The Politics of Film:
Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov's Captain Volkonogov Escaped offers a gripping portrayal of life in Stalin's Soviet Union. This article discusses the film's evocation of an oppressive social structure and its pertinence as a stimulus and means to comprehending and critically app...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | ces |
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Natascha Drubek
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.apparatusjournal.net/index.php/apparatus/article/view/348 |
| _version_ | 1797517315731881984 |
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| author | P. Stuart Robinson |
| author_facet | P. Stuart Robinson |
| author_sort | P. Stuart Robinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov's Captain Volkonogov Escaped offers a gripping portrayal of life in Stalin's Soviet Union. This article discusses the film's evocation of an oppressive social structure and its pertinence as a stimulus and means to comprehending and critically appraising authoritarianism in contemporary times. The film pays close attention to micro-level dynamics of intimidation, fear and division, as well as their potential counters of empathy and resistance. It is this kind of social realism, eschewing the superficiality of conventional period ‘costume’ drama, that facilitates speaking truth to power. As such, it illustrates the potential of cinema, as one powerful form of cultural expression, to harness the historical imagination and illuminate the parallels between past and present calamities. It also suggests that resistance of violence and oppression depends on cultural engagement, and hence boycotts are counterproductive. These impede the capacity to build solidarity among the oppressed, both within and outside Russia. Forms of expression like film provide the means of mutual understanding on which such solidarity depends.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:14:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ece17a69a6114fc19cf5c3f47b020c82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2365-7758 |
| language | ces |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:14:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Natascha Drubek |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe |
| spelling | doaj.art-ece17a69a6114fc19cf5c3f47b020c822023-11-22T15:11:32ZcesNatascha DrubekApparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe2365-77582023-10-011610.17892/app.2023.00016.348The Politics of Film:P. Stuart Robinson0UiT The Arctic University of Norway Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov's Captain Volkonogov Escaped offers a gripping portrayal of life in Stalin's Soviet Union. This article discusses the film's evocation of an oppressive social structure and its pertinence as a stimulus and means to comprehending and critically appraising authoritarianism in contemporary times. The film pays close attention to micro-level dynamics of intimidation, fear and division, as well as their potential counters of empathy and resistance. It is this kind of social realism, eschewing the superficiality of conventional period ‘costume’ drama, that facilitates speaking truth to power. As such, it illustrates the potential of cinema, as one powerful form of cultural expression, to harness the historical imagination and illuminate the parallels between past and present calamities. It also suggests that resistance of violence and oppression depends on cultural engagement, and hence boycotts are counterproductive. These impede the capacity to build solidarity among the oppressed, both within and outside Russia. Forms of expression like film provide the means of mutual understanding on which such solidarity depends. https://www.apparatusjournal.net/index.php/apparatus/article/view/348Natasha MerkulovaAleksey ChupovCaptain Volkonogov EscapedStalin's Soviet UnionauthoritarianismNKVD |
| spellingShingle | P. Stuart Robinson The Politics of Film: Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe Natasha Merkulova Aleksey Chupov Captain Volkonogov Escaped Stalin's Soviet Union authoritarianism NKVD |
| title | The Politics of Film: |
| title_full | The Politics of Film: |
| title_fullStr | The Politics of Film: |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Politics of Film: |
| title_short | The Politics of Film: |
| title_sort | politics of film |
| topic | Natasha Merkulova Aleksey Chupov Captain Volkonogov Escaped Stalin's Soviet Union authoritarianism NKVD |
| url | https://www.apparatusjournal.net/index.php/apparatus/article/view/348 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pstuartrobinson thepoliticsoffilm AT pstuartrobinson politicsoffilm |