Sidorova G.P., Shutaya N.K. 'Male' Personality and 'Female' Creativity of Female Film Directors

Abstract: The article of the research is the personal traits (in particular, individual method of behavior in a profession) and creative work of female film directors. The research hypothesis is based on the point of view that 'film direction is not a woman's profession' and on the expression that 'all female film directors have a masculine personality'. The features of their creative work are analysed in terms of the following three indicators: 1) the levels of an artwork, elite and popular; 2) creative interest towards the Soviet theme; 3) genre features. The object of the research is a group of 19 female film directors who were best-known in the Soviet cultural environment of the 1960-1980s as well as the most known female film directors of today's Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. The research is based on the method of content analysis that has allowed to define the problem. The researchers have used this method to analyze sayings and expressions of female directors and their creative teams and colleagues regarding their personality and personal traits (based on the Internet sources). The statistical method has been also applied to the present research. In particular, the authors have chosen women for their research based on the lists of popular film directors on the Kino-Teatr.ru website. The main conclusions of the research are the following. Firstly, in terms of contemporary culture, even professional communities and associations retain traditional cultural stereotypes, such as: professional behavior and personal traits of female film directors related to universal human terminal and instrumental values are still viewed as 'masculine'. Secondly, discovered cultural, thematic and genre features of creative work of the most famous Soviet (1960 - 1980) and contemorary Russian female film directors demonstrate that even women with 'masculine personalities' make 'female' films, moreover, these are films of high artistic merit recognized by both the audience and authoritative professional community. 

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