Loyal and stubborn heroes: the main character’s personality in Classic Hollywood cinema

This research aims to analyze the main characters’ construction in classic Hollywood cinema by focusing on their personalities. This work follows Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson’s notions of classic cinema. The sample includes films from 1930 to 1960. Character is understood as personality and as a psychological unit. Characterization is defined by each trait that refers to the totality of their character. We start with the hypothesis that there are central tendencies for creating heroes and heroines in classic cinema. However, these tendencies also correspond with the film narrative model, which is shaped by the functionality of the narrative categories in the story. Personality is among those factors that shape the construction of the character. We applied a methodology of film narrative analysis to a sample of 64 films from six extensive genres in classic Hollywood cinema. The results confirm that the main character in classic cinema is conditioned and shaped by their adaptation to the film’s genre. The hero is usually positive according to what is considered socially acceptable values; the dramatic needs of the plot predetermine their definition. The Hollywood main character’s personality is based on their functionality as they serve the narrative needs of the story.

NARRATIVE SPECIFICITY OF THE SHORT STORY "HEY YOU, LITTLE BARRELL..." BY V. VYNNYCHENKO

The paper discusses the methodological potential of narratology that extends beyond the boundaries of traditional poetics taking the text of Volodymyr Vynnychenko’s short story "Hey you, little barrell..." as a case study. G. Genette’s definitions of the basic categories of narratology, such as story, discourse, anachronies, narrator’s types and functions, narrative distance and focalization are discussed. First and foremost, categories and paradigms introduced by G. Genette increase the possibilities of literary analysis. For example, there is no concept of a subject of vision (a focalizer) in traditional poetics. The paradigm of narrative perspective (focalization) developed by G. Genette is very important for studies of the narratives, besides, the narrative technique of modernism without this category is incomprehensible at all. Traditional poetics does not pay enough attention to anachrony, considering it together with other "off-plot elements", although analepsis and prolepsis are neither discursive nor descriptive. G. Genette presents detailed classification of analepsises and prolepsises, that determines the functionality of the analysis in context. Secondly, the paper clarifies, that the method of G. Genette’s narratology is not limited to tracing narrative categories as elements – it is also about their constant interrelation, i.e. the narrative model of the stories. Vynnychenko’s short story is analyzed in terms of correlations between telling, showing and talking, as well as displays of character’s discourse and attributive discourse. The artistic viability of anachronies (analepses and prolepses) is examined in the compositional and semantic aspects. The paper focuses on some specific features of Vynnychenko’s narrative style, such as dominance of mimesis over diegesis, as well as narrative distance and the author’s self-elimination by means of focalization (both the internal and external one) that are typical for modernist writing.

Individual Style of Dostoevsky: Dimensions of Investigation

The article examines the existing approaches to the study of the individual style of the writer. We call these approaches models of individual style. We distinguish lexical model, syntactical model, narrative model and the model of intertextual relations. Specific features of the lexical model consist of the frequency distribution of certain words in text formation. The frequency distribution of lexical items reflects the importance of certain meanings and conceptual areas for a given author. The syntactic model of individual style is based on identifying characteristic syntactic constructions that have a high frequency rank for a particular author. The narrative model characterizes the way the story is organized. The units of the narrative model are the components of the plot and the operations that are performed on these components (moving, eliminating fragments of the narrative, combining episodes and scenes, introducing some components of the plot into others). Intertextual relations, that is, a set of semantic and formal references to other texts of the same or other authors, form an intertextual model, which also is unique for every writer. The above mentioned models complement each other and, taken together, make it possible to describe the specific features of the unique speech practices of the writer. Models of individual style are illustrated by the examples from Dostoevskys works. Modern corpus data technologies make it possible to more strictly develop the models of individual style, enhancing their objectivity by the implementation of quantitative methods. This article is a part of a project, initiated by Yu.N. Karaulov and E.L. Ginzburg.

Design and validation of Quranic model, Validity of hope therapy with integrated monotheistic treatment approach

Introduction: In the Holy Quran, hope and hope for the future have been spoken about many times and in different ways. In general, the study of the concept of hope shows that hope in any case, means waiting to achieve the goal, is accompanied by effort. In recent years, to achieve such a goal, especially in Iran, they use integrated monotheistic therapy. The aim of this study was to design and validate the Quranic-narrative model of hope therapy with an integrated monotheistic treatment approach. Methods: This study is a combined method (qualitative and quantitative) of exploratory type. Statistical sample in qualitative section 48 people were selected by purposive sampling method and in quantitative section 313 people were selected by relative stratified sampling method. The research tool was a semi-structured checklist and interview in the qualitative part and a researcher-made questionnaire in the quantitative part. In the process of research, the literature of hope in the Qur'an and narrations and psychological sources were studied and the indicators of hope and hope therapy were extracted from this literature. Finally, the appropriateness of the indicators with the structures and the structures with the stages of the existing models were measured. Free coding was used to analyze the qualitative part of the information and confirmatory factor analysis was used in the quantitative part of the exploratory factor analysis. Results: The findings indicate the extraction of the Quranic-narrative model of hope therapy in 4 stages, 8 steps, 15 components and 75 items. Stages and components of the model: Step 1) Understanding the meaning and destination of monotheistic hope (expecting something beloved from God / benevolence from God / peace before God / desire for truth - hereafter hope / worldly hope), step 2) Determining the paths of monotheistic hope ( Positive attitude to solving problems / understanding needs and desires / creating monotheistic behavior), stage 3) giving meaning to monotheistic hope (strengthening faith and belief / performing rituals and worship / hope to attract divine mercy and gifts / hope for piety and divine guidance) and Step 4) Integration of monotheistic beliefs and behavior (integration of beliefs and behavior). Conclusion: Considering the appropriateness of hope therapy models and the model presented in this study, it can be said that the current model is effective for the treatment of despair.

Violence, Identity, and Alterity: Post-War Rhetoric of Sri Lanka’s Bodu Bala Sena

<p>The Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Strength Army) is a Sinhalese nationalist movement led by Buddhist monks that recently came to international prominence following a 2014 anti-Muslim rally that erupted into deadly violence. The Bodu Bala Sena is set apart from earlier nationalist movements in that its hostility is primarily directed towards Sri Lankan Muslims instead of Tamil separatists. Despite this difference I argue that the Bodu Bala Sena is best considered as a new development in this existing tradition of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism, and that the re-orientation of the Bodu Bala Sena’s hostility from Tamils to Muslims reveals the extent to which Sinhalese nationalist conceptions of their own identity are built around various interpretations of a particular “identity narrative.” This identity narrative, which has its genesis in anti-colonial interpretations of the Mahavamsa, casts the Sinhalese people as defenders of a sacred island (the dhammadipa) against impious foreign invaders who threaten its unity and sanctity. The case of the Bodu Bala Sena demonstrates both the ongoing relevance of this identity narrative in the post-war era and, importantly, the availability of the narrative for contextual re-interpretation. The identity narrative model, which incorporates both mythic origins and contextual interpretation, helps to bridge some of the existing debates on the nature and origins of Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka which tend to favour either one or the other.</p>

Violence, Identity, and Alterity: Post-War Rhetoric of Sri Lanka’s Bodu Bala Sena

<p>The Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Strength Army) is a Sinhalese nationalist movement led by Buddhist monks that recently came to international prominence following a 2014 anti-Muslim rally that erupted into deadly violence. The Bodu Bala Sena is set apart from earlier nationalist movements in that its hostility is primarily directed towards Sri Lankan Muslims instead of Tamil separatists. Despite this difference I argue that the Bodu Bala Sena is best considered as a new development in this existing tradition of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism, and that the re-orientation of the Bodu Bala Sena’s hostility from Tamils to Muslims reveals the extent to which Sinhalese nationalist conceptions of their own identity are built around various interpretations of a particular “identity narrative.” This identity narrative, which has its genesis in anti-colonial interpretations of the Mahavamsa, casts the Sinhalese people as defenders of a sacred island (the dhammadipa) against impious foreign invaders who threaten its unity and sanctity. The case of the Bodu Bala Sena demonstrates both the ongoing relevance of this identity narrative in the post-war era and, importantly, the availability of the narrative for contextual re-interpretation. The identity narrative model, which incorporates both mythic origins and contextual interpretation, helps to bridge some of the existing debates on the nature and origins of Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka which tend to favour either one or the other.</p>

THE RETURN OF THE PIPERS: IN SEARCH OF NARRATIVE MODELS FOR THE AITION OF THE QVINQVATRVS MINVSCVLAE

The article argues that the famous story about the strike, exile and return of the Roman aulos players, which is recorded in the sixth book of Ovid's Fasti and referred to by other Latin and Greek sources, is based on a narrative model that already existed in Greece in the Archaic period. The study draws parallels between the tale of the pipers and the myth of the return of Hephaestus to Olympus, suggesting that, apart from similar plots, the two stories share many motifs, such as references to themes derived from comedy and satyr drama. Searching for a possible channel of transmission of the story from Archaic Greece to Augustan Rome, the study explores the presence of satyric motifs in Etruscan vase-painting and Roman processional rites. It is furthermore emphasized that many of these motifs, which also appeared in lost satyr-plays, are echoed in Augustan poetry.

The Universe-al Storytelling. Towards A ‘Spatial’ Narrative Model in Modern Comic Book Cinema

The aim of the article is to analyze modern superhero films through the specifics of superhero narratives in comics. By referring to the ‘organic’ elements of graphic super-storytelling – like retcon or crossover – the author tries to explain the main shift within comic book adaptations heading towards a ‘universe-al’ mode of narration. By doing so the analysis concentrates on the most succesful recent cases of superhero films as attempts to achieve a narrative ‘remediation’ of comic books’ spatial organization that requires reconsideration of the status of an individual superheroic franchise (or sub-franchise) within the larger universe of pre-existing, future and even alternate texts.

‘A Gentle Creature’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky: The Author As an Observer, an Interpreter and a Fantasist

Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story “A Gentle Creatureˮ, first published by the writer in 1876 as the November issue of his “Diary of a Writerˮ, is usually viewed in the context of the author's discourse on suicide contained in the previous issue of The “Diary of a Writerˮ, where the writer’s lot is described as an in-depth interpretation of life. At the same time, the theme of suicide is also brought up in connection with the overwhelming task of interpreting the event. However, the writer ultimately changed his writing strategy to produce “A Gentle Creatureˮ. Basing the story on an actual case of a suicide committed by a young woman amplified with autobiographical details, Dostoevsky develops a narrative model with complexity exceeding that of the original interpretation of the fact while in its essence being equivalent to the complexity of reality itself. The images of a straight line and a dot, employed by the author to interpret the event and the text of the short story, demonstrate that the author sees as a problem converting true-life information into a compressed narrative. Thus, in his short story “A Gentle Creatureˮ Dostoevsky offers the reader a model as complex as the life itself.