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Homo Viator in Contemporary European Comedy Movies explores the largely unexamined theme of travel and vacation in contemporary European film comedies produced mainly after 1989. Despite their box office success, scholarly work on this topic is scarce. Authors Artur Skweres and Adam Domalewski aim to fill this gap by examining how Europeans' comedic journeys prepare viewers for encounters with the unknown, bridging the familiar with the unusual or strange. The book is divided into two parts: the first focuses on the traveler (homo viator) and their quest for ideals, self-improvement, and humorous escapades; the second on the comedic effects of changing residences and the challenges of new environments. By analyzing a wide range of films, the book demonstrates how travel serves as a source of humor, reflection, and cultural dialogue, highlighting the comical appeal of Europeans in transit.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction.- Homo Viator as a comic character in the tradition of contemporary European cinema.- Part I: The hero s journey.- Making the journey towards one s ideals.- The journey of an idealized hero.- The journey of a flawed hero.- Part II: The hero s destination.- Homo viator on the run.- The destination and its discontents.- Journeying towards the land of opportunity.- Conclusion.
Über den Autor / die Autorin
Artur Skweres (D.Litt.) is Associate Professor at the Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland. He has participated in numerous international conferences and has received Prize of the Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University in 2011 and 2020. His interests include English and American literature, media ecology, film adaptations, and drawing. His recent publications include the monographs The relationship between oneiric and pragmatic play in Mark Twain’s works (Poznan: Adam Mickiewicz University Press, 2019) and McLuhan’s Galaxies: Science Fiction Film Aesthetics in Light of Marshall McLuhan’s Thought (2019) published by Springer as a part of Second Language Learning and Teaching. Issues in Literature and Culture series edited by Miroslaw Pawlak.
Adam Domalewski is a graduate of Film Studies (2014) and Theater Studies (2012), Doctor of Arts (2018), and Assistant Professor at the Institute of Film, Media and Audiovisual Arts at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland. He is also a critic of contemporary theater. His research interests include film and religion studies, as well as contemporary European cinema, with a particular focus on the depiction of migration and diasporic issues. He has published papers in numerous academic journals, including “Ekphrasis”, “Kwartalnik Filmowy”, “Images”, and “Panoptikum”. In the realm of comedy and film, he is the author of the paper "Towards a Multicultural Community: The Accommodation of Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the 'Migrant Comedy' Genre."
Zusammenfassung
Homo Viator in Contemporary European Comedy Movies explores the largely unexamined theme of travel and vacation in contemporary European film comedies produced mainly after 1989. Despite their box office success, scholarly work on this topic is scarce. Authors Artur Skweres and Adam Domalewski aim to fill this gap by examining how Europeans' comedic journeys prepare viewers for encounters with the unknown, bridging the familiar with the unusual or strange. The book is divided into two parts: the first focuses on the traveler (homo viator) and their quest for ideals, self-improvement, and humorous escapades; the second on the comedic effects of changing residences and the challenges of new environments. By analyzing a wide range of films, the book demonstrates how travel serves as a source of humor, reflection, and cultural dialogue, highlighting the comical appeal of Europeans in transit.
