Cinema and nationalism are two fundamentally modern phenomena, but how
have films shaped our understanding of the creation -the 'imagining' -
of Central-Asian nations? Here, Rico Isaacs uses cinema as an analytical
lens to explore how the Kazakh national identity has been constructed
and contested. Drawing on an analysis of Kazakh films from the last
century, and featuring new interviews with directors and critics
involved in the Central Asian film industry, his book traces the
construction of nationalism within Kazakh cinema from the country's
inception as a Soviet Republic to a modern independent nation.Isaacs
identifies four narratives since the collapse of the Soviet Union: a
warrior-like 'ethnic' narrative rooted in the 18th Century struggles
against the Mongolian Oirat tribes; a 'civic' inspired narrative
cemented in the Stalinist deportations of the 1930s and 40s; a religious
narrative founded within the mystic and philosophical religion of
Tengrism and the cult of the Sky God; and a socio-economic narrative
which roots Kazakh nationhood and identity in contemporary social
divisions, the lived day-to-day experiences of ordinary citizens and the
struggles they face with authority.
These last two tropes demonstrate how cinema has emerged as a site of
dissent against the country's authoritarian regime under President
Nazarbayev. Film and Identity in Kazakhstan advances our understanding
of Kazakhstan and nationalism by demonstrating the multiple and
inessential character of each, and illustrates the important role of
cinema in contesting political power in the post-Soviet space.
