Russian bears on the move, or how national images are transferred

This chapter studies how animal images are socially constructed as representations of national or cultural identity, and how they function when they are transferred to other linguistic and cultural areas. While symbol and image attribution are essentially variable and changeable, they potentially carry a high degree of national and cultural image projection. The case study under investigation is that of the bear, which has been used as a symbol for several countries, regions and other collectivities. Whereas features such as wildness and strength often reappear, a bear can also be associated with softer characteristics such as kindness and friendliness. This chapter analyzes the different adaptations of the bear in relation to Russia. On the one hand, especially in the West, a negative hetero-image was/is used, mainly in a context of armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions, and on the other, in today’s Russia, positive auto-images are used, for instance in the logo of the political party United Russia. These diverging contextualizations and interpretations illustrate the flexibility of image attribution through cultural, geographical or temporal transfer.

ISBN:9789462702639

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Toegankelijkheid:Closed