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Cinematography as a Metalanguage of the Director's Inner World (Based on the Films of Andrei Tarkovsky)

https://doi.org/10.32603/2412-8562-2026-12-2-49-64

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of art as a metalanguage of the inner world of the artist, director. The issue of the metalanguage of art in relation to cinema is becoming quite relevant today, while the work of the Soviet film director Andrei Tarkovsky serves as a representative example for such a study. The question of metalanguage affirms the existence of a certain structure, levels, positions, layers of perception of the master's work.

Methodology and sources. It is methodologically significant to consider the problem of metalanguage not only within the framework of cultural philosophy (O. Spengler, F. Nietzsche, M. Bakhtin, G. Pomerants, etc.), but also in related fields: analytical philosophy, logical semantics, semiotics. Within the framework of semiotic methodology, the problem of metalanguage is posed most clearly. Certain significant steps in the development of semiotic concepts of metalanguage in culture were taken by R. Barthes, T. Todorov, Y. Lotman, Y. Tsivian, M. Mamardashvili, A. Pyatigorsky. Among the many works that directly reveal the problem of metalanguage in the works of A. Tarkovsky, the works of R. Bird, I. Evlampiev, S. Salvestroni, D. Salinsky stand out.

Results and discussion. It is revealed that the structure of the artistic metalanguage of a filmmaker can be made up of symbols, signs, meanings and angles, individual editing trajectories, representation of the passage of time and natural elements. It has been established that two dominant elements of the director's metalanguage are important in Tarkovsky's work: the metaphysics of the inner world and the metaphysics of the elements (for example, the metaphors of fire, water, earth, and the flow of life). Time, as the state of the director's inner world, embodies the intertwining of these two sides of Andrei Tarkovsky's work.

Conclusion. The language of film narration becomes a metalanguage, being divided into subjective and objective components. The metalanguage of cinema is the language of action and process. The film's character is immersed in the action unfolding in the frame. The issue of metalanguage results in the differentiation of the observer and the observed. To do this, it is necessary to identify certain levels and positions within the film. The component that is directly related to the individuality of the director, their inner world, is the deep foundation of the metalanguage of cinema.

About the Authors

V. B. Malyshev
Samara State Technical University
Russian Federation

Vladislav B. Malyshev - Dr. Sci. (Philosophy, 2014), Docent (2010), Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences 

244 Molodogvardeyskaya str., Samara 443100 



T. G. Stotskaya
Samara State Technical University
Russian Federation

Tatiana G. Stotskaya - Dr. Sci. (Philosophy, 2010), Docent (2005), Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences 

244 Molodogvardeyskaya str., Samara 443100 



T. V. Borisova
Samara State Technical University
Russian Federation

Tatiana V. Borisova - Dr. Sci. (Philosophy, 2006), Docent (1991), Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, 

244 Molodogvardeyskaya str., Samara 443100 



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For citations:


Malyshev V.B., Stotskaya T.G., Borisova T.V. Cinematography as a Metalanguage of the Director's Inner World (Based on the Films of Andrei Tarkovsky). Discourse. 2026;12(2):49-64. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32603/2412-8562-2026-12-2-49-64

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ISSN 2412-8562 (Print)
ISSN 2658-7777 (Online)