Cenzura i "czarne listy" w muzyce popularnej Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Studium na podstawie wybranych przykładów

In the article the author presents selected examples of censorship applied to popular music in Poland, former Czechoslovakia (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic), Ukraine and Belarus. Analysing these examples of censorship applied by the government from the mid-20th century until the present, it is possible to discern similar mechanisms in the operation of censors in various countries of Central-Eastern Europe. The examples described in the article concern control by the authorities of artists’ performances, entire festivals, cancellation of concerts and prosecution of musicians. The attitudes of blacklisted musicians were often marked by social engagement; the cases described in the article demonstrate both a variety of ways of dealing with the situation and similarities: bands tried to avoid bans by changing their names, decided to collaborate with the authorities, “migrated” with their concerts abroad, published their recordings on their own in other countries and functioned in the musical underground. The second part of the article focuses on the very phenomenon of “black lists”, which were in essence documents sanctioning repression against artists. The author refers to two examples of such documents. The first is a “black list” which had a status of an official directive issued by the Ukrainian authorities in the mid-1980s. The second is an anonymous “black list” which was “in use” in Belarus in 2011. From the perspective of the bans imposed today in Belarus, the author paints a picture of the country’s popular music culture. Drawing on the anonymous “black list”, she describes the fate of Belarusian artists included in it. Statements by the “blacklisted” artists, representatives of the media as well as state officials are used by her to describe the mechanisms behind the use of such documents. Finally, she points to the common elements in the work of the blacklisted artists — language and folk culture. These elements also make up contemporary artistic practices, which consolidate society. Ultimately, censorship may contribute to the blacklisted work achieving a special status, that of a symbol of resistance.