Please choose one of the following questions to answer in the paper:
Movie Study Questions for Brother (1997)
How does the film represent post-Soviet reality in the first decade after the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union (1991)?
How is the idea of “family” and “family unity” discussed in the film?
How is the city of St. Petersburg shown in the film? How is this city contrasted with other types of space we see in the movie (Danila’s small town in the provinces at the beginning of the movie, the road at the end of the movie, etc.)? Helpful question to consider: what is being said about the idea of the “city” in the movie and by whom?
How are women depicted in the movie? How are masculinity and femininity constructed, i. e., what roles do men and woman have? Are they stereotypical or not? What images of women and men do we see in the movie? What is the dynamic between men and women?
How is music used in Brother? What kind of music is it? Who plays music and how? What equipment is used for playing it? How is music performed and distributed in Russia ca. 1997?
How is “The West” represented in the film? What is “Western” and who is a “Westerner” in the film? How does the film explore the issue of Russia versus and vis-à-vis the West? Also along these lines, how does the film depict “otherness” of ethnic minorities in Russia of the late 1990s? Hint: What ethnicity are mentioned in the movie and what is the speakers’ attitude toward them?
Sample Solution
