Leading cultural theorist Vladimir Paperny, author of the book "Culture Two," and Maya Turovskaya, renowned film critic and co-author of the documentary film "Ordinary Fascism," created a joint project in 2008 dedicated to the comparative analysis of Soviet and American cinema of the 1930s-1940s.

After Turovskaya's death in 2019, Paperny continued the research, expanding its chronological scope to include the Thaw era. The comparison of the two cinematic traditions revealed astonishing parallels in plots, cultural mythologies, and even frame composition.

By comparing "The Wizard of Oz" with "Cinderella" or "Encounter at the Elbe" with "Berlin Express," the authors arrive at significant observations about how the similarity of social processes in both countries sometimes produced opposite ideological messages embedded in the compared films.

The book combines a serious cultural analysis of films from the USA and the USSR within the context of a dramatic era with recollections of the fascinating collaboration between Vladimir Paperny and Maya Turovskaya.