2026 № 1 (56)
Philosophical Subtexts of the Science Fiction Genre: Andrei Tarkovsky
UDC 14; 791
LBC 71; 85.37
DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-10-63
For cit.: Khrenov NA. Philosophical Subtexts of the Science Fiction Genre: Andrei Tarkovsky. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2026, no. 1, pp. 10–63. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-10-63. (In Russian)
Khrenov Nikolai A.
D.Sc. (in Philosophy), Professor, Chief Researcher, Mass Media Arts Department, State Institute for Art Studies, 5 Kozitsky Lane, Moscow, 125375, Russia; Professor, F.M. Dostoevsky Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy, 15 Fontanka River Emb., St. Petersburg, 191023, Russia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6890-7894
ResearcherID: AAW-9591-2020
Scopus Author ID: 57195617480
Philosophical Subtexts of the Science Fiction Genre: Andrei Tarkovsky
Abstract. This article examines the acute problem in 20th-century art — how to create a work of art capable of engaging a mass audience without sacrificing the meaning conceived by the artist — through the lens of two films by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, Solaris (1972) and Stalker (1979). This issue became particularly significant for the type of society that emerged in the 19th century, known as ‘mass society’, and reached its peak in the latter half of the last century. This period saw the rise of an ongoing debate surrounding the ‘auteur cinema’ and the figure of the Author in art, whose previously high status began to noticeably waver. This shift was reflected in late theoretical conceptions of art, such as structuralism and post-structuralism.
To address this problem, the author employs a linguistic methodology stemming fr om the ‘linguistic turn’ in the humanities that began in the early 20th century. Analyzing Tarkovsky’s two films, the author utilizes the concepts of ‘language’ (langue) and ‘speech’ (parole). If ‘language’ is a means of achieving optimal communication that considers the interests of both the speaker and the receiver, then ‘speech’ is the expression of a deeply individualized process that remains real even beyond language. It is this latter circumstance that disrupts harmonious communication. This problem emerged with particular acuity in cinema with the advent of the ‘auteur film’. Unsurprisingly, Tarkovsky’s films, wh ere ‘speech’ became dominant, posed difficulties for the mass audience. However, the director’s turn to the science fiction genre can be explained by his desire to utilize not only ‘speech’ but also ‘language’, as genre is a necessary linguistic tool for adequate understanding. The formation of the science fiction genre in literature took place even before the advent of cinema. The science fiction genre, like any other genre, is a component of ‘language’, not ‘speech’. Yet, by resorting to the genre, Tarkovsky does not avoid difficulties, as the realization of his authorial intent creates a problem in the relationship between the visual and the narrative. The article pays special attention to a comparative analysis of Tarkovsky’s films and the American film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Stanley Kubrick. In the latter, the visual element supplants the literary narrative. Tarkovsky implements an alternative model of the relationship between the visual and the narrative, where the narrative element does not yield to the visual. Essentially, this comparative analysis reveals not only different configurations of the relationship between ‘language’ and ‘speech’ but also different types of mentality
Keywords: science fiction genre, auteur cinema, author, Andrei Tarkovsky, Stanley Kubrick, Solaris, Stalker, 2001: A Space Odyssey, space as the Other, linguistic method, language, speech, ontological duality of the science fiction genre, verbal, visual, narrative, UFO
The research was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation grant for small scientific groups No. 24-28-01588 “Creativity of Andrei Tarkovsky as a phenomenon of national and world culture”.
References
Aleksander-Garrett L. Andrei Tarkovskii: sobiratel’ snov [Andrei Tarkovsky: The Collector of Dreams]. Moscow, AST Publ., Astrel’ Publ., 2009. 509 p. (In Russian)
Borges J.L. Pis’mena Boga [Writing of the God], transl. from Spanish. Moscow, Respublika Publ., 1992. 510 p. (In Russian)
Bukatman S. Iskusstvennaya beskonechnost’. O spetsehffektakh i vozvyshennom [Artificial Infinity. On Special Effects and the Sublime], transl. A. Oleinikov. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 233–256. (In Russian)
Gromova A. “Besplodnyi spor s romanom…” [“A Barren Dispute with the Novel...”]. Literaturnaya gazeta, 1973, no. 10, March 7, p. 8. (In Russian)
Dashkova T., Stepanov B. Fantasticheskoe v filmakh Andreya Tarkovskogo. “Soliaris” i “Stalker” [Science Fiction in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Films. Solaris and Stalker]. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 311–344. (In Russian)
Zenkin S. Ehffekt fantastiki v kino [The Effect of the Fantastic in Cinema]. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 50–65. (In Russian)
Cassirer E. Izbrannoe. Opyt o cheloveke [Selected Works. An Essay on Man], transl., chief ed. S.Ya. Levit. Moscow, Gardarika Publ., 1998. 784 p. (In Russian)
Kinofantastika: vchera, segodnya, zavtra [Science Fiction Cinema: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow]. Sovetskii ehkran, 1967, no. 8, 1967, pp. 7–11. (In Russian)
Kosinova M., Fomin V. “Muzyka Bakha zvuchit kak-to ne po-sovetski…”. Istoriya sozdaniya fil’mov Andreya Tarkovskogo, snyatykh v SSSR: “Solyaris”, “Zerkalo”, “Stalker” [“Bach’s Music Sounds Somehow Un-Soviet...”. The History of the Making of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Films Shot in the USSR: Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker]. Moscow, Kanon+ ROOI “Reabilitatsiya” Publ., 2017. 528 p. (In Russian)
Kuznetsov M.M. Virtual’naya real’nost’ — tekhnogennyi artefakt ili setevoi fenomen? [Virtual Reality: Man-Made Artefact or Network Phenomenon?]. Virtualistika: Ehkzistentsional’nye i ehpistemologicheskie aspekty [Virtualistics: Existential and Epistemological Aspects], ed. I.A. Akchurin. Moscow, Progress-Traditsiya Publ., 2004, pp. 62–90. (In Russian)
Campbell J. Tysiachelikii geroi [The Hero with a Thousand Faces], transl. from English. St. Petersburg, Piter Publ., 2021. 544 p. (In Russian)
Lerner M. Razvitie tsivilizatsii v Amerike: Obraz zhizni i myslei v Soedinennykh Shtatakh segodnya: V 2 t. [The Development of Civilization in the United States: The Way of Life and Thoughts in the United States Today: In 2 vols.], transl. from English. Vol. 1. Moscow, Raduga Publ., 1992. 671 p. (In Russian)
Landon B. Diegeticheskoe ili digital’noe? Sblizhenie fantasticheskoi literatury i fantasticheskogo kino v gipermedia [The Diegetic or the Digital? The Convergence of Science-Fiction Literature and Science-Fiction Film in Hypermedia], transl. N. Samutina. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 257–273. (In Russian)
Nietzsche F. Sochineniya: V 2 t. [Works: In 2 vols.], comp., intr. article, notes K.A. Svasyan, transl. from German Ya. Berman, G.A. Rachinsky, K.A. Svasyan, S.L. Frank. Vol. 1. Moscow, Mysl’ Publ., 1990. 829 p. (In Russian)
Russkii kosmizm: Antologiya filosofskoi mysli [Russian Cosmism: Anthology of Philosophical Thought], comp., intr. to the texts S.G. Semenova, A.G. Gacheva, notes A.G. Gacheva. Moscow, Pedagogika-press Publ., 1993. 368 p. (In Russian)
Samutina N. Fantasticheskoe kino i problema inogo [Science Fiction Cinema and the Problem of the Other]. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 66–80. (In Russian)
Strugatskii A., Strugatskii B. Za milliard let do kontsa sveta: Povesti [A Billion Years Until the End of the World: Stories]. Moscow, Sovetskii pisatel’ Publ., 1985. 416 p. (In Russian)
Tarkovskii A. Martirolog. Dnevniki: 1970–1986 [Martyrology. Diaries: 1970–1986]. Florence, Mezhdunarodnyi institut imeni Andreya Tarkovskogo Publ., Italy Tibergraph Publ., 2008. 622 p. (In Russian)
Todorov Ts. Vvedenie v fantasticheskuyu literaturu [Introduction to Science Fiction], transl. from French B. Narumov. Moscow, Dom intellektual’noi knigi Publ., Russkoe fenomenologicheskoe obshchestvo Publ., 1997. 144 p. (In Russian)
Turovskaya M. Net, v soglasii s zamyslom fil’ma [No, in Accordance with the Film’s Concept]. Literaturnaya gazeta, 1973, no. 10, March 7, p. 8. (In Russian)
Fedorov N.F. Sochineniya [Works]. Moscow, Mysl’ Publ., 1982. 711 p. (Filosofskoe nasledie [Philosophical Heritage]). (In Russian)
Fi’lm Andreya Tarkovskogo “Solyiaris”: Materialy i dokumenty [Andrei Tarkovsky’s Film Solaris: Materials and Documents], comp., intr. article D.A. Salynsky. Moscow, Astreya Publ., 2012. 416 p. (In Russian)
Freidenberg O.M. Mif i literatura drevnosti [Myth and Literature of Antiquity]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1978. 605 p. (In Russian)
Fridman K. “2001: Kosmicheskaya odisseya” Kubrika. Forma i ideologiya v fantasticheskom kino ["2001: A Space Odyssey" by Kubrick. Form and Ideology in Science Fiction Cinema], transl. M. Neklyudova. Fantasticheskoe kino. Ehpizod pervyi: Sbornik statei [Science Fiction Cinema. Episode One: Collection of Articles], comp., sc. ed. N. Samutina. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2006, pp. 345–366. (In Russian)
Khanyutin Yu. NTR, chelovek, kinematograf [Scientific and Technological Revolution, Man, Cinema]. Iskusstvo kino, 1975, no. 4, pp. 85–101. (In Russian)
Khrenov N.A. Pozdnesovetskii kinematograf: stanovlenie obraza-vremeni kak priznaka transformiruyushcheisya poehtiki [Late Soviet Cinema: The Formation of the Image-Time as a Sign of Transforming Poetics]. Smena vekh: Otechestvennoe kino serediny 1980-kh — 1990-kh [Changing Milestones: Russian Cinema of the mid-1980s — 1990s], ed. E.V. Salnikova, comp. D.A. Zhurkova, N.A. Khrenov, V.D. Evallyo. Moscow, Kanon+ ROOI “Reabilitatsiya” Publ., 2022, pp. 11–48. (In Russian)
Khrenov N.A. Iskusstvo rubezha XX–XXI vekov v kontekste povtoriayushchikhsya ehpokh: novaya chuvstvitel’nost’ v khudozhestvennoi sfere kak vyzov. Chast’ 1 [The Art at the Turn of the 20th — 21st Centuries in the Context of Recurring Epochs: New Sensibility in the Artistic Sphere as a Challenge. Part 1]. Pan-Art, 2024, vol. 4, issue 3. https://doi.org/10.30853/pa20240036. Available at: https://pan-art-journal.ru/article/pa20240036/fulltext (accessed 10.07.2025). (In Russian)
Jung C. Odin sovremennyi mif: O veshchakh, nablyudaemykh v nebe [One Modern Myth: On Things Seen in the Sky], transl. from German R.F. Dodeltsev, afterword K.M. Dolgov. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1993. 192 p. (In Russian)
Michelson A. Bodies in Space: Film as “Carnal Knowledge”. Artforum, 1969, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 54–63.
Received 03.10.2025
Revised 19.12.2025
Accepted 24.12.2025
