DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2021.3.34966

Abstract: The subject of this research is cosplay as a modern large-scale practice of copying and public demonstration of the costume, image and behavior of famous heroes of popular culture: movies, animated movies, comic strips, and video games within the framework of thematic festivals, processions, and clubs. This article provides scientific grounds for comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of cosplay as a modern cultural form and practice through determining its cultural and historical prototypes, as well as artistic and social development. The empirical material contains the interviews with the Russian cosplayers, observations, publications in field-specific mass media, and digital broadcasting of cosplay events. The novelty of this work consists in revealing the cultural-historical prototypes of cosplay – totemic primitive festivities, medieval carnival, first forms of theater, as well as in outlining the artistic and social trends of cosplay, among which are the development of the language of modern visual culture and improvement of popular culture through creative materialization of the characters of screen culture. The author describes the socio-psychological mechanisms, which underlie the practice of cosplay and are close to the genetic foundations of the existence of theater: imitation and identification. The article carries out the typology of cosplay genres; determines the universal features and the specifics of the national forms of cosplay.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2018.3.26608

Abstract: This article underlines that the personality development is affected by the sociocultural and natural factors. The object of this research is the human corporeality that combines his biological body and sociocultural traits, which define worldview and personal behavior. Corporeality manifests as a factor of the formation of perceptions on the paramount characteristics and functions of a human as gender representative, which establish in social memory and gender mentality. Particular attention is given to corporeality of a human from the perspective of its gender aspect. Methodological foundation contains the works of the representatives of so-called corporeal approach that promote the unity of corporeality and human consciousness. The scientific novelty lies in examination of female corporeality as a source of feminine mentality and manifestation of the subjective wholeness of a woman. Corporeality acts as a natural foundation of the establishment of women’s perception of themselves and surrounding reality. Female corporeality is defined by multiple stereotypes, which form an image of a woman primarily from the standpoint of a patriarchal system of values. In the conditions of modern society, takes place a gradual decline in the patriarchal stereotypes, and thus the formation of a more objective women’s self-perception.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2017.2.16549

Abstract: Among the preserved in the schools of martial arts heritage of Japanese warrior culture, the author highlights a particular system of medical knowledge that was applied for medical treatment or development of the more efficient method for elimination of enemies. Leaning on the Chinese medicine and knowledge of the medical plants, Japanese people complemented it with the unique practical knowledge acquired in the military field circumstances and during training in the area of martial arts. The results of this work contribute into the knowledge on the structure, development, and heritage of the warrior cultures and schools of Japanese martial arts, as well as the history of medicine overall. The schools of martial arts are presents as a complex cultural phenomenon that manifests as a multifunctional institution for upbringing of a feudal warrior.

DOI: 10.7256/2409-8744.2017.1.20653

Abstract: The subject of this research is the process of implementation of cosmetic practices of body transformation in the context of modern culture. The author examines such phenomenon as the ways of ordinary or specialized visual bodily transformation associated with the scenic or scenic-sculptural arrangement of person’s appearance avoiding the violation of the biological structures of a body. Special attention is given to the development of phenomenological characteristic of bodily “procedures” that support its sociocultural status, as well as establishment of correlation between the realizations of human cultural existence at present stage. The main goal of the article consists not in just pointing out at the problem itself, but also attempt establishing the thoughts and such thoughts and limits, in which takes places the scenic and scenic-sculptural transformation of natural modality of the body by means of terminological, typological, and functional fixation. The scientific novelty consists mainly in actualization of discourse of the cosmetic practices of transformation within the framework of scientific formulation of the problems of natural and artificial body at present stage of cultural development. The article demonstrates that all of them from the perspective of its structure are realized in both, ordinary and specialized areas, as well as capture such cultural complexes as science, lifestyle, fashion, education, and art.

DOI: 10.7256/2306-1618.2014.1.10961

Abstract: The article is devoted to the main models of representations of the physical in ethics and philosophy. In particular, the author of the article analyzes the three approaches to the phenomenon of corporeity which she conditionally calls paradigms. These approaches are: 1) the paradigm of being (existential or holistic approach to the physical); 2) the paradigm of possession (instrumental or functional understanding of the physical) 3) the paradigm of 'construction' (body as a projet or a technological artifact). Each of the model has a certain content and presents a particular understanding of Self in the world as well as the image of one's body reflected in the physical. By using the historical and philosophical approach and the method of ethical analysis, the author shows how the dialectics of being, possession and construction develop in the real life of a modern human. The author concludes that at the epoch of the intensive technological development of the body techniques  as the result of external soio-cultural transformation of the biotic substrate is constantly transforming into body techniques as the result of the symbiosis of life and technology. Instrumentalization of human body by the means of technical devices and biotechnologies shift the process of construction of the subjective into construction of the physical. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-8744.2014.5.14612

Abstract: The author examines the phenomenon of beauty through the prism of the history of fashion and costume. This is due to the concept of fashionable clothes as a way of disclosure of human dignity and the presentation of his body from the perspective of ideas of beauty at a given time in a given area. As a whole category of "beauty", in relation to a person, often used to describe and categorize women, as representations of a beautiful woman, their dynamics of change at different moments in history. The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the problem, building on difficult by cultural studies, art history, theory of fashion and costume. The main conclusion of the work is a statement of the phenomenon of the beauty of the body in terms of its dynamism. Throughout all the ages, there were several female characters who succeeded each other: the image of the girl - teenager (thin, sometimes even painfully thin, with angular figure); the second image based on a sports figure, and the third image of a beautiful woman - bursting with "healthy body" (like on paintings of B. Kustodiev or P. Rubens). The phenomenon of "feminine beauty" is inherently socio-cultural, its interpretation varied depending on the status of women in society, from existing in a certain era of gender relations. Feminine beauty in its many interpretations paired with age, is associated with youth, it is attributed to the fragility.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2020.4.33547

Abstract: This article is dedicated to specificity of using mannequins in the museum exhibitions. Emphasis is made on the nuances of selection and preparation of a museum mannequin from the perspective of anthropology, and primarily such aspects as anthropological correspondence and symbolic component that allow turning the mannequin from a technical element into a constituent part of exhibition, which would translate the elements of intangible cultural heritage. The goal this research consists in the analysis of potential risks associated with neglecting the specificity of mannequin as a constituent part of museum exhibition. Field materials acquired from modern exhibitions in Russian and foreign museums served as the source material for this work. The main research methods became he case study and comparative analysis. It is concluded that the choice of mannequins for exhibitions should be conducted with consideration of actual anthropometry of the historical and cultural groups; if the mannequin is not impersonalized, its phenotype should be close to its ethnic group. If the listed above is impossible, the best option lies in deanthropologization of the mannequin; otherwise, they devalue the artistic level of exhibition and worth of the originals. Static mannequins with evident anthropomorphic features are perceived rather negatively, especially in a direct visual contact. Mannequins are capable of retranslating multiple body techniques as the elements of intangible cultural heritage, and this aspect should not be neglected. Mannequins can also be used in exhibition scenography.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2021.3.33028

Abstract: The subject of this research is determination of the peculiarities of running as a type of activity in the sociocultural situation of the Renaissance and the Modern Age of the Old and New World. The relevance of studying the socially important aspects of running in everyday life and festive, carnival culture of the XV – XIX centuries is substantiated by the fact that namely this period marks the onset of mental requests and revival of physical practices, which in 1896 would become the heart of the First Olympic Games, the beginning and culmination of which were the athletic competitions. The ancient ideal of kalokagathia at this time is instilled with the ideas of self-sufficiency and self-projectivity of a person, whose creative aspirations equally captivate the spirit and the body. Running develops physical and mental qualities that broaden human capabilities, being that instrument for existential growth through overcoming the boundaries of physical and spiritual “normality”, conditioned by the stereotypes and norms of everyday life. The author views running from the perspective of culturological concepts of “everyday life”, “festivity”, “carnival”, as well as the binary opposition sacred/profane. The fields of application of the acquired results include social philosophy, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of sports. The novelty of this research consists in the interpretation of endurance running as an existential measurement of everyday life, the method of communication between different types of communities and population groups, and formation of the prototype of a “cultural body” of that time. Running is examined as a type of activity that is characteristic mostly to the lower, marginal social classes. Participation in the city festival in the format of a “carnival” running was a way to integrate into society, a manifestation of collective solidarity. Their buffoonery running distracted the audience from the everyday routine, becoming its counterpoint. The author also determines the contribution of the upper social classes to the development of running practices d: economic (funding of professional runners and material reward for the non-professional winners of the city festivals); practical (amateur running or other athletic practices as a component of a gentleman's everyday life); ideological (Renaissance humanists assumed that physical activity is a non-religious way to overcome time through maintaining physical well-being).