PECULIARITIES OF THE PLOT AND THEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL FEATURE FILMS OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the thematic and plot representation of the issue of national identity in contemporary historical feature films of Ukraine The methodology is grounded in the principles of historicism and objectivity. Specific methods of analysis employed include the historical-chronological method, the method of periodization, and the method of semiotic analysis. Scientific novelty. This article presents a contemporary perspective on the plot and thematic repertoire of Ukrainian historical feature films. The periodization is structured based on criteria such as reference to historical periods and the methods of representing historical content through the artistic means of cinematic language. Conclusions. Historical time in screen narratives and the representation of history in feature films exhibit diverse typological models of embodiment within the plot and thematic repertoire. In the context of the analyzed films, it is essential to identify typical genre situations in the Ukrainian feature film repertoire that are more representative than specific types in the traditional taxonomic sense. The key genre situations include the following: 1) when an intermediary (primarily a literary work) exists between history and cinema, regulating the models of interaction between cinematic and literary contexts; 2) when history in cinema (in either a personalized or generalized form) functions as an independent and defined “protagonist,” possessing all the necessary attributes of an active character; 3) when the past is categorized by historical scale and perspective, and two forms of time are harmonized through appropriate representational techniques: (a) the historical time of the film narrative and (b) the screen time of cinematic storytelling; 4) when history assumes its own form of existence, which inherently establishes the norms of interaction between the historical background, cinematic rhetoric, and the expressive means of representing the past.