Transformations in Polish art after 1989: Social problems in Polish dramatic works since 1989 Cover Image

Transformacje w sztuce polskiej po 1989: Problemy społeczne w polskich utworach dramatycznych po 1989 roku
Transformations in Polish art after 1989: Social problems in Polish dramatic works since 1989

Author(s): Emilia Zimnica-Kuzioła, Michał Jakubik
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts
Published by: Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Gdańsku
Keywords: Polish drama after 1989; anomie and trauma; social issues; strategies for adaptation

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to social problems in Polish dramatic works after 1989. Many of today's dramas on the condition of the Polish population develop a discourse of trauma and provide a subjective commentary on the issues concerning Poles living in transition.The emerging new system has brought political freedom, the abolition of censorship (artistic freedom), but it has also generated other problems inherent in the laws of the market. Each transformation brings changes of an “ambivalent balance”. This could not be otherwise in the case of political, economic and cultural transformation in Poland. Sociologists write about the value duality, disorganization, cultural disorientation and even about collective trauma or shock caused by social change. At the same time, they pay attention to the positive effects of the collapse of the communist system. The authors of dramas seem not to notice the good sides and accentuate only the negative results of changes.On the basis of the stage plays (in their literary version) collected in several anthologies that appeared between 2003 and 2013 and published in the Dialog (Dialogue), the author captures the manifestations of anomie observed by the artists – playwrights as they try to adapt to new conditions, use the strategies described by Robert Merton – they are conformists, escape into ritualism, rebel and apply innovations.The artists showing social problems in dramatic works do not intend to reject a system in limine, their criticism shows reflectivity, in other words, the ability to perceive the adverse effects and formulate a positive programme that aims to inhibit or eliminate hazards and increasing social pathologies. Diagnosing the diseases in society (poverty, social exclusion, violence, dystrophy of family and social ties, consumerism, unsettled communist past etc.), the authors of dramas suggest ways of curing them: overcoming inertia, involvement in grass-roots activities and genuine, spontaneous initiatives - sine qu

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 13
  • Page Range: 61-66
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Polish