mass culture

Such a speech genre as wishing, which functions both in real communication and in the Internet environment, has considerable flexibility in terms of content, despite the rather stereotypical forms of expression. The content of wishes is traditionally influenced by the personality factor of the addressee, their gender, age, social and professional affiliation, hobbies. In addition, the wish genre actively responds to changes taking place in the social sphere. Themes, vocabulary and intertextuality of wishes reflect various processes that occur in the modern culture.

The article discusses the dramatic works of the French writer Jean Cocteau, namely the pieces of the so-called ‘Boulevard theatre’ period, written from 1927 to 1941. The analysis of the author’s metatext allows to reveal the ideological explanation of Cocteau turning to new genre models. The intertextual analysis also clarifies the place of the ‘Boulevard’ plays in the evolution of Cocteau as a playwright.

This is a review of a collected volume of articles prepared by Professor M. Stroganov for his 70th Anniversary. The book intertwines two main academic interests of the author, mixed up in a special, unique to the researcher, methodological paradigm. These are the attention to the literary or folklore text as well as the focus on the diversity of Russian culture in its broadest spectrum: song and singing, music and painting, and the various facets of the theatrical arts.