Olga Khan | Seoul National University (original) (raw)
Papers by Olga Khan
KinoKultura, 2024
The article examines a “repressed womanhood” trend in Uzbek popular cinema and provide a look at ... more The article examines a “repressed womanhood” trend in Uzbek popular cinema and provide a look at some of the repressing techniques when it comes to constructions of women’s images on screen.
Bulletin of Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University
This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain mo... more This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain model for young viewers. Cinema is a powerful medium for addressing important topics and encouraging debates about pressing social issues. Movies covering a wide range of sensitive themes help raise the audience’s awareness, foster civic consciousness, and ensure public morality and its spread. In societies where a woman’s primary duty has historically been defined by her capacity to produce and raise children, cinema is effective for reinforcing and shaping opinions about women’s social roles and their “natural destiny.” Frequently, women are brought into the narrative exclusively through the motherly function or the supposed motherhood—girlfriend or bride. This can also be seen in Uzbek cinema’s approach to expressing femininity, which is tied not only to the cultural custom of honoring mothers but also to the peculiarities of the maternal discourse. However, motherhood, mothers, and the...
This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain mo... more This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain model for young viewers. Cinema is a powerful medium for addressing important topics and encouraging debates about pressing social issues. Movies covering a wide range of sensitive themes help raise the audience's awareness, foster civic consciousness, and ensure public morality and its spread. In societies where a woman's primary duty has historically been defined by her capacity to produce and raise children, cinema is effective for reinforcing and shaping opinions about women's social roles and their "natural destiny." Frequently, women are brought into the narrative exclusively through the motherly function or the supposed motherhood-girlfriend or bride. This can also be seen in Uzbek cinema's approach to expressing femininity, which is tied not only to the cultural custom of honoring mothers but also to the peculiarities of the maternal discourse. However, motherhood, mothers, and their portrayal onscreen reveal much more about society, culture, and the messages they transmit have real-life impacts.
Superbride and Postmodern Femininity, 2022
This paper focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov’s comedy Supebride (2008) - a particularly successful exam... more This paper focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov’s comedy Supebride (2008) - a particularly successful example of an Uzbek fiction film - which promotes the desirable portrayal of an ideal female based on a patriarchal mentality.
Published in "V The international book publication of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States "BEST YOUNG SCIENTIST - 2022" ("Scientists - CIS")". It is a unique project aimed at promoting the science and personal success of young scientists from all over the CIS and Europe.
Society, Gender and Family in Central Asia, №3, 2020
The history of Soviet cinema began in the 1920s, and films almost immediately turned into a means... more The history of Soviet cinema began in the 1920s, and films almost immediately turned into a means of spreading Soviet ideology. Cinema on the one hand presented everyday life characters of a certain historical eras, and on the other, dictated patterns of behavior and desired images of each period. Uzbek cinema is impossible to imagine without various female images that have always reflection of socio-political transformation, while changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. This article examines how the image of an Uzbek woman changed in the cinema during the Soviet period.
The Journal of Central Asian Studies, Vol. 26/27, 2020
The female image in cinema has always been a reflection of socio-political transformation, thus, ... more The female image in cinema has always been a reflection of socio-political transformation, thus, changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. The image of a modern Uzbek woman in cinema combines traditionalism peculiar to the Central Asian region and glamorous femininity inspired by the West. Although the female image has undergone diversification in commercial film production, the willingness to build a family remains an integral part of women's aspirations and desires. The search for personal happiness as a wife and mother is an obligatory element of the plot narrative, and success in personal life despite various circumstances is almost the only possible happy ending for a female protagonist. In the latest art cinema, there is a general trend toward the reverse evolution of the female image-from a modern woman to a traditional one. In these movies, spiritual values, morality, and traditions as the principal factor of society's well-being are brought to the foreground, while female characters are mostly depicted in a traditional environment and within an ethnographic context. This paper mainly focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov's film Superbride (2008), which became a national hit and box-office sensation in the domestic market. Superbride is a particularly successful example of a fiction film that through the prism of youth comedy promotes an ideal and frankly banal female image based on patriarchal mentality.
Herald of Anthropology, №4, 2021
In the 1920s, the Soviet government made a serious attempt to deconstruct the patriarchal idea of... more In the 1920s, the Soviet government made a serious attempt to deconstruct the patriarchal idea of female subordination, empower women and cut traditional ties with archaic traditions that had existed for centuries in Central Asia. This policy was embodied in the Hujum movement, often symbolized by the burning of the face-veil – paranji. Central Asian films (silent cinema) served the new ideology and were dedicated to an Eastern woman who is both traditional and seeking a new life. Since female characters personified socio-political transformations, significant changes in the social status of women were directly related to their artistic representation. In this regard, Uzbek films of the 20s are highly illustrative (“Muslim Girl”, “Second Wife”, “Jackals of Ravat”, “The Veil”, “The Leper Girl”, etc.)
The author shows that these films are based on a direct binary opposition (“new-good-Soviet”, “old-bad-traditional”), similar plots, orientalism (none of the film directors were local), partial mythologization, and purposeful character construction. Female characters have no choice but to follow the “liberation” path of a Muslim woman.
KinoKultura, 2024
The article examines a “repressed womanhood” trend in Uzbek popular cinema and provide a look at ... more The article examines a “repressed womanhood” trend in Uzbek popular cinema and provide a look at some of the repressing techniques when it comes to constructions of women’s images on screen.
Bulletin of Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University
This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain mo... more This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain model for young viewers. Cinema is a powerful medium for addressing important topics and encouraging debates about pressing social issues. Movies covering a wide range of sensitive themes help raise the audience’s awareness, foster civic consciousness, and ensure public morality and its spread. In societies where a woman’s primary duty has historically been defined by her capacity to produce and raise children, cinema is effective for reinforcing and shaping opinions about women’s social roles and their “natural destiny.” Frequently, women are brought into the narrative exclusively through the motherly function or the supposed motherhood—girlfriend or bride. This can also be seen in Uzbek cinema’s approach to expressing femininity, which is tied not only to the cultural custom of honoring mothers but also to the peculiarities of the maternal discourse. However, motherhood, mothers, and the...
This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain mo... more This article addresses the validity of the maternal discourse in films, as it builds a certain model for young viewers. Cinema is a powerful medium for addressing important topics and encouraging debates about pressing social issues. Movies covering a wide range of sensitive themes help raise the audience's awareness, foster civic consciousness, and ensure public morality and its spread. In societies where a woman's primary duty has historically been defined by her capacity to produce and raise children, cinema is effective for reinforcing and shaping opinions about women's social roles and their "natural destiny." Frequently, women are brought into the narrative exclusively through the motherly function or the supposed motherhood-girlfriend or bride. This can also be seen in Uzbek cinema's approach to expressing femininity, which is tied not only to the cultural custom of honoring mothers but also to the peculiarities of the maternal discourse. However, motherhood, mothers, and their portrayal onscreen reveal much more about society, culture, and the messages they transmit have real-life impacts.
Superbride and Postmodern Femininity, 2022
This paper focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov’s comedy Supebride (2008) - a particularly successful exam... more This paper focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov’s comedy Supebride (2008) - a particularly successful example of an Uzbek fiction film - which promotes the desirable portrayal of an ideal female based on a patriarchal mentality.
Published in "V The international book publication of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States "BEST YOUNG SCIENTIST - 2022" ("Scientists - CIS")". It is a unique project aimed at promoting the science and personal success of young scientists from all over the CIS and Europe.
Society, Gender and Family in Central Asia, №3, 2020
The history of Soviet cinema began in the 1920s, and films almost immediately turned into a means... more The history of Soviet cinema began in the 1920s, and films almost immediately turned into a means of spreading Soviet ideology. Cinema on the one hand presented everyday life characters of a certain historical eras, and on the other, dictated patterns of behavior and desired images of each period. Uzbek cinema is impossible to imagine without various female images that have always reflection of socio-political transformation, while changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. This article examines how the image of an Uzbek woman changed in the cinema during the Soviet period.
The Journal of Central Asian Studies, Vol. 26/27, 2020
The female image in cinema has always been a reflection of socio-political transformation, thus, ... more The female image in cinema has always been a reflection of socio-political transformation, thus, changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. The image of a modern Uzbek woman in cinema combines traditionalism peculiar to the Central Asian region and glamorous femininity inspired by the West. Although the female image has undergone diversification in commercial film production, the willingness to build a family remains an integral part of women's aspirations and desires. The search for personal happiness as a wife and mother is an obligatory element of the plot narrative, and success in personal life despite various circumstances is almost the only possible happy ending for a female protagonist. In the latest art cinema, there is a general trend toward the reverse evolution of the female image-from a modern woman to a traditional one. In these movies, spiritual values, morality, and traditions as the principal factor of society's well-being are brought to the foreground, while female characters are mostly depicted in a traditional environment and within an ethnographic context. This paper mainly focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov's film Superbride (2008), which became a national hit and box-office sensation in the domestic market. Superbride is a particularly successful example of a fiction film that through the prism of youth comedy promotes an ideal and frankly banal female image based on patriarchal mentality.
Herald of Anthropology, №4, 2021
In the 1920s, the Soviet government made a serious attempt to deconstruct the patriarchal idea of... more In the 1920s, the Soviet government made a serious attempt to deconstruct the patriarchal idea of female subordination, empower women and cut traditional ties with archaic traditions that had existed for centuries in Central Asia. This policy was embodied in the Hujum movement, often symbolized by the burning of the face-veil – paranji. Central Asian films (silent cinema) served the new ideology and were dedicated to an Eastern woman who is both traditional and seeking a new life. Since female characters personified socio-political transformations, significant changes in the social status of women were directly related to their artistic representation. In this regard, Uzbek films of the 20s are highly illustrative (“Muslim Girl”, “Second Wife”, “Jackals of Ravat”, “The Veil”, “The Leper Girl”, etc.)
The author shows that these films are based on a direct binary opposition (“new-good-Soviet”, “old-bad-traditional”), similar plots, orientalism (none of the film directors were local), partial mythologization, and purposeful character construction. Female characters have no choice but to follow the “liberation” path of a Muslim woman.