Conquest through Deception in the Film 'Chasing Two Hares'

• In Event: The Kyiv Text: Evolution, Persistence, Subversion

Abstract

This paper analyzes the use of the deception narrative in the 1961 Ukrainian comedy film "Chasing Two Hares," set in Kyiv, as a tool of Imperial subjugation. The film follows Ukrainian-speaking Kyivites who are being deceived by a quasi-villain named Svyryd Petrovych Holokhvosty with malicious intent. The Russian dubbing of the Ukrainian film obscures its satirical nature, presenting it as a "harmless folkloric comedy." However, the original Ukrainian soundtrack of the film complicates the deception narrative, adding a new power dynamics between the characters.

Author

• Murad Jalilov, U of Kansas