Political Contexts of Popular Cinema in Poland in the 1980s Cover Image

Polityczne konteksty kina popularnego w Polsce w latach 80.
Political Contexts of Popular Cinema in Poland in the 1980s

Author(s): Piotr Zwierzchowski
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Polish cinema; Polish popular cinema

Summary/Abstract: In the 1980s, popular cinema in Poland was influenced by economic needs and opportunities, development and availability of technology, Western culture, genre conventions, social changes, viewers’ expectations, perception of popular culture, the emergence of unofficial film distribution thanks to the video technique. The political dimension was also significant. It appeared mainly in program documents, transcripts of the commissioning committees, censorship activities, sometimes in film diegeses and film criticism. Political connotations were looked for in all films as well as in topics and problems they undertook, however viewers often perceived them in a completely different way, sometimes even subversively. In his article, taking into account archival documents, films and press reception, Zwierzchowski draws attention to various relations between politics and popular cinema, stressing that the way of reading political contexts of popular cinema depended largely not on the film itself, but on recipients who in accordance with their competences, experiences and beliefs constructed its meanings.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 103
  • Page Range: 154-163
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Polish