The Image of a Doctor in Modern Russian Cinema of a New “Moral Concern”

Abstract

The article discusses a number of Russian films where the main characters are doctors (Ragin by K. Serebrennikov, Ward No 6 by K. Shakhnazarov, Wild Field by M. Kalatozishvili, Arrhythmia by B. Khlebnikov, and Doctor by A. Temnikov). Through such characters cinema examines society for its humanity, civic responsibility, moral values, and viability. The social sentiments of the 2000s, which can be designated as moral anxiety, find their expression on the screen in the person of a medical profession who diagnoses society for its traumatization and offers solutions. Analysing the image of a doctor on the screen, the author formulates the cultural codes behind the representation of such characters in modern Russian cinema and draws conclusions about the urgent demand of society for spirituality accumulated in artistic images.

Keywords

• russian cinema
• doctor
• professions in cinema
• modern cinema
• artistic image
• image in cinema