The Problem of Artistry in Scientific Cinema of the 1930s (based on the Film “Physiology and Pathology of Higher Nervous Activity”)

The article examines the scientific film “Physiology and Pathology of Higher Nervous Activity” about the theory of Academician I. P. Pavlov. Based on archival documents first introduced into scientific discourse, the process of the film's creation is reconstructed, revealing fundamental contradictions in the attitudes of its participants. In the 1930s, which was a transitional period for Soviet scientific cinema, what both the Committee for Cinematography and the scientific advisers expected from a scientific film was, first and foremost, a stark presentation of documentary material addressing a narrow professional audience. The filmmakers, on the other hand, drawing on their experience in feature films, sought to influence the viewer through artistic means, and appealed to the widest possible audience. The article demonstrates that this clashing of values led to the creation of a hybrid product typical for the scientific cinema of the 1930s.