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A Semiotic Analysis of Russian Literature in Modern Russian Film Adaptations

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A Semiotic Analysis of Russian Literature in Modern Russian Film Adaptations A Semiotic Analysis of Russian Literature in Modern Russian Film Adaptations (Case Studies of Boris Godunov and The Captain’s Daughter) Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree doctor of philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Elena K. Myers, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Brian Joseph, Advisor Dr. Alexander Burry, Advisor Dr. Yana Hashamova Copyright by Elena K. Myers 2015 Abstract The current study analyzes signs and signifiers that constitute the structural composition of Pushkin’s historical works Boris Godunov and Captain’s Daughter and compare them with their Soviet and post-Soviet screen adaptations. I argue that the popularity of these literary works with filmmakers is based on their inexhaustible topicality for Russian society of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, and therefore reassessment of their film adaptations guides us towards developing a better understanding of the sociopolitical complexities in modern Russia. The analysis employs methods of semiotics of film, which is a relatively young science, but has already become one of the most promising fields in the theory of cinema. The research is based on the scholarship of such eminent theorists and semioticians as Metz, Bluestone, Barthes, Lotman, Bakhtin, and others. By performing semiotic analysis of Russian intermedial transpositions and Pushkin’s source texts, the study demonstrates the parallels between the historical periods and contemporary Russia. ii Dedication To my mother and my son iii Acknowledgments Many people contributed to whatever academic growth I have achieved. My favorite literature teacher at Oziorsk High School, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Zhirnova, instilled in me a love for literature in general, and especially for the Russian classics of the nineteenth century. Later, I met many great professors at Kalinin State University and The Ohio State University, each of which added to the developing of my interest in scholarly studies and writing. Multiple discussions of language, literature and film with friends, and sometimes strangers, also helped me more clearly shape my focus. Some people had especially strong impact on my decision to return to graduate school by expressing their support and believing in me. Others were at my side while I spent countless hours reading and writing. Among them are Bill Myers, Randall Mulligan, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, Mrs. White, Mindy Landeck and many others. The work could not be completed without help of my graduate committee, whose expertise and knowledge guided me from start to finish. I appreciate Dr. Joseph for being responsive to my attempts to combine linguistics, literature and cinema in one study and directing me towards the interdisciplinary project. Dr. Burry’s excellent comments and suggestions led me in my attempts to put this project together. Dr. Hashamova had always found time in her busy schedule when I had iv questions or needed some directions. Lastly, I turn to those to whom this work is dedicated: they are my major inspiration in everything I do. v Vita 1988…............................................................M.A. Philology of Russian Language and Literature, Kalinin State University, Russia 1997………………………………………....M.A. Economics and Sociology of Labor, Tver State University, Russia 2011………………………………………....M.A. Russian Linguistics, The Ohio State University 2011 to present …………………………….Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, The Ohio State University Publications Myers, Helen. “Distribution of Uncontracted and Contracted Imperfect Verbs in the Old Russian Manuscript of the Eleventh-century Translation of Sinaiskij Paterik”. In The History of Translation in the Cross-Cultural Perspective. Ed. Natalya Reinhold. Moscow. 2012. pp. 69-97 Myers, Helen. “Patterns of adaptation and integration of English loanwords in Lithuanian and Russian”. In Acta Linguistica Lithuanica. Ed. Gražina Blažiene. 2014. Fields of Study Major Field: Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures vi Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... iv Vita ............................................................................................................................. vi List of Pictures ........................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Russian cinema’s interest in Russian classics of the nineteenth century ......................... 1 1.2 Why the historical genre has been traditionally popular in different cultures ........... 11 1.3 Formation of the Russian historical novel in the first half of the nineteenth century 14 1.4 Available scholarship on Russian historical adaptations ............................................ 21 1.5 Objective and Method of Research ............................................................................. 25 1.6 Short synopsis of the dissertation chapters ................................................................. 30 Chapter 2. What is Adaptation? .............................................................................. 33 2.1 Approaches to Analyzing Adaptations ....................................................................... 33 2.2 Advantages of the Semiotic Model of Analysis ........................................................... 42 2.3 Why adaptation? ......................................................................................................... 47 2.4 Classifying adaptation ................................................................................................ 51 2.5 Language of adaptations ............................................................................................. 55 Chapter 3. Pushkin’s historical works: Boris Godunov, The Captain’s Daughter, and A History of the Pugachev Rebellion ......................................................................... 63 vii 3.1. The Troubled Times of Boris Godunov ...................................................................... 63 3.2. Major Influences ........................................................................................................ 72 3.3. The Innovative Character of Boris Godunov ............................................................. 75 3.4. The Captain’s Daughter and A History of the Pugachev Rebellion ............................. 78 3.5. Major Themes in Boris Godunov and The Captain’s Daughter ................................ 87 Chapter 4. Adaptations of Boris Godunov by Bondarchuk (1986) and Mirzoev (2011) ...................................................................................................................... 102 4.1 Chapter objectives .................................................................................................... 102 4.2 Background .............................................................................................................. 104 4.3 Correspondences between Bondarchuk’s and Mirzoev’s adaptations and Pushkin’s text .................................................................................................................................. 110 4.4 Idiosyncratic elements of Bondarchuk’s Boris Godunov (1986) ............................... 126 4.4.1 Boris Godunov .......................................................................................................... 126 4.4.2 Grigory Otrepiev ....................................................................................................... 132 4.5 Signs and signifiers in Bondarchuk’s Boris Godunov ............................................... 135 4.6 Idiosyncratic elements of Mirzoev’s Boris Godunov ................................................. 140 4.6.1 Boris Godunov .......................................................................................................... 140 4.6.2 Grigory Otrepiev ....................................................................................................... 144 4.7 Signs and signifiers in Mirzoev’s Boris Godunov ...................................................... 146 4.8 Signifying strategies of the major themes in Pushkin’s works and Bondarchuk’s and Mirzoev’s adaptations .................................................................................................... 152 Chapter 5. Adaptations of The Captain’s Daughter ................................................ 162 viii 5.1 Chapter Objectives ................................................................................................... 162 5.2 Background .............................................................................................................. 164 5.3 Correspondences between Kaplunovsky’s and Proshkin’s adaptations and Pushkin’s text .................................................................................................................................. 165 5.4 Idiosyncratic elements of Kaplunovsky’s film The Captain’s Daughter
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