Censorship, film, and Soviet Society: Some reflections of a Russia-watcher

Cinema during the First Two Decades of the Soviet Union: How Censorship of the Arts Inhibits the Dissemination of Information

“…This is owed, perhaps, to the fact that cinema was still a relatively new medium, and one that related closely to the world of dreams, which, according to Monas (1984), constitute an elusion of the censor. The subjectivity and complexity of film made censorship a difficult task, and some may take the view that censorship, in fact, encourages and drives the artist to find new, subversive, creative ways to elude capture and censorship of his work (Monas, 1984). However, prominent directors of Soviet film during this decade were largely interested in furthering the message of the Revolution and depicting this new world through a new art (Gillespie, 2000;Taylor, 1984).…”

“…Moreover, early cinema offered great appeal to propagandist ends: it was purely visual and thus required no specific literary or linguistic capabilities of the audience (Taylor, 1984). Film reached beyond the realm of print in several ways: geographically, it was easy to transport across the vast territory; and the size of both its potential and real audience was far more significant than that of print material (Monas, 1984). Furthermore, the audience reaction to film, as compared to print, was less intellectual and cognitive, and more subliminal (Monas, 1984).…”

“…Film reached beyond the realm of print in several ways: geographically, it was easy to transport across the vast territory; and the size of both its potential and real audience was far more significant than that of print material (Monas, 1984). Furthermore, the audience reaction to film, as compared to print, was less intellectual and cognitive, and more subliminal (Monas, 1984). All of these attributes meant that cinema was an excellent medium for disseminating messages to the masses; the latter attributes make a strong case for the inherent propagandist benefits of cinema.…”