The concept of the universal folk culture by M.M. Bakhtin in the optics of modern times
Abstract
M. M. Bakhtin, a 20th-century Russian philosopher and literary critic, brought his ideas about carnival and polyphony to the analysis of literature and art. And one of the unexpected examples in which the influence of his thought can be seen is the novel “The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin” by V. N. Voinovich. The story of Ivan Chonkin’s life and his prodigious adventures presents an interesting and multifaceted image that can be viewed through the prism of some ideas of M.M. Bakhtin. The reader watches the miraculous transformation of the hero—from an ordinary soldier to a lieutenant colonel. The paper analyzes Bakhtin’s famous concept of the universal folk culture originating from the folk laughter culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The authors trace parallels between the ideas of M.M. Bakhtin and the ongoing adventures of V. N. Voinovich’s hero and illustrate their theses with examples showing active interaction between culture and society of different time periods. The lack of controversial discussions on the concept of ‘folk culture’ in the 21st century has weakened the depth of its theoretical application; thus, the article contributes to elaborating on this vector of study.
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