Modes of perceiving female embodiment in the films of A. Balabanov

Abstract

The article analyzes the modes of perceiving and representing female embodiment in the cinematography of A. Balabanov, focusing on the heroines Anzhelika and Yekaterina Kirillovna in “Pro urodov i lyudey” (“On Monsters and Humans”), Tata in “Mne ne bolno” (“It Doesn’t Hurt Me”), and Anzhelika and Antonina in “Gruz 200” (“Cargo 200”). Based on haptic and optical ways of perceiving the body on the cinema screen, the article analyses the features of the depiction of the female body in film, considering the female body in the positions of subject, object and abject, which alternate with each other. Attention is paid to the process through which each heroine maneuvers between an objectified state and a subjective position, the transitions between these categories are analyzed, and it is determined how changes in corporeality reflect the heroines’ paths. The author focuses on the relationship between the representation of the female body in cinema and the depiction of the motifs of violence, power, and illness through the category of the abject as something rejected from the norm. The analysis explores how women, predominantly represented in the film as abject figures, differ from those who, in the course of the narrative, maneuver between objectified and subjective positions. Through addressing abject-heroines, the paper explores the functioning of haptic perception, which is activated in the spectator during the process of viewing. The author concludes that subjectivity predominates over objectification of the female body in A. Balabanov’s films and that abject-heroines have the potential to overcome their own abjection.