The Image of “Oriental” Woman in Early Soviet Cinema (1920s)

The project deals with the question about the image of “oriental” woman in early Soviet cinema (1920th). In these period Bolsheviks gave special attention to the “oriental” woman, because they considered her as a potentially revolutionary asset, “surrogate proletariat” [Massel, 1974]. Moreover, the image of “oriental” woman became a significant instrument in propaganda among non-oriental part of population. For example, for this reason in 1927-1928 a series of brochures “The Female Toiler of the Orient” was published. The main function of it was to inform and create an image of the "oriental" woman. In this context it is important to figure out, how this image was represented in films, because in this time cinematography was used as the most powerful instrument for spreading soviet way of thinking and lifestyle especially among illiterate and non-Russian population. In this project is considered the image of “oriental” woman, which was created at different levels: central and local. Thus, the study aims to research ways of construction the image of “oriental” woman by soviet filmmakers and methods, which helped to make it understandable for people. For these reasons in this work it is necessary to compare different kinds of films in order to better understanding narrative and visual strategies, which were used there.