Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe (Nov 2023)

Abai and Zhambyl:

  • Assiya Issemberdiyeva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17892/app.2023.00017.347
Journal volume & issue
no. 17

Abstract

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This research examines the portrayal of Kazakh historical figures in Soviet and post-Soviet cinema, focusing on four films about two iconic Kazakh poets – Abai Qunanbaiuly and Zhambyl Zhabaev. The study draws on archival material and textual analysis to provide valuable insights into the process of constructing Soviet, Marxist-Orientalist historical narratives in The Songs of Abai (1945) and Zhambyl (1953). In the example of films Abai (1995) and The Youth of Zhambyl (1996), it examines how Kazakhstan sought to decolonise and reclaim its identity by breaking free from the Soviet-era Orientalist gaze.