Overview

In Not According to Plan, Maria Belodubrovskaya reveals the limits on the power of even the most repressive totalitarian regimes to create and control propaganda. Belodubrovskaya's revisionist account of Soviet filmmaking between 1930 and 1953 highlights the extent to which the Soviet film industry remained stubbornly artisanal in its methods, especially in contrast to the more industrial approach of the Hollywood studio system. Not According to Plan shows that even though Josef Stalin recognized cinema as a ""mighty instrument of mass agitation and propaganda"" and strove to harness the Soviet film industry to serve the state, directors such as Eisenstein, Alexandrov, and Pudovkin had far more creative control than did party-appointed executives and censors.

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9781501752025

Table of Contents

Reviews

Not According to Plan offers a new take on the failures of the Soviet film industry during Stalin's reign. Highly recommended * Choice * Through a robust exploration of the institutions, production mechanisms and professional groups that comprised the film industry under Stalin, Belodubrovskaya offers a fresh perspective on censorship, the relationship between filmmakers and the party-state, and the failure to create a mass communist cinema in the USSR.... By patiently preparing the ground for four chapters before boldly reconceptualizing film censorship under Stalin, Belodubrovskaya succeeds in shifting the dominant paradigm of Soviet filmmaking history. Her counterintuitive insights make Not According to Plan both compelling and original. * Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema * Maria Belodubrovskaya's book is a significant contribution not only to film studies but also to social and political science.... The author disputes the conventional wisdom on Soviet film under Stalin, in particular the myth of Stalin as the 'chief censor' [showing] that a weak institutional policy and environment, not Stalin, were critical in shaping film policy and production in all of its dimensions. * Europe-Asia Studies * Maria Belodubrovskaya has written a thoroughly researched and analytically deep monograph that will impact film and Slavic studies for years to come. * Slavic Review *

Maria Belodubrovskaya has written a thoroughly researched and analytically deep monograph that will impact film and Slavic studies for years to come. * Slavic Review * Not According to Plan offers a new take on the failures of the Soviet film industry during Stalin's reign. Highly recommended * Choice * Not According to Plan includes numerous resources to help readers navigate its content. * CBQ: Communication Booknotes Quarterly * Beoldubrovskaya provides a comprehensive listing of individuals who played a vital role in filmmaking decisions, studios and relevant institutions, dates, documentation and other information. * Europe-Asia Studies *

Maria Belodubrovskaya has written a thoroughly researched and analytically deep monograph that will impact film and Slavic studies for years to come. * Slavic Review * Not According to Plan offers a new take on the failures of the Soviet film industry during Stalin's reign. Highly recommended * Choice * Maria Belodubrovskaya's book is a significant contribution not only to film studies but also to social and political science.... The author disputes the conventional wisdom on Soviet film under Stalin, in particular the myth of Stalin as the 'chief censor' [showing] that a weak institutional policy and environment, not Stalin, were critical in shaping film policy and production in all of its dimensions. * Europe-Asia Studies * Through a robust exploration of the institutions, production mechanisms and professional groups that comprised the film industry under Stalin, Belodubrovskaya offers a fresh perspective on censorship, the relationship between filmmakers and the party-state, and the failure to create a mass communist cinema in the USSR.... By patiently preparing the ground for four chapters before boldly reconceptualizing film censorship under Stalin, Belodubrovskaya succeeds in shifting the dominant paradigm of Soviet filmmaking history. Her counterintuitive insights make Not According to Plan both compelling and original. * Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema *

Author Information

Maria Belodubrovskaya is Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago.

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