Narratives of Ukrainian Musical Pop Culture in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of narratives in Ukrainian musical pop culture through the prism of the Russian-Ukrainian war and to reveal their influence on the affirmation of national identity. Research methodology. The method of analysis and synthesis, the method of theoretical analysis, the terminological method, the typological method, the historical-cultural method, the method of comparative and culturological analysis were applied. Scientific novelty. The problems of constructing song narratives at the current stage of the development of Ukrainian musical popular culture through the prism of the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war are considered; song narratives formed under the influence of events during the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas (ATO) and the declaration of martial law are studied. The content of Ukrainian popular music in 2014–2025 was analysed and the most popular narratives were identified. Conclusions. The study revealed that in the context of musical pop culture in 2014–2025, the song narrative is positioned as an important means of accumulating and transmitting (in a codified form, mediated by the specific vocabulary of pop songs and the artistic and figurative system) cultural traditions, values, collective memory and social experience of the Ukrainian people. The work of representatives of modern Ukrainian pop culture not only reflects traditional song narratives, but also produces, based on the realities of the present, new narratives that represent and interpret the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, form collective memory, contribute to the formation of national identity, and therefore are a powerful tool for constructing social reality. Based on the typology of modern media narratives proposed by M. Mytsiuk, the content of Ukrainian popular music from the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war to the present day was analysed and it was found that the most common are heroic (celebrating sacrifice and courage), mythologized (reproducing traditional images, symbols and old stories in a current context), satirical (ridiculing the aggressor) and tragic narratives (about human losses and destruction). Mythologised narratives, represented by means of authorial adaptation of folk and rifle songs, are among the most effective in the context of establishing national identity.