In Search of a Mainstream in the Contemporary Polish Cinema Cover Image

W poszukiwaniu głównego nurtu w polskim kinie współczesnym
In Search of a Mainstream in the Contemporary Polish Cinema

Author(s): Krystyna Weiher-Sitkiewicz
Subject(s): Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Uniwersytet Gdański
Keywords: contemporary Polish cinema; mainstream cinema;

Summary/Abstract: In this text, the author seeks what the main stream in contemporary domestic cinematography is. Following the definitions of mainstream by Mirosław Przylipiak from the text “The Notion of Mainstream Film in Contemporary Cinema”, the author distinguishes two ways of understanding this phenomenon in the context of Polish cinema. First of all, these productions are commercial, with a large budget, with stars in the cast, profit-oriented, aimed to appeal to a mass audience (e.g. copying global Hollywood formats and presenting it through Polish lenses); secondly, they are films propagating a dominant ideology. The designation of the Polish mainstream has specific goals: (1) to establish which direction Polish cinema is heading in, (2) to dissect it, (3) to note what makes Polish cinematography evolve and what it is that attracts more and more viewers. In the summary, the author shows that what is most important in Polish cinema is the dominant ideology that allows us to understand the phenomenon of its main stream. As a model example of the Polish mainstream, the film Gods by Lukas Palkowski is quoted.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 19 (26)
  • Page Range: 56-68
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish