The Concept of MONEY in the Feature Film Elena by A. Zvyagintsev: Verbal and Visual Representations

Abstract

The article deals with the representation of the concept of money in the feature film Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Money is first of all a plot-forming element because this is the reason behind the conflict between the main characters, which is shown in the film. At the visual level, the concept is represented explicitly by constant demonstration of money, and implicitly, with the help of objects reflecting the level of people’s welfare. There is a striking contrast between the ‘world of the rich’, whose main representative is Vladimir, and the ‘world of the poor’ where Elena’s son’s family live. The protagonist unites these two worlds. We also found out several attributes of this concept at the verbal level, in the discourse of the characters. Some of these attributes are connected with the functioning of money, its use in the daily life, and legal financial aspects. Vladimir’s discourse contains verbal markers reflecting his idea of money as a symbol of work, responsibility for one’s own life and their family’s welfare, a symbol of maturity and independence. The analysis of the discourse of Elena and her relatives revealed completely different realizations of the concept, demonstrating that in their worldview money represents help and support which people are obliged to give to the ones who are in difficult situations. Less frequent concept attributes are meaning of life and freedom.