This paper attempts to understand how the celebrated and controversial figure of Sergei Eisenstein understood and contributed to the formation of the Soviet Union through his films of the 1920s. The lens of visual metaphors offer a specific insight into how artistic choices of the director were informed by his own pedagogy for the Russian Revolution. The paper asks the questions: Did Eisenstein's films reflect the official party rhetoric? How did they inform or motivate the public toward the communist ideology of the early Soviet Union? The primary sources used in this paper are from the films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1926), October (1928), and The General Line (1929). Eisenstein created visual metaphors through the juxtaposition of images in his films which alluded to higher concepts. A shot of a worker followed by the shot of gears turning created the concept of industry in the minds of the audience. Through visual metaphors, it is possible to understand the motives of Eisenstein and the Communist party. It is also possible, with the aid of secondary sources, to see how those motives differed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.