2026 № 1 (56)
A Man from the Outside: The Innovative Hero Type in the Industrial Films of the 1970s
UDC 791.43.03
LBC 85.373(2); 85.374.3(2)
DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-426-455
For cit.: Kotik N.V. A Man from the Outside: The Innovative Hero Type in the Industrial Films of the 1970s. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2026, no. 1, pp. 426–455. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-426-455. (In Russian)
Kotik Nikita V.
PhD Student, Department of History and Philosophy,
S.A. Gerasimov All-Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK), 3 Wilhelm Pieck Str., Moscow, 129226, Russia; Researcher, The State Central Museum of Cinema, 119 bld. 36 Mira Av., Moscow, 129223, Russia
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4987-1362
A Man from the Outside: The Innovative Hero Type in the Industrial Films of the 1970s
Abstract. The article analyses the figure of the innovative hero in the Soviet industrial cinema of the 1970s. The research focuses on engineers, managers, and technical specialists who often appear in the narrative as ‘outsiders’ — characters sent to a factory or construction site to modernize production processes, optimize work organization, and inspire workers to embrace change. This narrative device, as well as the broader reinterpretation of the industrial theme, reflects both the ruling Party’s strategic emphasis on the scientific and technological revolution and the tightening of cultural policy aimed at reaffirming the principles of the socialist realist canon. Using prominent examples such as Our Home Is Here (1973), The Old Walls (1973), and Feedback (1977), the article demonstrates that the ‘outsider’ figure does not restore the socialist realist model but instead exposes its inner contradictions and new ideological fractures. Comparison with Stalin-era films reveals significant shifts: the innovative hero loses connection with the collective, personal and professional goals diverge, and film endings lack the triumphantly optimistic resolution typical of classic socialist realism. The presence of the innovator also unsettles the collective’s everyday life, highlighting a dissonance between mobilization demands and private interests. The study draws on contemporary reviews, critics’ commentaries, and archival materials from artistic councils and editorial boards, illustrating how sociocultural and ideological changes shaped the transformation of the movement in the late Soviet period.
Keywords: Soviet cinema, production drama, socialist realism, cultural policy, late Soviet culture, Brezhnev era
Sources:
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Delo fil’ma “Obratnaya svyaz’”. Avtor stsenariya A.I. Gelman. Rezhisser-postanovshchik V. Tregubovich: 1976 [The Case of the Film Feedback. The Script Was Written by A.I. Gelman. Directed by V. Tregubovich: 1976]. RGALI [Russian State Archive of Literature and Art], f. 2944, inv. 4, storage unit 3872, ll. 1–58. (In Russian)
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Received 03.07.2025
Revised 24.12.2025
Accepted 12.01.2026
