The Construction of Womanhood in Soviet Tv- Movies of the Stagnation Period (1967-1982)
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“WOMAN ALWAYS TENDS TO BECOME THE ONE WHO OTHERS WANT TO SEE…”: THE CONSTRUCTION OF WOMANHOOD IN SOVIET TV- MOVIES OF THE STAGNATION PERIOD (1967-1982) Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Program: The Master of Science in Social Studies of Gender Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas Lund 2012 Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Lund University - MSc Social Studies of Gender, SIMV16 Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas Acknowledgments My first and sincerest gratitude goes to my thesis supervisor Yiannis Mylonas, who provided me with his mindful guiding on this challenging road of writing a paper. I would like also to express gratitude to Professor Annette Hill, the head of Media and Communication department, for her inspiring advices. I am as well thankful to Sara Goodman, programme coordinator for the Social Studies of Gender Master Program, who helped me on every stage of my development as a master student. I would never have been able to write this paper, if I hadn’t had wonderful and supporting parents. I say “Thank you” to my mother, Inna Kalinichenko, who was always near, even though she was geographically so far away. I say “Thank you” to my father Serghey Kalinichenko, who not only always provided me with his father’s support, but who also helped me to develop my critical thinking and analytical mind. The warmest “Thank you” goes, of course, to my dearest and closest friend – Alexander Korpusov. He always encouraged me to be the better version of myself. Without his valuable insights and accurate comments, I would never been able to finish this thesis. My special gratitude goes without saying to my friend and groupmate Evgeniya Mazanik and her son Vlad Mazanik. All this time they were near me, supported me when I was desperate, and gave me confidence when I felt myself unsure. I am also very grateful to all my friends and acquaintances that influenced me in one or another way during my writing period. Particularly I say “Thank you” to Anna Axeheim, Aslı Kılıçaslan, Elizaveta Olijnyk, Francesca Traldi, Galyna Khoroschak, Maryna Dorosh, Pavel Kuzmichev, Rasmus Halling, Richard Borg, Vendela Eriksson, Vira Kravchuk, and Wen-Xin Lim. 2 Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Lund University - MSc Social Studies of Gender, SIMV16 Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas Abstract This research paper aims to identify how womanhood is constructed in the Soviet TV-movies of the Stagnation era. The thesis is based on the theoretical background in the areas of gender constructions in Western media, gender constructions in Soviet society, and gender constructions in Soviet cinematography. The methodology of discourse analysis and the method of discursive psychology are used to implement this study. In the paper it is researched how the identity of woman as a worker, as a wife, and as a mother is constructed in the five socially significant motion pictures from the Soviet Stagnation era. Main crisis points in the researched discourse of womanhood are identified and presented. The thesis provides also connections to possible further research in the area of gender and media studies. Key words: discourse analysis, female identities, feminism, gender, Soviet cinema, TV-movies 3 Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Lund University - MSc Social Studies of Gender, SIMV16 Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 6 1.1. The purpose and justification of the study ...................................... 8 1.2. The objects of the study and the methodological approach .......... 10 1.3. The research questions ................................................................... 12 1.4. The terms and concepts used in the research ................................. 13 1.5. The outline of the thesis structure .................................................. 14 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 15 2.1. Studies on construction of womanhood in Western discourse ...... 15 2.1.1. Social construction of womanhood in Western culture .......... 16 2.1.2. The portrayals of women and representations of females’ gender roles in Western media .......................................................... 18 2.1.3. The construction of womanhood in fiction movies of Western culture ................................................................................................ 20 2.2. Studies on production of discourse on womanhood in Soviet society ................................................................................................... 22 2.2.1. Studies on the construction of a Soviet woman identity in the societal discourse throughout Soviet gender history......................... 23 2.2.2. Scholar critique of the construction of a Soviet woman identity in the societal discourse ..................................................................... 26 2.2.3. The studies on differences between Western and Soviet gender discourse ............................................................................................ 28 2.3. Studies on construction of womanhood in Soviet cinematograph 29 2.3.1. Pre-Soviet period (1905-1921) ................................................ 30 2.3.2. The early and wartime Soviet period (1922-1954) ................. 31 2.3.3. The Thaw (1954-1966), The Stagnation (1967-82) and the Perestroika (1985-1991) .................................................................... 32 2.4. Summary ........................................................................................ 36 3. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH .............................................. 41 3.1. Discourse analysis as methodology ............................................... 41 3.2. The method of discursive psychology ........................................... 42 3.3. Text as research data ...................................................................... 43 4 Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Lund University - MSc Social Studies of Gender, SIMV16 Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas 3.4. The research procedure .................................................................. 44 3.5. Limitations and solutions ............................................................... 46 4. RESEARCH ANALYSIS .................................................................. 48 4.1. Woman as a worker ....................................................................... 48 4.2. Woman as a wife ........................................................................... 54 4.3. Woman as a mother ....................................................................... 60 4.4. Other aspects of womanhood ........................................................ 61 4.5. Discourse on womanhood.............................................................. 62 5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 66 5.1. Key findings ................................................................................... 66 5.2. Suggestions for future research ..................................................... 68 REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................... 77 APPENDIX 2 .......................................................................................... 78 APPENDIX 3 .......................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX 4 .......................................................................................... 93 5 Iana Kalinichenko 880727-0908 Lund University - MSc Social Studies of Gender, SIMV16 Advisor: Post-Doc. Yiannis Mylonas 1. INTRODUCTION1 Soviet cinematography of the Brezhnev’s times (1964-1982)2 did not only become a cultural heritage for several generations of Soviet and post-Soviet people, but it also produced powerful gender images that interspersed into the social discourses in almost all countries of the former Soviet Union. The idea to study gender representations established in Brezhnev’s times’ movies came from my personal experience. Being myself of a post-Soviet origin, I vividly remember how the most popular motion pictures of that era intertwined into my life as well as into the lives of my relatives, friends, and acquaintances. I remember how every New Year’s Eve celebration of my childhood years was inevitably accompanied by watching The Irony of Fate3; how every time (and it happened at least once a year) when Office Romance was broadcasted, my father nearly forced me to watch it from the beginning till the end motivating it by “look and learn – ‘cause this is how the things go in real life”; and how my mother’s friends encouraged me to watch Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and said that I must re- watch it several times. The stock phrases from Ivan Vasiljevich were ordinary parts not only of the conversations among the elders, but also among the youngsters, while, in the meantime, songs and phrases from Charodei were integrated into the language of media in post-Soviet countries. As a student at a gender studies master programme I was particularly interested in focusing on such a great cultural and social heritage as Brezhnev’s times’ movies. However, when I tried to get myself familiar with what had already been researched in this area, I faced a quite disappointing situation. As Attwood 1 List of all the movies mentioned in this film including their original titles and production