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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

cinematographic, portrayal of Americans, Late Stalin era, Soviet film

College

Humanities

Department

Germanic and Slavic Languages

Abstract

This research examines how Soviet directors portrayed Americans in the six anti-American films released during the late Stalin era (1945-1953). These six films are The Russian Question (dir. Romm, 1947), Meeting on the Elbe (dir. Alexandrov, 1949), Court of Honor (dir. Room, 1949), Conspiracy of the Doomed (dir. Kalatozov, 1950), Secret Mission (dir. Romm, 1950), and Silvery Dust (dir. Room, 1953). This period is unique because the allies of World War II became enemies in the Cold War. Accordingly, for the first time in Soviet Cinema, Americans became the enemy. Since the Soviet Union was a closed country, all actors were Soviet, and the Soviet viewers had little knowledge of Americans. Besides using scripted speech, the directors actively differentiated the American characters from the Soviets using a variety of film techniques, including costume, mise-en-scène, music, camera angle, and lighting. Clothing is the simplest marker of nationality. Music, especially jazz, announces the Americans in a scene or shows their lack of refinement. Camera angle, lighting, and mise-en-scène subtly manipulate viewer’s perception of Americans. Furthermore, the contrast between Americans and Soviets becomes more dramatic when they appear in the same scene. The effect of these techniques helps the viewer sympathize with the right character—the pro-Soviet—and absorb the film’s anti-American ideology.

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