Incantation of Death In Krytyka, No. 4 (6), 1998, pp. 4–7.

The material is a review of the first part of the book Screen Arts in the Socio-Cultural Processes of the 20th Century: Genesis, Structure, Function (1997), written by art historian and cultural scholar Vadym Skurativskyi.

The text is divided into four thematic sections. The first focuses on Skurativskyi’s reflections on the relationship between cinema and various dimensions of human psychology — dreams, imagination, and mythological thinking. Special attention is given to his concept of inner language, the “language of cinema,” as well as the role of sound and visual perception in shaping the cinematic image as an expression of the artist’s inner world. The second section is devoted to Skurativskyi’s considerations of the role of death and the magical in cinema, as well as the prerequisites for the emergence of aesthetic and high-quality filmmaking. The third section presents the scholar’s thoughts on the national and cultural characteristics of different countries’ cinemas. The authors highlight his belief in the deep and inseparable connection between national cultural legacy and the art of film. The fourth and final section addresses the issue of the dissemination of cinema and its accessibility to mass audiences.