Subjectivity Construction through Familial Discourse Represented in Film: A Case Study of Alyosha’s Identity in Andrey Zvyagintsev’s <i>Loveless</i>

Abstract

This paper aims to study the process of identity shaping of a teenager in a family from the perspective of Subjectivity theories. The process of identity formation has been one of the main concerns for various critical approaches in human sciences in general, and the psychoanalytical and Marxist approaches in particular. The case study of the present research is the character of Alyosha from Andrey Zvyagintsev's film, Loveless (2017). Since there is no particular theory for the contentual analysis of Film, critics in the analysis of the films' content, take advantage of various literary, sociological and psychoanalysis theories. Therefore, the Conceptual Framework of the present study concentrates on the critical approaches of Structural psychoanalysis and Structural Marxism; particularly definitions of the Unconscious, Repressed Desire, the Name of the Father by Lacan, the Ideology, ISAs, RSAs by Althusser, and the Žižekian concept of Lack of Language. This investigation in the process of identity formation can play a significant role in demonstrating the covert motives of the character's suicidal act. It will illustrate the way Alyosha as a subject inherits his parents' repressed desires and lack of language caused by ideology. The application of considering concepts indicates the central role and inevitable impact of the familial discourse at the emergence of subjectivity within the family.