The article constitutes the attempt of looking at the problem of the old age from the point of view of Vladimir, the main male character of Andrei Zvyagintsev’s film Elena. His retired existence can be treated as the model example of the golden autumn of life. This vision can be associated with the images promoted by today’s media as the period of so called “third age”, i.e. old age full of new opportunities, with health good enough to take advantage of newly marketed products guaranteeing comfortable and worry-free life. The publication examines the quality of the family relationships, built up by the selected film character, on the basis of the interpretation of space in which he is meant to function. The analysis allows the author to come to the conclusion that the old age and life experience does not protect the characters from impulsive behavior, which is the consequence of spiritual crisis of the contemporary society and disintegration of the harmony between the individual and the community. The old age in Zvyagintsev film turns out to be the time when the opportunity of improving interpersonal relationships is wasted.
RU
Статья представляет собой попытку взглянуть на проблему старости с точки зрения Владимира, главного мужского героя фильма Андрея Звягинцева Елена. Его пенсионное существование можем рассматривать в качестве примера модели золотой осени жизни. Такой подход связан с изображениями сегодняшних СМИ, представляющих старость как „третий возраст”, то есть период полный новых возможностей, в достаточно хорошем здоровье, чтобы воспользоваться новыми вещами, гарантирующими комфортную беззаботную жизнь. Автор рассматривает качество семейных отношений, созданных Владимиром, анализируя аспекты пространства, в котором он функционирует. Интерпретация позволяет прийти к выводу, что старость и жизненный опыт не защищают героев перед импульсивным по поведением, которое является следствием духовного кризиса современного общества и распада гармонии между индивидом и обществом. Старость в фильме Звягинцевa оказывается периодом, когда возможность повышения межличностных отношений не осуществляется.
The article Vampiric alternative of the aenescence in the novel of Julia Nabokova “VIP znachit vampir” shows, taking as example the novel VIP Znachit Vampir of the Russian writer Julia Nabokova, the motive of senescence and its rejection realized in vampire context. Nabokova presents the vampirism as opposition to old age. Thevampires are long-living, ever beautiful and healthy creatures, they don’t know illness, weakness, pain and other symptoms of old age. The situation of the vampires and people is in many aspects the same. After all, contemporary society strive to rejection of any results of ageing. However the author of the novel proves that natural process of human life with all life phases is more awaited than ideal vision of life without ageing and death. The writer adds her voice to those researchers who emphasize the fact that elimination of senescence can bring about social neurosis.
RU
Статья Вампирическая альтернатива старости в романе Юлии Набоковой „VIP значит вампир” представляет мотив старости и современный подход к этому мотиву на основе анализа романа современной русской писательницы, которая занимается вампирической темой, так популярной в последние годы так среди литераторов, как и читателей. Набокова рассматривает вампиризм как альтернативу старости, состояние продолжающейся молодости, красоты, жизненной силы, характеризующееся отсутствием болезней, беспомощности и дряхлости. Однако вампиризм в романе российской писательницы показан и с другой точки зрения. Вампирические герои Набоковой ощущают тоску по свойственным человеку чувствам, таким как, например, материнство, которое недоступно вампиру. В итоге герои романа и его автор приходят к выводу, что экзистенциальный процесс со всеми его этапами, не исключая старости и смерти, дает возможность провести жизнь в полном смысле и испытать все ее аспекты, что по мнению многих ученых, спасает от фрустрации и невроза в индивидуальном и социальном контексте.
The article presents the study of the short film Apocrypha by Andrei Zvyagintsev. The text is aimed at the interpretation of the movie in the context of the problem of memory, which is emphasised in the selected work in the explicit and implicit visual associations with the figure and poetry of Iosif Brodsky. The recognition of these characteristic elements in the structure of Zvyagintsev’s film has the influence on the perception of its meaning, leading the culturally aware recipient towards discovering its broad interpretative potential in view of the Russian literary tradition. The study is conducted using the comparative method of analysis. The core theory which constitutes the methodological foundation of the study is Astrid Erll’s concept of cultural memory expounded as intertextuality, i.e. the continuous building up of layers of texts, which are mediated, as well as her idea of transcultural memory, defined in the first instance as a process of fluctuation between the individual and collective level of remembering. Attention is turned to the motifs, which are characteristic both for Brodsky’s and Zvyagintsev’s poetics, such as the aquatic symbolism, temporal and topographical relationships, chromatography of cold colours etc. The application of the selected methodology in the presented discussion allows for exposing the dynamics of the changing nature of culture, which becomes the container of the social and territorial fluctuations of memory.
The article aims to examine the relationship between two texts: Loveless (Нелюбовь, 2017), the latest of Andrey Zvyagintsev’s feature films, and The Heart of a Dog (Собачье сердце, 1925), one of Mikhail Bulgakov’s most popular short stories. The studies are focused on finding the parallels showing the work of cultural memory, which is understood – following Aleida Assmann’s and Astrid Erll’s findings – as the process of continuous remediation, retranscription and negotiation of essential ideas in the space of culture. Consequently, the author is not interested in treating Zvyagintsev’s text as the illustration of Bulgakov’s plot, but rather in discussing certain topics which are deposited in Russian literature and constantly reused and reinterpreted, creating the framework for communication across ‘the abyss of time’. The analogies between the selected texts are sought in the area of their structure, some thematic overlapping, the authors’ approach to the issue of the authoritarian ideology and the role of technology as well as in exploring the function of space as one of the narrative mechanisms, in particular in the context of the category of home and anti-home.
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