Socio-cultural Child’s Image (Soviet and Russian movies’ Analysis)

Abstract

The current situation of studies of childhood goes back to the classical psychological theories, in Russian psychology to cultural-historical theory. These theories were developed as a generalization and comprehension of the realities of childhood, which were typical at the time of the creation of these theories. Rapid social changes, especially in recent decades, led to the emergence of a wide range of sources that emphasize the changing daily life of childhood — childhood changed from epoch to epoch, there was even the metaphor of a “disappearance of childhood”. The article describes a gradual change of child’s image in relation to an adult, and the Soviet and Russian films of the 40-ies — 2000-ies were used as a material of analysis. Study is based on the assumption that a consistent analysis based on a theory of text structure M. Lotman, demonstrates the changing image of the child. In the 40s — 50s the child appears immature, pre-adult, and the adult — the embodiment of ideal forms, and the main conflict — a manifestation of the child’s immaturity/ Then gradually from decade to decade more and more the main characters — the child and the adult - appear as different personalities; and the child (teenager) sometimes acquires a pronounced negative features. The very dichotomy of child-adult loses its value.