Temptation by freedom: History and Power in soviet cinema 3620-KWHW-H-OG

From the very beginning, Soviet cinema was saturated with ideology. Already in the 1920s, a large number of propaganda, anti-religious and historical films were released. One of the active initiators and inspirers of the state's total control over film production was S.M. Eisenstein, the later author of such masterpieces as Battleship Potemkin and Ivan the Terrible, who regarded cinema solely as a means of a strong ideological influence on the masses. For the first time in feature films he showed Lenin on the screen. Eisenstein is considered the founder of the Soviet film school. In many respects, however, he also laid the foundations of his main ideological doctrine, formulating attractive images of totalitarian power and proletarian terror

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom
Remote learning

Prerequisites (description)

The student should be able to think cause and effect and be able to comprehend the empirical material into a set of statements explaining the described phenomenon

Course coordinators

Andrei Charniakevich

Learning outcomes

1. Showing the evolution of the form and content of Soviet propaganda in film images of the past, as an important element creating the collective memory of the USSR
2. Presentation of the most important trends and themes of the official Soviet historical narrative in cinematography.

After the course:

- The student has his own view of the symbolism and myths today, knows their origins and is able to define them- Can justify their own opinion (positive or critical) regarding the role and importance of historical myths and cultural symbols today
- The student understands the influence of external and internal factors on shaping the culture of historical memory

Assessment criteria

Assessment of classes is based on the student's achievements during joint classes and a written work devoted to a selected issue in the field of the discussed issues.

Bibliography

Filmography:
Potemkin Battleship, dir. S. M. Eisenstein, 1925. October, dir. S. Eisenstein, 1927. Peter I, dir. W. Petrov, 1937. Lenin in October, dir. M. Romm, 1937. Alexander Nevsky, dir. S. Eisenstein, 1938. Lenin in 1918, dir. M. Romm, 1939. Iwan Groźny, dir. S. Eisenstein, 1944. Ivan the Terrible. The Boyar Conspiracy, dir. S. Eisenstein 1945. The Fall of Berlin, dir. M. Cziaureli, 1949. An unforgettable year 1919, dir. M Cziaureli, 1952.. The Cranes Are Flying, dir. M. Kałatozow, 1957. The fate of a man, dir. S. Bondarczuk, 1959. Ballad about a soldier, dir. G. Czuchraj, 1959, Liberation, dir. J. Ozierow, 1969. Seventeen Moments of Spring, dir. T. Lioznowa, 1973. The Battle for Moscow, dir. J. Ozierow, 1985. Agonia; Andrei Rublev; Arsenal; Bohdan Chmelnicki; Cold stores summer 53; Czapaj; Man with a rifle; The crown of the Russian tsars; Minin and Pozarski; They fought for the Homeland; Waterloo; Born in fire ...

Studies:
Wojnicka J., Kino stalinowskie // Historia kina. T. 2. Kino klasyczne. Kraków: Universitas, 2012, s. 253-310.
Wojnicka J., Kino sowieckie lat siedemdziesiątych i osiemdziesiątych // Historia kina. T. 3. Kino epoki nowofalowej. Kraków: Universitas, 2012, s. 253-310.
Wojnicka J., Dzieci XX Zjazdu. Film w kulturze sowieckiej lat 1956-1968, Kraków 2012.
Wojnicka J., Prorocy, kapłani, rewolucjoniści. Szkice z historii kina rosyjskiego, 2019.
Jasina Ł., Wyzwolenie (1968-1975) Jurija Ozierowa jako prezentacja oficjalnej wersji historii II wojny światowej w kinematografii radzieckiej, Lublin 2007.
Wołkogonow D., Lenin. Prorok raju, apostoł piekła, Warszawa 2006, s
Białous M., Społeczna konstrukcja filmów historycznych. Pamięć zbiorowa i polityka pamięci w kinematografii polskiej lat 1920-2010. Rozprawa doktorska, Białystok, 2015.
Anderson B., Wspólnoty wyobrażone: rozważania o źródłach i rozprzestrzenianiu się nacjonalizmu, Kraków 1997.
Assmann J., Cultural memory and Elary civilization. Writing, remembrance, and political imagination, Cambridge 2011.
Domańska E., Historie niekonwencjonalne: refleksja o przeszłości w nowej humanistyce, Poznań 2006.
Ferro M., Kino i historia, Warszawa 2011.
Gross D., Lost Time. On Remembering and Forgetting in Late Modern Culture, Amherst 2000.
Halbwachs M., Społeczne ramy pamięci, Warszawa 1969.
Багдасарян В., Образ врага в исторических фильмах 1930–1940-х гг. // Отеч. история. 2003. № 6. С. 31–46. Михайлин В. Историк в истерике. Учитель истории в советском кино рубежа 1960–1970-х годов // Неприкосновенный запас. 2012. № 5. С. 119–136.
Русина Ю.. История советского кино : учеб. Пособие. Екатеринбург : Изд-во Урал. ун-та, 2019. C. 104 с.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3620-KWHW-H-OG in USOSweb