DIRECTING IN THE CONTEXT OF METAMODERNISM : FROM ARTISTIC WORK TO CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

This article explores directing as a process of constructing cultural reality in the 21 st century and examines the
transformation of the director’s role within the metamodern cultural paradigm. The study aims to investigate and
theoretically substantiate the concept of «expanded directing», understood as the progressive expansion of directing
functions – from organizing an artistic work to shaping cultural models and modes of perception.
The paper introduces a five-level model of directing (work, story, artistic world, cultural reality, civilization),
which structures different levels of directing practice and reveals the evolution of directing as a mode of thinking. The
methodology combines cultural, philosophical, and comparative approaches applied to the analysis of directing
concepts and selected theatrical and cinematic practices.
The scientific novelty lies in conceptualizing directing as a multi-level system of cultural construction and in
introducing the notion of the «director of civilization» to describe the contemporary stage of directing development. The
findings demonstrate that directing in the 21 st century functions not only as artistic production but as a tool for shaping
cultural meanings, models of reality, and ways of perception.