The article is focused on stereotypes as cognitive phenomena, as well as on cultural mechanisms of representation and memorization, by studying their formation, petrifaction and decomposition more broadly in culture, and more specifically in theatre and film. For an empirical example, I draw on the Estonian novel Spring by Oskar Luts, and on its adaptations in theatre and film. Theatre as an art form is constituted by two specific conditions: firstly by a performance, which is connected with the performer’s body; and secondly by the presence of the spectator. In the performative arts, artefacts lack a material carrier; the primary carrier of a production is human memory. Theatre can thus be considered an art of memory – an art of remembering, recalling, reminiscing and reiterating. Such repetitions give rise to phenomena which can be called stereotypes. Performances function as special storehouses and recreational tools of stereotype and identity, simultaneously reinforcing and challenging personal and collective memories.
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