Cinema Magic: Mask and Myth

Abstract

2020 is the year of the 125th anniversary of cinema, which
came into being thanks to the Lumiere brothers as a technical attraction. The
article analyzes the process of the formation of cinema as a form of art and
as a kind of medium, the magic of which lies in the psychological impact on
the viewer, the ability to involve him in the audiovisual space. Already at the
beginning of the 20th century, cinema acquires the status of the most popular
art and retains this position in the digital era. The basis of its spectacularity is
a synthesis of technology and creativity, masks of the “star” and myth.
Considering the peculiarities of cinematic magic from a historical
perspective, the author proves that Georges Méliès was the first to master
the magic of the screen, steering cinema along the path of spectacle. The
first masks of the “stars” as screen brands (Andre Deed, Max Linder, Douglas
Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton) contributed a
lot to this process. Much credit for the development of cinema as an art form
belongs to Charles Chaplin and his famous “Chapliniada”, which is based on
the social mask of the “little man”, which Chaplin turned into a universal
human image. The “star system” which nourished the Hollywood empire
influenced the film aesthetics and the development of cinematic genres. An
important role in this process was played by the “myth stars”, among whom
Asta Nielsen, Rudolfo Valentino, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich stand out in
the history of cinema.
By addressing the problem “a star in Soviet style: a mask or a social type?”
The author examines the ways of development of Russian cinema in its polemics
with commercial Western cinema, proving that the synthesis of creativity and
ideology made it possible for our filmmakers to create outstanding works of
screen art in different periods.