Freed by Ideology, Imprisoned by Reality: the Representation of Women in the Cinemas of The Thaw and Perestroika

The goal of the present dissertation is to trace the dynamics present in film representations of women characters during the Thaw, Perestroika, and the ealy 1990s by identifying and analyzing female types appearing on screen as a result of political, economic, and social changes during the two periods. The given periods were purportedly the two with the most potential for change in women’s status, one inferior in both family and society despite the October revolution’s ostensible claims of gender equality. The present study also revisits the deeply-rooted belief that traditional gender roles are biologically-predetermined based on allegedly innate traits distinctive to both sexes, a belief that ultimately led to the rigid distribution of gender responsibilities: the domestic realm as the primary domain of women, while social and political spheres are designed mainly by and for men. In the analysis of female images, feminist film Reflection theory and psychoanalysis are employed. Reflection theory, a sociological role-focused approach, analyzes gender stereotypes, the extent to which women are shown as active or passive, and the manner in which political, social, and economic contexts influence representations of women on screen. The second approach is situated in psychoanalytic studies including the theory of “the three orders” pioneered by Jacques Lacan, Laura Mulvey’s theory of the “three related looks” which explores the woman’s passive role as a sexual object on screen for the male gaze, and Yana Hashamova’s analysis of the psychological dynamics of the gender paradigm in the transitional period during and after Perestroika. Building on and diverging from existing scholarship that discusses films relating to the gender matter, the present study combines plot analysis with analysis of the cinematic language the director employs: the cinematic narrative, photography, editing, and acting. In the examination of women characters appearing on the screen during the Thaw, Perestroika, and the early post-Perestroika years, it is established that, while both periods portray the young woman, the mother, and the single woman, certain shifts in their representations in Perestroika cinema occurred. Thaw directors’ sanctioned and favorable images metamorphose into more antagonistic female portrayals by the directorship of Perestroika. The self-sacrificing mother of the Thaw is replaced by an overbearing mother figure in Perestroika films, a replacement that puts forward a question for further inquiry: can the mother fully and successfully assume the position of the father? The representation of the single woman during the two periods champions an unchanged tenet of the traditional perspective: the roles of mother and wife are the most deeply satisfying for a woman and a single woman’s professional success is an insufficient substitute for personal happiness. The research and cinematic analyses allow the reader to conclude that, despite powerful female images on screen during the two periods, attempts to advance the “woman question” expose, first and foremost, gender discrepancies. As a result, the patriarchal structure maintains its primary position and the “woman question” continues to be auxiliary in the traditional view of gender and, therefore, remains one of the major philosophical quandaries in gender studies.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Slavic and East European Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Kofman, Olha V.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hashamova, Yana

• East European Studies
• Slavic Studies
• Film Studies
• Gender Studies
• Womens Studies
• women in cinema
• Thaw
• Perestroika
• representation of women
• Russian
• Soviet
• film
• cinema
• gender roles

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366070656

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1366070656