Textocentrism in film criticism of pre-war USSR

The global reformatting of cultural and social life in the USSR in the 1920s-1930s was largely based on the belief in the power of words, which gave rise to the cult of writers and reverent attention to the speeches of leaders. Alexander Goncharenko's book is dedicated to the issue of text-centrism of this era, which the author explores through the aesthetic quests in Soviet cinema. Star film directors, writers, and critics, as well as fallen officials - all of them sought to master the new art using literary concepts and tools. Based on archival documents and periodicals published from 1927 to 1941, Goncharenko reconstructs discussions about the films themselves, as well as the circumstances of their production and reception. The final chapter of the book serves as a kind of postscript: the author suggests looking at the recurring motif of distrust towards written texts in socialist realist films, which can serve as a metaphor for fruitless theorizations, armchair science, or even become dangerous evidence in the hands of enemies of the USSR.