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The pragmasemantics of the abduction narrative in cinema: Subjectivity and apophatic semiosis from silent adventure film to the present
Soviet silent cinema was an era of spectacular experimentation, burlesque, and grotesque, where the adventure genre intersected with revolutionary rhetoric, satire, and critiques of capitalism. The theme of abduction—of people, ideas, and property—appears more frequently than one might assume, particularly within genres like agitprop
adventure, crime drama, and satirical dystopia. This study addresses two interconnected objectives. The first is to identify, as comprehensively as possible, the specific ways in which cinematic texts contribute to the Published by construction of a semantic worldview. The second is to systematize these forms and reveal the semiotic foundations of their operation. Crucially, this inquiry is grounded not in abstract theory, but in the analysis of specific film material.
The corpus for this analysis comprises a selection of 37 Soviet silent adventure films (primarily from the 1920s) that feature abduction, either explicitly or allegorically, alongside over 20 contemporary sound films. Focusing the analysis on the theme of abduction—defined as the seizure of something significant, the ensuing struggle for its return, and its ultimate reclamation—facilitates the second objective. The methodological framework is a pragmasemantic approach, which allows for the precise specification of meaning-making contexts within the layered interplay of value-regulatory systems that constitute socio-cultural practices. This is done with a focus on the role of subjectivity as a universal
interface that combines and shifts these contexts of meaning. An abduction creates precisely this kind of dynamic. Consequently, the cinematic narrative of abduction provides an exceptionally rich and productive material for clarifying the pragmasemantics of apophatic semiosis and the role of subjectivity within it.