The small nymphs from Russia ("Berlingske Tidende" - Denmark)Time of publication: 12.03.2003 |
A russian popduo is for the first time ever appearing at the top of the British charts. But in Russia, they don't know whether to be happy or sorry, since the duo »Tatu« are known as two lesbian schoolgirls and their fans are said to be middle-aged men.
By Anna Libak
MOSCVA
It was half a century ago since the Russian author Vladimir Nabokow shocked the West with his novel »Lolita« - about the cultivated, 40-year-old schoolteacher Humbert Humberts and his passion for schoolgirls between the age of 10 and 14.
The book awoke quite a lot of indignation because of it's claim that there is a category of under aged girls who are absolutely conscious about their charm and faculty to bewitch men and set fire to their loins.
And actually, two Russian teengirls are, these days, shocking or carrying away the world by realizing Nabokov's fantasy about small nymphs.
The Russian popduo Tatu, 17-year-old Julia Volkova and 18-year-old Lena Katina have conquered the top of the charts in many European countries. Their first album »200 km/h in the Wrong Lane« has sold 1,5 mill. copies and recently the hit »All The Things She Said« got the leading place on Britain's Hit-Parade Top 40. In USA and Canada, the song is also moving to the top, while it's no. 4 in the Danish charts.
In the glazed British magazine »The Face« the duo got the best character: »Tatu is the most popular popgroup in the world«. Simply put.
And until recently most people thought that the girls were popular because of their good music. But then the girls produced a music video to the hit »All The Things She Said«. The video changed the minds of the world, at least the minds of teenager parents.
Pseudo-lesbian sex
In the video you see the two small nymphs kiss each other, impassioned in a downpouring monotonously rainy weather that makes their school uniforms - ultra short skirt and white shirts - stick neatly to their body. It all happens in front of a metal fence, where a grey crowd looks disapprovingly at the girls from the other side.
Now rumours stated that these were only a foreshadowing of what one could expect: On the Russian market an another music video from Tatu showed how one of the girls made herself comfortable in a bath while the other sent her warm thoughts from a cafй. Suddenly it became clear that the group's name Tatu not only was some wrong Russian spelling of tattoo - but actually an abbreviation for »ta« ljubit »tu« - »this girl loves that girl«.
You started noticing that when the girls performed together they were constantly hand in hand and fiddled with eachother - and during their shows they would go the the routine and put in long, languishing kisses. But one thing is, what hormone-affected teenagers can do this as an instinct. It first became completely nasty when the world realized that there was a man behind the project. The group's creator and manager, former child psychologist Ivan Shapovalov, indicated that he got the idea to his »under age sex project« five years ago. He also indicated that he was inspired by child porn on the internet. It did the job.
A number of well-known persons in Great Britain denounced, together with the children's organisation »Kidscape«, Tatu and accused the group's manager of going after a market of »pedophilia«. BBC desisted freely from showing the video in the programme »Top of the Pops« and showed a concert element with the girls in replacement. The competitive channel ITV1 kept up while MTV only cut out the picture, where you could see one of the girls' white cotton panties.
Divided in the middle
In Russia, Tatu's popularity has started an intense debate. On one side, the
people who believe in Tatu's first prize in the British charts can be compared
with Russia's victory in the Davis Cup tennis tournament. A turning point in
other worlds. Russia has never before been a part of the European mass pop
culture.
»I can understand that people would rather have had that the whole world were
wrapped up by a Russian ballet, opera, chess or figure skating, but you can't
decide what others must like. None of our big stars like Alla Pugacheva or Time
Machine (pop singer and pop group red.) have been able to pierce through to the West.
Now we got Tatu, and we should be proud,« said the music critics Artemij Trotskij
in a debate programme, Svoboda Slova, on the canal NTV.
He got contradicted by many participants; priests, school teachers and
politicians whom claimed that Tatu was a disgrace. The crew was especially
provoked by the fact that Tatu is produced as lesbians, even though both of them
have boyfriends, according to rumours, and the two girls are dressed like
10-14-years-old, even though they actually are older. The girls comments about
elder men who find their ways to Tatu's concerts made people excited.
Their manager Ivan Sjapovalov who also was in the programme took the frankincense
with peace. He smiled under the the entire show. It wasn't hard to guess why. As
he has said earlier:
»The more conservative a society is, the more resistance we meet, the more
success we get. The worse the better. It's a rule in showbiz that a scandal
is the best publicity you get«.
Translation by: Regin Larsen.
http://opia.dk/tatu |
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