«Этот стиль близок миллионам читателей…»: переосмысление понятия "романтический" в советской культуре 1950-х годов

Новое литературное обозрение. 2021. № 170. С. 129–146.

Maiofis M.

This article is dedicated to rethinking the “romantic” in the early Thaw period (1954—1960), primarily in sphere of literature and film. The author highlights two significant semantic shifts in how this concept is interpreted. The first occurred from 1954—1955 and was connected with the rehabilitation of romanticism after its virtual ban during the campaigns of 1948—1949. Writers, critics, and directors advocated for the need to return romantic elements to art, referring to the requests of the reading and viewing public, especially its younger members. Romanticism here was understood as a tool for attracting attention and arousing empathy and interest, that is, as a necessary element of the reader’s and viewer’s “social education.” The second semantic shift occurred in 1959— 1960, when “romanticism” began to be understood, on the one hand, as the most adequate mode for representing the early 19th century, the interest toward which was increasing, and on the other hand as a synonym for “poetic,” “lyrical,” “intimate,” and “private.” After a few years, the result of this second shift was the emergence and fortification of the idea of “poetic cinema.” But in this case as well, filmmakers and critics aimed to influence the audience’s perception of cinema, to “reconfigure” it.

Keywords: романтизм, история понятий, history of ideas, Romanticism, Soviet cinema of the Thaw, Konstantin Paustovsky, Evgeny Andrikanis, Soviet literary criticism of the 1950s, Soviet cinema criticism of the 1950s, советское кино "Оттепели", Константин Паустовский, Евгений Андриканис, советская литературная критика 1950-х годов, советская кинокритика 1950-х годов