Turning to Myth
Turning to Myth

The Soviet School Film Growing Up

Author(s): Hanna Paulouskaya
Subject(s): Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: soviet cinema for children; school films; Riazanov; Razumovskaia; Greek tragedy; Greek mythology; growing up problems; Antigone; hydra; Heracles; Christ; Dionysus; Bykov; Zheleznikov; Chuchelo
Summary/Abstract: Soviet cinema for children experienced a shock in the 1980s when controversial films presenting a terrifying image of childhood were made in the USSR. These films put difficult questions of growing up and often refer to Classical Antiquity and mythology. I shall discuss two important films of this period: "Чучело" [Chuchelo; Scarecrow] by Rolan Bykov, 1983, based on a novel by Vladimir Zheleznikov; and "Дорогая Елена Сергеевна" [Dorogaia Elena Sergeievna; Dear Miss Elena] by Eldar Riazanov, 1988, based on a play by Liudmila Razumovskaia. Although the movies are far from being typical peplum films, they contain important echoes to Greek mythology and culture, referring to Antigone, Heracles, Christ, and Dionysus. Analyzing the movies in the sociocultural context and in comparison with the texts they were based on, I would like to determine how ancient elements of the movies and references to tragedy and mythology provide children with hope for the challenges of growing up.

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