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Articulation Distribution and Transference of Erotic Power in the Soviet Historical-Revolutionay Films and “Artistic Documentaries” (2019-2020)

Field of study: Gender Studies
Summary:

My study aims to analyze the anatomy and the mechanisms of constructing and showcasing the erotic power in so called “Artistic documentaries” produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In my research I will focus on the cinematic representations of the Party leaders (and the Party power in general) and their erotic dimension. I shall argue that that from 1930s to 1940s Stalin not only steps out from Lenin’s
shadow as a genuine leader of working class and, subsequently, of the Soviet Union, as it has been noted by Slavic Studies, but he also outshines the eroticism of Lenin’s character in these films. My argument is that if Stalin appears as a locus of heterosexual desire, Lenin first of all evokes a homosexual one. I shall try to contextualize this rechanneling of desire in the light of 1930s homophobic stands and policies of the Party.

Keywords: erotic power, Soviet films, “artistic documentaries”, Lenin, Stalin

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