Daniil Ivanov’s Presentation: 'Masculinity in the Age of Crisis: Analysis of the Danila Bagrov’s Image in the Film "Brother"'

On October 7, 2024, as part of the seminar 'Dialogue between Russia and Europe: the View of Young Researchers', a report was given by Daniil V. Ivanov, a 2nd-year master's student in the Eastern European Studies Department, a research assistant of the Laboratory

The research assistant of the laboratory Daniil Ivanov introduced an analysis of representations of masculinity in Russian cinema of the 1990s using the example of the central character of the film "Brother". His image embodies a multi-layered model of male identity formed under the influence of the socio-cultural instability of post-Soviet Russia, as well as the crisis of masculinity that began in the last decades of the USSR. The image of Danila Bagrov influenced the public perception of male practices and stereotypes, which is indirectly confirmed by the revival of interest in this film character in modern Russian media.

An analysis of male representations in Russian cinema of the 1990s allows us to understand how the social crises of that period influenced the formation of masculine identity, and to trace the evolution of these images to the present day. The analysis of Danila Bagrov's masculinity presented in the report is based on three key aspects of his representation: the practices of a male protector, the practices of a man-child, and a free man. Each of these aspects reveals the peculiarities of the crisis of male identity in the context of instability: it was shown how violence, infantilism (as a consequence of war trauma), as well as the desire for freedom without ideological guidelines become central elements in the formation of Bagrov’s image, making him a symbol of the contradictions characteristic of masculinity in the 1990s.

 

The video recording of the presentation is posted on the Laboratory’s YouTube Channel.