Vol 27, No 4 (2022)

The interpretation of time in the novel by B.L. Pasternak “Doctor Zhivago” is discussed. The role of 1918 in the book is noted: firstly, the novel was conceived this year, and secondly, it describes the events of this year. It is indicated that, starting from the post - revolutionary period, time in the novel loses its accuracy and linear character, begins to unfold unevenly, reflecting the perception of events by the main character - Yuri Andreevich Zhivago. The authors assume that the nonlinearity of time, its free perception are connected with the awareness of what is happening by the hero of the novel and with the influence that the revolution had on him. The analysis of the interpretation of time in the novel shows that it is not the events, not the historical time that become important in it, but the development of the hero together with the whole country, that is, personal and public time. The description of the events of 1918 in the novel reflects the transformations of time: some events are depicted in detail, others are only mentioned. It is concluded that the historical time in the novel by B.L. Pasternak becomes next to the psychological, depending on the perception of events by their participants, and the work itself becomes both a psychological novel and a historical one.

Buddhism finds a diverse reflection in the work of L. Yuzefovich for many decades. Buddhist ideas and motifs are present in his early book “The Autocrat of the desert. Baron R. Ungern von Sternberg and the world in which he lived,” in some of his other prose texts, in poetry. In the proposed work, within the framework of a large study devoted to the Buddhist text of modern Russian literature, the influence of Buddhism on Leonid Yuzefovich's novel “Cranes and Dwarfs” is analyzed. The Buddhist idea of the illusory nature of reality and man is reflected in the plot of the work and in the organization of the system of characters. The novel intrigue is based on the principle of repetition, realized in space, time and in human destinies. The heroes of “Cranes and Dwarfs,” according to one of the possible interpretations offered by the novel, represent one consciousness that changes its forms in Russian history. At the same time, the illusory nature of a separate human existence is perceived by the author not in a pessimistic way, but as evidence of the spiritual kinship of all living things. The author also draws parallels to a similar perception of reality and people in the novel “Prince of the Wind” and the story “Sand Riders” by Yuzefovich and the book by E. Limonov “The Old Man Travels.”

The work is devoted to the analysis of the artistic picture of the world captured in Yu. Polyakov's novel “Sovchildhood.” The purpose of the study is to reveal the principles of the creation by Yu. Polyakov of the model of the USSR world of the 1960s. The descriptive method and component analysis were used. The author concluded that the subject of the description of Yu. Polyakov in the novel “Sovchildhood” is not limited to the memories and life vicissitudes of the protagonist. The writer also reproduces social relations between people: relations between relatives, neighbors and colleagues, the attitude of Soviet people to power. If we consider all the works of Yu. Polyakov as a single text, then “Sovchildhood,” as a chronologically earlier work, is the key to understanding other works of the writer, since in that novel the writer explains the origin of some paradoxical phenomena that will be discussed in other works. In addition to the artistic analysis of the text, the historical value of the novel, in which the author offers readers a more neutral point of view regarding the Soviet Union, is discussed.

The research is devoted to the analysis of ethical and economic aspects of the relationship between Jack London and his major publisher, Macmillan President George P. Brett. Until recently, these relations, which are the brightest example of the synthesis of friendship and mutual benefit, were not the subject of a separate study. The influence of publishers, editors and the literary market as a whole on the writer’s creativity was also underestimated. The purpose of this study is to confirm the significant role of Brett in London’s writing career, who became not only a business partner for the writer, but also a friend and mentor. The relationship between the writer and the publisher is traced in a historical perspective, showing their changes as the writer’s career develops from a literary aspirant to a popular author, conflicts and contradictions, including those that resulted in London’s brief apostasy from Macmillan and a contract with Century. It is shown that many of London’s works, radical or different from the demands of the mass reader, such as The People of the Abyss, The Kempton - Wace Letters, The Iron Heel, The Road, Martin Eden, saw the light solely due to Brett’s liberalism. The firm intention of the writer to publish a significant number of works unclaimed in the literary market debunks the myth of Jack London as a commercial writer. On the other hand, it was precisely the generous and steady advances from Macmillan that gave London freedom for literary experiments, without which he would never have been able to go beyond the short story genre, as well as the “discourse of bargaining” was an integral part of this amazing friendship between writer and publisher.

Can Xue is a representative of Chinese women's literature of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Her works are one of the most interesting literary phenomena. The author discusses the poetics of the “anti-aesthetics” in Can Xue’s works, based on the violation of classical aesthetic norms. To achieve a new aesthetic impact, Can Xue employs such artistic means as fantasy, metaphor, symbol, synesthesia in a new way. Possessing a rich and unbridled imagination, the writer strives to depict something that exists “in the zone of non-existence.” Besides, Can Xue creates anti-aesthetic, ugly, incomprehensible, and metaphorical images, invents illogical dialogues, refers to the phenomena of the interweaving of dreams and reality, peeping, etc. It is concluded that Can Xue breaks the frame of traditional aesthetic, seeks ugly, irrational, and unacceptable to popular standards of beauty. But despite all the ugliness, she draws attention to the hidden depths of human consciousness and soul, shows another truth of life. An analysis of the poetics of Can Xue allows a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the writings of Chinese authors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The weekly publication Hétföi Hírek , which played a significant role in the development of the Hungarian press system in 1957-1985, is considered and analyzed. The author introduces a new definition of “substitute newspaper” into scientific circulation in relation to this publication, the only media that was published on Monday, a day off for the Hungarian mass media. In addition to news content, the weekly, which had two issues (morning and evening), posted incident reports, advertisement, and announcements. The newspaper was distributed mainly through street sales, which is typical of Hungarian tabloid periodicals. The Hétföi Hírek edition had the characteristics of both a quality and mass edition, so we can talk about its mixed format. The analysis of the “substitute newspaper” is essential for understanding the features of the Hungarian media in their historical context, as well as for studying the activities of the media in the formation of a certain model of reality, managing information flows, motivation and behavior of society. The analysis of Hétföi Hírek is carried out for the first time, based mainly on research conducted by the author in Hungary, using archival sources and applying an interdisciplinary methodological framework.

The mechanisms of the process of mythologization of artistic text in the modern media space are considered. The role and importance of the artistic text and artistic image as an important and specific tool for modeling the socio-informational space are analyzed. The relationship between social, political, cultural processes and the nature of the aestheticization of the information and communication space is studied, the role of the artistic image and the artistic text in this process is determined. The author of the study has identified the nature of the creation, circulation and functioning of the actual myths in the modern media space, marked their impact on communication in the modern society. The phenomenon of norm mobility in modern society as a consequence of acceleration and activation of myth-making process based on the change of aesthetic characteristics of media and information and communication space in the modern world has been considered. The author also discusses the functional tasks of mythology in the context of the specifics of the media sphere and the socio-information space.

The formation of the global media space contributes to the active penetration of a different, non-Russian, culture in the domestic media, with one or another broadcast lifestyle having a great impact on the behaviour of young people, shaping, among other things, their oral and written speech through slang. Slang is a rather actively developing lexical layer, new slang units appear in the language every day, they reflect not only cultural values, priorities and aspirations of those who use them, but also demonstrate specific ways of shaping thinking. The study of American slang words and their influence on contemporary Russian youth is especially relevant in the context of information warfare. The authors examine slang words that are reflected in the Russian-language media and social networks, as well as the peculiarities of their influence on the cultural values of adolescents. The materials with slang words, posted from January 2019 to February 2022 in social networks TikTok, VKontakte, on the youth Internet portals QRU, Spletnik, Elle Girl were selected by the method of continuous sampling. The authors reveal their meaning in the context of the analysed publications and come to the conclusion that the active use of such slang units as, for example, crash, cheater, flex, ROFL indicates the priority of idleness in the leisure time of young people. At the same time, teenagers show a lack of interest in cultural leisure: there are no slang expressions for such activities as going to a museum, sightseeing, theatre, concert hall or library.

The authors give the typology of the audiovisual media in the universities of Russia. Also, the very process of producing is analyzed. The special educational and cognitive process of media producing are considered as elements of information, internal and external communications of the universities, developing the professional competences in the media specialties’ studying process. The authors describe the methodology of program’s producing in connection to educational standards, linking the all stages of this process with the formation of specific student competencies. Increased attention to the functioning of student media, especially audiovisual media in connection with the actively developing trend of visualization of media space, as well as interest in the methods of professional competence of future journalists, editors, PR-managers and marketers in various Russian universities, primarily due to the processes of intensive development in the 21st century technological revolution, the use of innovative technologies and the beginning of testing the functionality as artificial intelligence (Artificial intelligence, AI) in practice. The introduction of high technology requires rapid updating of educational methods and standards in the training of professional personnel in the field of journalism. This is also related to the current reform of science and education in Russia, which aims to actively involve future young specialists in the development of scientific research. The state program “Priority 2030”, which promotes the development of creative initiatives among young people, is also aimed at this. In this context, presented analysis of the functioning of student media at various Russian universities lifts the veil on how the knowledge, competencies, and professional experience of future media professionals are formed, and reveals the possibilities of expanding the national information space.

The author discusses the specifics of the book under review, describes V.A. Gavrikov main research approaches to Bashlachev's texts, and defines the methodological platform of the monograph. The fruitfulness of considering the poetic world of Bashlachev through the “bible” prism is proved. The relevance of the monograph by V.A. Gavrikov, due to the need to study the artistic ontology of Bashlachev in a linguo-poetic perspective. The main results of the study are identified, their theoretical and historical-literary significance is stated.

In 2022, the new reality provokes an obvious bifurcation point for advertising: the collapse of old and the creation of new advertising alliances and agencies, fresh legislative initiatives in the field of online advertising are leading to a radical reconfiguration of the industrial landscape and professional competencies. At the same time, constant transformations exacerbate interest in the basic problems of advertising at the level of concepts and models. For the first time, the author solves (as a professional and researcher) a significant problem of interaction between a brand, a consumer and an advertising creator. The presented analysis of theory and practice seems to be the most accurate and convincing not only from the point of view of advertising technologies, but of social psychology, neuropsychology, cognitive science. It is quite natural, since Professor Intartaglia is one of the leading European researchers in the field of neurocommunication. The book is of undoubted interest for both theorists and practitioners of communication and advertising.