Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

248 reMeMBerING the SpaCe aGe
he scratched our names out of all his letters.
Our mother shoulda just named you Laika! 34
the music video for this piece shows a book of “memories” being pulled
from the family bookshelves during the singing of the third line. as the last
line is sung, a shell labeled “Laika” blasts out of a cannon. In this song and in
other examples, the elision of canine-human identity facilitates a reversal of the
original infection of Laika’s story. the historical Laika might still be a victim
or a pioneer, but contemporary Laikas can also be agents of betrayal (as in the
case of “Neighborhood #2) or emblems of lost causes. 35 When the specifcs
of Sputnik II are invoked, the ending of the story is subject to considerable
revision: Laika might survive, return to earth, or reappear in another realm.
For example, in Niki McCretton’s recent theatrical production, “Muttnik,
the First Dog in Space,” the British solo stage performer portrays Laika as
a “canine adventurer” whose “rags to riches story” appeals to audiences of
“Children and Childish adults.” 36
as the Soviet particulars of Laika’s story recede from the popular
consciousness, musicians seem increasingly inclined to link her to more
universal human concerns and struggles. the clearest example of using Laika’s
name without any reference to the circumstances surrounding her story is a
dreamy, half-intelligible song about lost love and self-efacement by Damon
and Naomi, the folk-duo, peace activist sponsors of exact Change publishers. 37
Other songs, such as Massacre’s “Laika, se va” or Blipp!’s “Laika,” use selected
elements of the Sputnik II story to frame meditations on a (human) longing to
return home or the isolation of an endless journey.
In addition to the musical compositions discussed here, a number of recent
literary endeavors refer to or are inspired by Laika as well. among these are
children’s books and science fction works, as well as more serious explorations
of loneliness and alienation such as James Flint’s novel Habitus (2000) and
Sputnik Sweetheart (1999) by haruki Murakami. Nick abadzis’s graphic novel
Laika (2007) intertwines fact and fction to examine the nature of trust and
the implications of technological advances for what it means to be human.
In Jeanette Winterson’s recently published, Weight (2005), the frst space dog
appears as a grateful companion to a world-weary atlas in a witty retelling
of a classic myth-cum-meditation on choice, freedom, and coercion. In
34. arcade Fire,“Neighborhood #2 (Laika),” Funeral (Merge records, 2004).
35. For a recent example of this usage, see the comic strip “Get Fuzzy” from November 7, 2006.
36. “Muttnik the First Dog in Space,” http://www.angelfre.com/stars4/nikimccretton/cgi-bin/
MuttnikShowDetails2006.pdf (accessed January 25, 2008).
37. “Laika,”More Sad Hits (Shimmy Disc,1992);“exact Change:Classics of experimental Literature,”
http://www.exactchange.com/frame/frame.html (accessed January 25, 2008); “Damon and Naomi,”
http://www.damonandnaomi.com/frameset/frame.html (accessed January 25, 2008).