Date of Award
Spring 5-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
War and Society
First Advisor
Dr. Jeffrey Koerber
Second Advisor
Dr. Mateo Jarquin
Third Advisor
Dr. Wendy Salmond
Abstract
From the first decade of the 20th century to the middle of the 1920s, cinema in Russia exposed how politics and the modern medium were inseparably intertwined. As works that were produced during a period of great turmoil and uncertainty, films revealed more than a unilateral relationship. Cinema was used in Russia in the late-Imperial and early Soviet eras as an active tool of entertainment, propaganda, art, education, and intellectual discussion. Studying its intersectional nature illuminates areas obscured by purely political or artistic perspectives, which tell either opposite or mutually emboldening tales. This thesis argues on behalf of both that during the Russian Civil War, the story of Russian cinema evolved from one of a rising film industry and dying government to one of bitter survival and upward development shared by the country’s new leadership and persevering cinema culture. In continually producing movies despite unprecedented hardships, Russia’s early film pioneers not only amplified and proliferated the socio-political thoughts of their day, but also had a starring role in their creation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ludwig, Katerina. "‘Samoye Vazhnoye’: Behind the Scenes of Russian Cinema, 1908–1924." Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2024. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000577
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons