Scholarly record

SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS AS HEROES OF FEATURE TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS AFTER 1989

S. Timko

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyse the most important Czech and Slovak feature television and film productions devoted to the life and work of Saints Cyril and Methodius from 1989 to the present. The study examines a change in perspective on this subject under the influence of changes in the social and political situation in the last three decades. During the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Saints Cyril and Methodius were on the margin of the interest of audiovisual media and they were perceived only as creators of the first Slavic literary language and alphabet, or as fighters against violent Germanization. After 1989, these historical figures became considered to be Church representatives and fundamental propagators of Christianity in the territory of Central Europe. After the foundation of the Slovak Republic in 1993, brothers from Thessaloniki became connected to the roots of Slovak statehood. In Slovak feature television projects, they were mainly associated with the work within the present Slovak territory and their contribution to Slovak culture and the Church was particularly highlighted. The study also presents an analysis of the only realized feature film (and also TV series) about the life and work of Cyril and Methodius, which was initiated by Czech producers (albeit with the participation of foreign co-production partners). The film Cyril a Metod – Apostoli Slovanov (Cyril and Methodius – The Apostles of the Slavs) highlights the relationship of Cyril and Methodius to the present territory of Moravia. Interpretative analysis is used as the original method for dealing with individual audiovisual works, giving an emphasis on defining their genre definition, narrative structure and central themes. The study also examines the social impact of the analysed audiovisual productions and considers its causes.

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