Presentation at CUDAN-2023.

1. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
1
What Is Star Discourse in Post-Soviet Film Journals?
Dmitry Zinoviev
Mathematics and Computer Science Department
Suffolk University, Boston MA, U.S.A.
dzinoviev@suffolk.edu
Olga Mukhortova
Slavic Languages & Literatures
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburtgh PA, U.S.A.
olgamukhortova@gmail.com

2. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
2
Disclaimer
The data was collected, and the paper was mainly written before the Russian invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022. Most references to facts and conditions do not reflect the current
situation in Russia and must be treated in the pre-war context.

3. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
3
Directors vs. Actors in Post-Soviet Film Journal Discourse
● Research Question:
 Who dominates the post-Soviet film journal discourse: “star” actors or “star” film directors?
● Research Method:
 Rich text analysis with elements of network analysis.
● Data:
 Two most popular post-Soviet film journals: “Искусство Кино” (Iskusstvo Kino, Film Art) and
“Сеанс” (Seans, Seance)

4. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Importance of Textual Analysis
● Textual analysis is integral to understanding file stars’ images
● An image includes:
● The promotion of films,
● Public appearances,
● Studio hand-outs,
● Interviews,
● Biographies,
● Coverage in the press of the star's doings and “private” life, and
● What people say or write about them.

5. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
5
The Post-Soviet Star System
● Post-1991 shifts in post-Soviet culture, society, and politics:
● De-Sovietization & westernization.
● Emergence of free, unconstrained, de-ideologized press.
● Segregation of an “elite” culture (including bookstores and cinema theaters).
● The emergence of a new post-Soviet star system, distinct from the Hollywood model:
● The weak heritage of the Soviet film industry due to the disintegration of the film production and
distribution system.
● Few world-famous post-Soviet film actors/actresses.

6. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
6
The Role of Film Journals in Russian Celebrity Analysis
● Iskusstvo Kino and Seans were selected for a focused
comparative analysis of post-Soviet film criticism
● Yes, only two journals (compared to ~80 in the USA).
● Caused by the total centralization of the Soviet film press.
● Turmoil in the post-Soviet film industry inhibited film
journals’ growth and even led to its shrinking (Soviet
Screen R.I.P. in 1998).
● The unique role of film journals in shaping and
understanding the contemporary Russian star system.
● Film journal discourse creates and maintains the
supremacy of a director over actors/actresses and other
film professionals.

7. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Corpora
● Continuation of the classical Russian “approach art… as a concrete fact” tradition.
● Journal: Iskusstvo Kino (https://kinoart.ru/)
● 1997–2017 (with few missing issues)
● Smaller but cleaner corpus
● Journal: Seans (https://seance.ru/)
● 1990–1998, 1999–2000, 2003–2013 (with few missing issues)
● Downloaded and processed using custom-written software in Python/PyMorphy
(morphological analyzer for Russian & Ukrainian languages).

8. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
8
Data Processing
● Film profession titles’ census & visualization.
● Personal names of directors and actors’ census & visualization.
● Adjectives used in describing directors’ and actors’ census & visualization.

9. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Film Professions
● On-Screen Talent
● Actor / Actress
● Performer
● Star / Film Star
● Creative and Artistic Roles
● Artist
● Choreographer
● Composer
● Costume Designer
● Make-up Artist
● Art Director / Production Designer
● Set-Designer
● Technical and Production Crew
● Assistant
● Cameraman
● Sound Director
● Sound Engineer
● Advisory and Consultative Roles
● Consultant
● Musician
● Writing and Editorial
● Author
● Editor
● Scriptwriter
● Direction and Production
● Director
● Filmmaker
● Producer

10. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
10
Film Professions: Frequencies over Time
Iskusstvo Kino
Seans
special issue

11. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
11
Film Professions: Remarkable Consistency
The filmmaking process is the creation of
a single director with complete control
over the film’s authorship.

12. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
12
Thick & Diverse Narrative
● What adjectives are used with the “on-screen” and “off-screen” professions?
● Use a network approach to identify thickly elaborated professions by associating and
counting descriptors (adjectives).
● Look only at descriptors used five or more times to reduce noise.

13. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
13
Descriptors in Iskusstvo Kino
actor
good
known
amateur
favourite
renowned
professional
remarcable
splendid
gifted
leading
young
bad
former
great
popular
regular
contemporary
big
outstanding
cult
true
unknown
magnificent
main
experienced
characteristic
genius
novice
excellent
brilliant
unique
legendary
new
serious
large
avocational
sophisticated
one-of-a-kind
future
ideal
first-rate
youthful
actress
capable
strong
old
clever
performer
peoples
performer (fem)
star
rising
bright
golden
nameless
artist
contemporary
true
big
free
gifted
known
remarcable
good
outstanding
up-to-date
great
main
large
renowned
genuine
avant-garde
favourite
masterful
genius familiar
peoples
professional
serious
former
fashionable
unknown
new
clever
young
independent
avocational
old
respected
one-of-a-kind
author
regular
novice
selected
interesting
capable
strong
art-house
future
important
prominent
ideal
cult
powerful
popular
director
leading
unique
experienced
bad
splendid
successful
bright
eminent
ambitious
venerable
sophisticated
youthful
established
rare
brilliant
natural
filmmaker
scriptwriter

14. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
14
Descriptors in Seans
artist
contemporary
big large
great
genius
gifted
good
renowned
known
up-to-date
fashionable
peoples
sophisticated
author
familiar
venerable
future
unknown new
natural
director
young
novice
independent
favourite main
unique
bad
rare
leading
cult
revolutionary
prominent
experienced
clever
former
outstanding
eminent
true
strong
successful
bright
filmmaker
capable
scriptwriter
regular
actor
favourite
good
amateur
professional
renowned
remarcable
known
popular
gifted
characteristic
outstanding
unknown
contemporary
main
excellent
bad
ideal
experienced
great
familiar
novice
regular
splendid
actress
youthful
former
successful
film star
large
performer
peoples
leading
performer (fem)
star
rising
new
future
true

15. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Building a Director Celebrity with Descriptors
● Iskusstvo Kino: 38 descriptors for “directors,” 29 for “actors.”
● Seans: 19 descriptors for “directors,” 13 for “actors.”
● Both journals frame the less developed “actor’s” discourse that reaffirms its secondary place
and creates additional circumstances to cast the actor into a subordinate role in filmmaking.
● Both journals actively build and distribute a star/celebrity status for film directors.

16. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Mentioning by Name
Iskusstvo Kino
Seans

17. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Co-Mentioning by Name
Two pairs of actors (bluish) and directors (reddish) who worked together (Bodrov / Balabanov
and Litvinova / Muratova).
Iskusstvo Kino
Seans

18. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
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Why Directors?
● Filling the Ideological Void: Post-Soviet directors emerged as visionary leaders guiding cinema
through a significant cultural and ideological shift.
● Addressing the Crisis: They responded to the ideological vacuum with new creative guidance and
intellectual leadership.
● An Embodiment of New Values: These director-stars created and represented new value systems,
crucial in a society seeking new identities.
● Influencers Beyond Cinema: They wielded significant influence in political and social spheres, often
challenging state ideologies.
● Economic Impact: Their cultural significance directly influenced state funding and sponsorship,
becoming vital to the film industry's survival.
● Cultural Icons: Echoing the historical role of Russian writers, they became moral and ideological
guides in a transforming society.

19. December 2023
CUDAN 2023
19
Conclusion
● Journals Iskusstvo Kino and Seans created and promoted a director-centered discourse
focusing on film directors as the key figures of filmmaking and authorship.
● Actors fell into a subordinate position, emerging more as rank-and-file participants in
filmmaking than as stars.
● Both trends differ conceptually from the Hollywood tradition of star actors and barely
known directors.