Solidarność. Katalog użyć i nadużyć
Solidarity: A Catalogue of Uses and Abuses

Summary/Abstract: Krzysztof Kornacki and Arkadiusz Bilecki’s book Solidarność na ekranie. Wizerunki fabularne [Solidarity on Screen: Portrayals in Fiction Film] (2024), is, as the title suggests, a survey of films somehow related to the Solidarity movement, and created in Poland and abroad from 1980 (beginning with Andrzej Wajda’s Man of Iron) to the present day – over 140 works in total. The authors present them chronologically, identifying recurring themes, characters, conventions, and problematic issues (such as the legacy of Solidarity, the 1989 transformation, or lustration). The analysis also produces a list of “missing” themes – perspectives or approaches absent from the filmmaking in the context of the Solidarity movement and its members. The publication is impressive in the scope of material analysed, but it also reveals the limitations of the chosen format (the lack of a more comprehensive historical context or a clear interpretive framework). Despite some objections and doubts, the book is an inspiring starting point for reflection on Polish cinema and debates about Poland’s recent history.

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