Художні особливості роману Ю. Смолича «Останній Ейджевуд» як першого українського екшену

Анотація

У статті досліджено історію наукового побутування термінів «бойовик» та  «екшен», запропоновано їх уточнене визначення. Проаналізовано жанрові особливості роману Ю. Смолича, на підставі яких твір можна класифікувати як  перший український екшен (щільність подій у часі, неймовірні перепони, кліфхентери, щасливий фінал тощо). Підкреслено, що у вибудованих Ю. Смоличем перипетіях чітко проглядає архетипний сюжет, що простежується в казці про Кощія Безсмертного. Акцентовано, що, ураховуючи час створення роману (1925) і розвиток екшену як жанру кіно, Ю. Смолич не міг дотримуватися жанрового канону екшену, адже його ще не існувало, відповідно письменник самостійно виробив художні прийоми, які нині вважаються канонічними для згаданого жанру.

The scientific development of the term «action» has been investigated and its clarified definition has been suggested in the article. The genre features of Y. Smolych's novel which allow to classify this work as the first Ukrainian action have been analyzed: the protagonist performs an important mission, his doings include, first of all, fleeing, chasing, hiding, searching and stealing; there is a strict time limit that forces the characters to be extremely active. Because of accentuation of the action plan, the protagonist's character is the most schematic and devoid of personality, which in general was a trait of both western and action, which developed primarily as genres of silent cinema, when scripts were created under specific actors. It has been emphasized that the Superman features are clearly showed in  the  protagonist's character – he drives a motorcycle, an airplane, speaks European languages, knows radio technologies and secret encryption, but in the novel, there is no  mention of his physical strength, he does not enter into any fight. The fact that the novel describes exactly the moments of active action of the characters creates a sense of special time density of events, which is a traditional genre-defining trait of  the action. The events of the novel resemble modern American movies: heroes seize cars, armed with browning and masked break into the recording studio in search of a microphone, later capture ATS and close the tied security guard in the restroom, etc. In accordance with the action's aesthetics, the development of events in the novel by Y. Smolych is constantly complicated, the hero has to overcome incredible obstacles, the cliffhanger is used repeatedly. It has been pointed out that via the novel «The Last Edgewood» Y. Smolych introduces into Ukrainian literature the new topos – the subway tunnels. It has been emphasized that in the peripeteia built by Y. Smolych (it is impossible to kill the enemy simply, but it can be overcome by finding his vulnerable place) the archetypal plot is viewed clearly, which is traced in the tale about Koshchiy the Immortal. It has been stated that taking into account the time of the creation of the novel (1925) and the evolution of action as a genre of cinema, Y. Smolych could not adhere to the genre's canon, because it had not existed yet, so the writer independently developed artistic techniques that are now considered canonical for the genre mentioned.