putinites favor repressive action over citizen involvement? Of course, they don't "ask" by asking, exactly, but instead, by staging concerts in unusual, pointed locations while Pussy Riot members wear brightly colored dresses and identity-concealing balaclavas while they play deafening punk songs about Putin wetting himself or politicians getting poisoned. We meet members of Pussy Riot who explain the group's politics, politically and socially conservative Russians who oppose them, and the agonized family members who are watching their daughter (wife, mother) spend time in jail for essentially dancing in the wrong place.
Is It Any Good?
Weaned as Westerners are on images of women taking charge, footage of Pussy Riot in action reads to this audience as exciting, inspiring, maybe even a little bit sexy. Learning how the average Russian views their actions is like a bucket of cold water to the face. Russian women aren't supposed to get up and dance around, sing lyrics about the Russian President urinating on himself. To us it looks amusing. To their home country, these women are crazy, obscene, maybe even scary.
Teens will probably be attracted to the way the Pussy Riot looks and sounds, if not as thrilled with the parts of the documentary in which we languish in a courtroom, just like Katia, Masha, and Nadia. Overall, however, this is a moving and relatable document about what looks to be a bunch of carefree twentysomethings who gave a finger to The Man and received one heck of a comeuppance. It may ignite revolutionary tendencies in teens. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to you.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether Pussy Riot's actions would have landed them in jail in America. Are protesters ever arrested in America? Do they serve time in jail? How is the tolerance of protest different in the U.S. and Russia?
The arrest of Pussy Riot members drew widespread attention because many outside Russia see the arrest as immoral and politically motivated. Do you think the makers of this documentary agree with that viewpoint? What about the film brings you to this conclusion?
After watching the film, what differences can you identify between a Russian trial and an American one? Which country would you rather stand trial in? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: February 11, 2014
- Cast: Mariya Alyokhina
- Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin
- Studio: Docurama
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Great Girl Role Models, Music and Sing-Along
- Run time: 88 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: April 1, 2022
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