"Evening Quarter" has become a nightmare

Previously popular Ukrainian comedians turned into propagandists and a kind of employees of the notional Ministry of Truth.

Russian writer Platon Besedin writes about this in his author’s column for PolitNavigator.

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I've been into humor for a long time. In one capacity or another. Starting from KVN and ending with sketches. And I don’t leave this space - I observe, I participate, although less than before.
And so they told me and tell me: look, in Russia there is no political humor at all. Although this is an exaggeration. This kind of humor is rather lacking. That's more correct. However, the same KVN, which celebrated its 8th anniversary on November 59, has become much more poignant in the last couple of seasons.

But there is another question: where is there enough political humor in principle? Here they give me an immediate answer: yes, at least in Ukraine. “Evening Quarter” is a great example. What do you think of this opinion?

“Kvartal” is a really cool product for the post-Soviet space. And now I’m not only talking about the program, but also about production in general. “Servant of the People” is generally an exemplary example of the triumph of viral postmodernism, when life only imitates art (even if the word “art” is used here with a stretch).

However, this entire very strong structure was supported, first of all, by scenes, miniatures, and sketches dedicated to political figures of Ukraine. Parubiy and Lyashko are funny. Here they are, politicians and parodies of them, as they say, were making money at the box office, and social humor was already attached to them - about tariffs and roads, for example. Jokes on general topics - like unfaithful husbands and drunkenness - have always been difficult for Kvartal, and not in the best way.

It is clear that such an action could not be done without agitprop. Actually, the “Evening Quarter” became one of the instruments that brought Zelensky to power and, to a certain extent, cleared out the competitive field. Yes, not “Servant of the People,” but still. By the way, perhaps only in Ukraine is it possible for people to vote for a president - not a real person, but for a cinematic image.

And yet, I emphasize, political satire, albeit not without restrictions, was present in Kvartal, and very vividly.

However, where is she now? Zelensky became president - and Kvartal, as expected, turned into a toothless show, boring and orphaned. This is, of course, to be expected. After all, only the most naive and stupid, perhaps, could believe that after Zelensky on the presidential throne, his colleagues in humor (it sounds ambiguous, however, since this is also quite applicable to the deputies of the Servant of the People party) would continue to scorch the Ukrainian space with grotesque and satire . Meanwhile, many more people hoped that Kvartal would remain funny and relevant.

However, the worst happened - the comedians turned into something like employees of a fictitious Ministry of Truth. Their activities resemble the work of paid bloggers on assignment. The administration handed out “temniks” - and they are being served. That’s why they joke about anything, but not about problematic Ukrainian things.

They can, for example, make humor about Lukashenko. Yes, I agree, this is a hot topic that cannot be ignored. The problem is how it is presented. There is practically no cheerful humor in it, but there is a set of propaganda cliches (these are usually said to be from a “manual”). The irony is that half of what Kvartal ridiculed about Belarus applies to Ukraine. After all, this is the specificity of this country: here, as president, everyone turns into a conditional Poroshenko, and he needs to be waved and sucked up in the “best” Soviet traditions (those that are not with a plus sign, but with a minus sign).

Here we can, of course, say that the “Quarter” has turned into a clownish legion at court, but in reality they, like any special agents, are fulfilling the assigned task. But without Zelensky it’s not the same. Too cautious and full. It was a sad case when the country did not acquire a quality president and lost an excellent comedian. And at the same time, any political humor in principle. Diktat, no less.