Milan Hlavsa and the Troubled Existence of the Music Group "The Plastic People of the Universe": Life Story and Discourse
Abstract
The paper interprets the life-story of musician and co-founder of the group The Plastic People Milan Hlavsa by the analysis of the interviews which were realized with Hlavsa between the years 1986-1991. The interpretation focuses on the roots of his relationship to the rock'n'roll music, his efforts to be the professional musician, his relationship to Ivan Jirous and his experiences with the communist repression.
The example study of Hlavsa's life-story settled the topic of identification of rock'n'roll youth subculture with the underground culture. The oral history and biographical method, which is used in the analysis, shows the disproportion of self-identification of the individual and the discourses, which were build around the underground community.
The paper discus two of the most influential publications about underground: Miroslav Vaněk Byl to jenom Rock'n'roll and Jonathan Bolton Worlds of Disent. Charter 77, The Plastic People of the Universe, and Czech Culture under Communism.
It points out how the methodology and selection of historical subjects and sources influences the interpretation of the phenomenon of underground and its participants.