Analysis of the theme of motherhood in contemporary Uzbek cinema

Abstract

This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain model for young viewers. Cinema is a powerful medium for addressing important topics and encouraging debates about pressing social issues. Movies covering a wide range of sensitive themes help raise the audience’s awareness, foster civic consciousness, and ensure public morality and its spread. In societies where a woman’s primary duty has historically been defined by her capacity to produce and raise children, cinema is effective for reinforcing and shaping opinions about women’s social roles and their “natural destiny.” Frequently, women are brought into the narrative exclusively through the motherly function or the supposed motherhood—girlfriend or bride. This can also be seen in Uzbek cinema’s approach to expressing femininity, which is tied not only to the cultural custom of honoring mothers but also to the peculiarities of the maternal discourse. However, motherhood, mothers, and their portrayal onscreen reveal much more about society, culture, and the messages they transmit have real-life impacts.