Women in Polish Cinema

Polish film has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation but its best known protagonists tend to be male. This book points to the important role of women as key characters in Polish films, such as the enduring female figure in Polish culture, the "Polish Mother," female characters in socialist realistic cinema, women depicted in the films of the Polish School, Solidarity heroines, and women in the films from the postcommunist period. Not less important for the success of Polish cinema are Polish women filmmakers, four of whom are presented in this volume: Wanda Jakubowska, Agnieszka Holland, Barbara Sass and Dorota K¿dzierzawska, whose work is examined.

List of contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Ewa Mazierska and Elzbieta Ostrowska

PART I: THE POLISH MOTHER

Chapter 1. The Myth of the Polish Mother

Joanna Szwajcowska

PART II: WOMEN ACCORDING TO MEN

Chapter 2. Filmic Representations of the Myth of the Polish Mother

Elzbieta Ostrowska

Chapter 3. Polish ‘Superwoman’: a Liberation or Victimisation?

Elzbieta Ostrowska

Chapter 4. Caught between Activity and Passivity: Women in the Polish School

Elzbieta Ostrowska

Chapter 5. Agnieszka and Other Solidarity Heroines of Polish Cinema

Ewa Mazierska

Chapter 6. Witches, Bitches and Other Victims of the Crisis of Masculinity: Women in Polish Postcommunist Cinema

Ewa Mazierska

Chapter 7. Between Fear and Attraction: Images of ‘Other’ Women

Elzbieta Ostrowska

PART III: WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA

Chapter 8. Wanda Jakubowska: the Communist Fighter

Ewa Mazierska

Chapter 9. Barbara Sass: the Author of Women’s Films

Ewa Mazierska

Chapter 10. Agnieszka Holland: a Sceptic

Elzbieta Ostrowska

Chapter 11. Dorota Kêdzierzawska: Ambivalent Feminist

Ewa Mazierska

Filmography

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Contemporary Cinema, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include numerous articles in Polish and English and several books, such as Dreams and Diaries: The Cinema of Nanni Moretti (Wallflower Press, London, 2004) and From Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema (IB Tauris, 2003, London) (both co-authored with Laura Rascaroli). She also co-edited Relocating Britishness (MUP, 2004).

Summary

Polish film has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation but its best known protagonists tend to be male. This book points to the important role of women as key characters in Polish films, such as the enduring female figure in Polish culture, the "Polish Mother," female characters in socialist realistic cinema, women depicted in the films of the Polish School, Solidarity heroines, and women in the films from the postcommunist period. Not less important for the success of Polish cinema are Polish women filmmakers, four of whom are presented in this volume: Wanda Jakubowska, Agnieszka Holland, Barbara Sass and Dorota Kędzierzawska, whose work is examined.

Additional text

"... an important contribution to film studies not only in Poland, but in Eastern and Central Europe in general. The authors demonstrate that women are both revered and despised in Polish culture, a phenomenon Mazierska and Ostrowska attribute to the persistence of overt patriarchy in both social relations and culture. This system of thought, they aver, has 'shaped and policed the lives of Polish women' for generations."�����Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

"...well researched and elegantly written. It should be of great interest to scholars interested in both Polish cinema criticism and feminist studies."����� Slavic Review

"This important book utilizes temporary feminist discourse on women's cinema with debates specific for the Polish cinematic, cultural, and socio-political context...Carefully researched and lucidly written, the book offers a new perspective on Polish cinema and will no doubt be the primary source for any scholar interested in gender issues in the Polish context."����� Marek Haltof in Canadian Slavonic Papers

"Combining freshness of focus with close, penetrating analysis, Women in Polish Cinema is a contribution to East European film studies at once innovative and exemplary."����Kinema

Product details

• Authors: Ewa Mazierska, Elzbieta Ostrowska
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2006
• EAN: 9781571819482
• ISBN: 978-1-57181-948-2
• No. of pages: 256
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 379 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Photography, film, video, TV; Film and Television Studies, Gender Studies and Sexuality