We come from Yeralash: in memory of Boris Grachevsky

On January 14, Boris Yuryevich Grachevsky, one of the founders of the children’s humorous film magazine Yeralash, passed away. Since 1974, when the first issue of the children’s humorous film magazine Yeralash appeared on the screens, Grachevsky acted as a screenwriter, director, actor, director, and artistic director of the project.

We first remembered him by the credits, and then we recognized him by sight when he participated in television programs, and later, when he began to appear on the festival jury. For those who grew up in the 70s, 80s and 90s, Boris Grachevsky is Yeralash.

Four decades ago, four all-Union channels worked on Soviet television, only a few had VCRs, and film magazines were shown in cinemas before films, including Yeralash. At first, only there it was possible to see the premieres of new episodes.

The television program, which was printed in the newspapers, was carefully studied by the whole family, with a pen or pencil they highlighted what was interesting and worth watching. And, of course, we tried not to miss a single issue of our favorite film magazine. Hearing the “call signs” – “Boys and girls, as well as their parents …” – our yard was instantly empty: everyone rushed to the TVs.

Surprisingly, in an era when children were often spoken to in an edifying tone and most television programs were saturated with state ideology, Boris Grachevsky managed to shoot truly funny stories, sincere and benevolent. Yes, greed and harmfulness were ridiculed in them, but no one lectured or read notations from the screen. The “educational effect” worked as if by itself, flowing easily and naturally from the plot.

It seems that Grachevsky was one of those people who intuitively understand what is interesting and close to children, and do not allow falsehood in communicating with them. In the releases of Yeralash one could see cheerful hooliganism – that very living energy, which is as natural for children as it is inconvenient for teachers and parents.

The action of the series “40 devils and one green fly”, in which the teacher was brilliantly played by Gennady Khazanov, takes place in an Italian school, but with what delight we looked both at the mischief of the students and at the unexpected answer of the teacher in the finale.

We laughed until colic, identified ourselves with the outrageous “bambini” – as Jungian analysts would say, this allowed us to safely release our own Shadow, that same irrepressible energy that cannot (and should not) be shown in real lessons in a real class .

School life was not easy for everyone. And many episodes of Yeralash played up difficult, awkward situations with humor. It is the ability to kindly laugh at a problem that helps both children and adults cope with difficult moments in life. And this was also the “therapeutic” effect of Boris Grachevsky’s film magazine.

And most importantly, the stories were really funny. And this is already a lot.

“Joint laughter at a well-told joke is great bonding”

Ekaterina Klochkova, family systems therapist

Growing up in the 90s, Yeralash was an important part of my emotional life. In the film magazine one could see kind, witty stories, where children show ingenuity, non-standard thinking, freely argue with adults, find interesting solutions, and collaborate with friends.

And even now, I can sometimes revisit some plots with pleasure in order to mentally return to my early adolescence. And I feel some spiritual kinship with friends who, no, no, yes, repost their favorite quotes or issues on their page on social networks.

But, unfortunately, it’s no longer possible to watch Yeralash with my children: they have other characters, other plots, and they have more opportunities to choose content to suit their tastes. And indeed, now the popularity of the film magazine is difficult to compare with what it was in my childhood.

A quick survey of children I know showed that now the younger generation has a need to spend their infrequent free time as efficiently as possible. For example, to watch something that more fully meets current tasks and desires, and not like in our childhood: flip through the channels until you find something interesting, and if not, then watch at least some cartoon.

Perhaps this is a common feature of today, when small teams have an advantage in the speed of reaction to the situation and the ability to quickly shoot the most relevant content, focusing on the needs of their narrow and well-studied audience.

Of course, this is regrettable: after all, before, when a group of highly qualified specialists worked on the videos, from screenwriters to actors, along with humor, the plot featured topics that made you look at yourself or some problems in a new way, think about habitual behavior. And the talented acting of the actors helped these stories to be fixed in memory for a long time. That is, there was an educational moment in these funny videos.

On the other hand, today’s children have a huge freedom to choose content, which gives them the opportunity to realize their tastes and values ​​earlier, on the basis of which it will be easier to find or create a circle of friends and their place in life. And we, in turn, have the opportunity not only to feel nostalgic while watching our favorite stories, but also to attract children to watching.

Not all the attributes of our childhood, so carefully displayed in Yeralash, can be understood by them. And, therefore, there is a good opportunity to talk about the time in which we grew up, about its features and joys. And here the duration and dynamics of the plot help a lot: the child will not have time to get bored. A short story is his usual format. And joint laughter at a well-told joke brings them together.

Favorite quotes from “Yeralash”