Актуалізація класичного тексту в жанрі римейку: телесеріал «Спіймати Кайдаша» (2020)

Abstract

According to U. Eco, the notions of reproduction and repetition, in the sense of the dominant specific form of postmodern and postpostmodern discourse, manifest themselves in a number of genre types, where the genre-creating dominant is the reliance on a well-known classical sample. Hence, the article suggests a theoretical discourse regarding the concept remake. It outlines the boundaries of cinematic reception of the texts by the Ukrainian classic I. Nechuy-Levytsky: «Mykola Dgeria» (1927), «Vasylyna» (1928, based on the story «Burlachka»), «Chasing Two Hares» (based on the comedy «On Kozhumiaky», 1961), «Kyiv Beggars» (1992), «Kaidash’s Family» (1993), «To Catch the Kaidash» (2020). The article surveys the genre specificity of the TV series «To Catch the Kaidash» (2020) by screenwriter and producer Natalia Vorozhbyt and director Oleksandr Timenko, it also identifies the markers of its success. The film text preserves the plot matrix of the novel «Kaidash’s Family» (1878) by I. Nechuy-Levytsky as much as possible. At the same time, the classical plot is definitely modernized and acquires new social accents: here the familiar «traditional images» and «eternal questions» are creatively rethought. The primary source is updated not only at the level of chronotope, personosphere, plotting and historical context but also at the level of style paradigms of the new era. Significant modifications of the epic plot also occur at the genre level. The film-makers have introduced additional plot fragments with the participation of new characters, in this way significantly increasing the volume (the original text of one hundred and fifty pages turned into a twelve-part mini-epic). This expanded the problems of the prototext, while due to the acting, the psychological disclosure of the inner world of the characters became more expressive. The social-everyday satirical-humorous story-chronicle (transforming in relation to the specific dimensions of another art form) turned into a successful «tragicomic» cinema novel. The article claims that the existing resource of «Kaidash’s family» has shown a tendency to be updated in time and space by parodying stereotypes, to some extent – due to the demythologization and desacralization of the usual cultural codes. The remake «To Catch the Kaidash» confirmed the potential resource of the original text, the possibility of its successful re-interpretation.