Socio-political Introduction to Polish Cinema 2102-ERASMUS-SIPC
Cinema is among the most significant cultural phenomena of the modern world. This holds especially true for Polish cinema, as it had a profound impact on moviemaking around the world but also provides a unique depiction of Poland's turbulent political and social history in the 20th and 21st centuries. This course sets forth to present the canonical works of inter-war Polish and Jewish filmmakers, post-war socialist-realists, the Łódź Film School, Polish New Wave, the process of using historic movies as propaganda pieces, the "cinema of moral concern", popular comedy, transformation-era movies and contemporary Polish cinema. During the course, you will discover the most important Polish filmmakers, including Oscar and Cannes Palme d'Or winners.
The Roots of Polish Cinema (1890-1918):
- Polish impact on the development of cinematography and television.
- Polish culture and society at the turn of the century.
Cinematography of Reborn Poland (1918-1939):
- Emergence of the Polish film industry.
- Between entertainment and serious politics: dominating genres.
- Cinema as a reflection on cultural and ethnic reality in inter-war Poland.
- Movie: Piętro wyżej [Level Up] (1937).
- People: Pola Negri, Eugeniusz Bodo, Adolf Dymsza.
Yiddish Cinema in Poland (up to 1939):
- Yiddish culture in inter-war Poland.
- The Jewish film industry.
- Stars and starlets of Yiddish cinema in Poland.
- Jewish moviemakers migrating from Poland to the USA.
- Movie: Dybuk [The Dybbuk] (1937).
- People: Joseph Green, Aleksander Ford, Henry Shapiro.
After the war (1945-1956):
- Rebuilding the Polish film industry.
- Memories of World War 2.
- Łódź Film School.
- Dominating motifs. Censorship starts. Socialist realism.
- Film as a tool of communist propaganda.
- Movies: Zakazane piosenki [Banned Songs] (1946), Piątka z ulicy Barskiej [Five Boys from Barska Street] (1953)
- Focus on: Leonard Buczkowski, Wanda Jakubowska.
Polish Film School (1955-1965):
- Political thaw in Poland and the emergence of Polish Film School.
- From socialist realism to inspiration drawn from Italian neorealism.
- Between historical patriotism and psychological existentialism.
- Recreation and dismantlement of national myths.
- Movies: Kanał [Kanal] (1957), Popiół i diament [Ashes and Diamonds] (1958).
- People: Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
New Wave (1960-1968):
- “The Third Wave Polish Cinema”.
- The end of the October thaw.
- Political limitations on artistic freedom.
- Focus on normal and everyday life.
- Movies: Niewinni czarodzieje [Innocent Sorcerers] (1960), Nóż w wodzie [Knife in the water] (1962).
- People: Roman Polański, Jerzy Skolimowski.
The Rise of Historic and Costume Films (1960s/1970s):
- The political decline of the Polish Film School.
- Historic and costume cinema as a tool of political propaganda.
- Focus on masterpieces of Polish literature.
- Role of grandiose staging.
- Movies: Krzyżacy [The Knights of the Cross] (1960), Manuskrypt znaleziony w Saragossie [The Manuscript Found in Saragossa] (1964).
- People: Wojciech Jerzy Has, Jerzy Hoffman.
Cinema of Moral Anxiety (1976-1981):
- Directors’ revolt of 1975.
- Moving away from historical topics in favor of psychological aspects of everyday life in People’s Republic of Poland.
- Growing interest in ordinary people and small cities and the countryside.
- Unity of time and action.
- Movies: Człowiek z marmuru [Man of Marble] (1977), Aktorzy prowincjonalni [Provincial Actors] (1978), Człowiek z żelaza [Man of Iron] (1981).
- People: Krzysztof Zanussi, Agnieszka Holland.
Polish Popular Cinema (1980s):
- The Martial Law of 1981 and the end of artistic freedom.
- Political bans on selected movies.
- Emergence of popular cinema dominated by the comedy genre.
- Movies: Miś [Mis] (1980), Seksmisja [Sexmission] (1984).
- People: Stanisław Bareja, Juliusz Machulski.
Polish Cinema in Transition (1980s/1990s):
- A new socio-political and cultural reality.
- Loosening of censorship.
- Decentralization of the film industry.
- New motifs and genres.
- Metaphysical cinema.
- Movies: Przypadek [Blind Chance] (1987), Psy [Pigs] (1992).
- People: Krzysztof Kieślowski.
Contemporary Polish Cinema 1 (Martyrdom and Patriotism):
- Cinema as a form of national psychotherapy.
- Reviving the historical topics that were forbidden by communist censorship.
- Polish cinema as a tool of historical politics.
- Main topics and their historical and political background.
- Movies: Katyń [Katyn] (2007), Czarny czwartek [Black Thursday] (2011).
- People: Ryszard Bugajski, Antoni Krauze.
Contemporary Polish Cinema 2 (Mirroring Society):
- In search of the new Polish soul.
- Grotesque and surrealism as a metaphor for Polish society.
- Redefining national virtues and flaws.
- Movies: Dzień świra [The Day of the Wacco] (2002), Wesele [The Wedding] (2004).
- People: Wojciech Smarzowski, Marek Koterski.
Contemporary Polish Cinema 3 (Re-negotiating Identities):
- New Polish cinema in a new cultural and political reality.
- Renegotiating cinema's social framework.
- New motifs and perspectives.
- The global reach of selected Polish movies.
- Movies: Ida [Ida] (2013), Miasto 44 [Warsaw’44] (2014).
- People: Paweł Pawlikowski, Jan Komasa.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students:
- explain the political, social and cultural aspects of Polish cinema
- characterize the canonical works of Polish cinema and its leading filmmakers
- consider the interraltions between the socio-political and cultural realities during different periods of the history of Poland since the late 19th century
Skills
Students:
- present the influence of socio-political and cultural factors on the leading movements and trends in Polish cinema
- analyze movies from a political, social and cultural perspective, including the
allusions and symbols that filmmakers used to voice their views
- critically analyze and assess the artistic value of selected works of Polish
cinema
Social competences
Students:
- cooperate in group research effort to critically engage with various visions and interpretations of Polish cinema
Assessment criteria
Grading scale:
The final grade of the course will result from the total number of earned points:
35 points: 5!
30-34 points: 5
29 points: 4+
24-28 points: 4
23 points: 3+
18-22 points: 3
17 points and below: 2
Total number of 0-35 points = 0-25 points for the project + 0-10 points for active participation.
Project:
Each student is expected to prepare an individual project on selected political, social and/or cultural aspect of Polish cinema. The format template and specific requirements for the project will be provided by the conductor of the course. Project will be evaluated basing on the criteria of: adequacy of data, scientific rigour, creativity of independent conclusions, timing and academic integrity. The final evaluation of each criterion of the project will be expressed as the academic grade with the number of points assessed:
5 (5 points)
4+ (4 points)
4 (3 points)
3+ (2 points)
3 (1 point)
2 (0 points)
Detailed rules for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the course: according to the current regulations, this course is level 3 (AI assisted editing), which means AI can be used to make improvements to the clarity or quality of student created work to improve the final output, but no new content can be created using AI. AI can be used, but your original work with no Al content must be provided in an appendix.
The above refers to the original AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) AI Collaboration level 3 description: AI may be used to help complete the task, including idea generation, drafting, feedback, and refinement. Students should critically evaluate and modify the AI suggested outputs, demonstrating their understanding.
You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Important note: any kind of academic dishonesty (especially intellectual property infringement) will be immediately reported to the disciplinary bodies of the University of Warsaw and will result in a final course grade of 2.
Active participation:
For the purpose of the general outcome of the course, student’s active participation is required. Participants of the course are expected to attend the classes prepared and ready for active discussions with thoughtful remarks and productive comments. Active participation of each student will be constantly monitored throughout the semester, as well as instantly evaluated and publicly announced at the end of each class. Course conductor’s judgement of student’s activity is final and will not be disputed. The final evaluation of the level of performance of each student during the classes will be expressed in the following manner: 1 point for each active participation during selected classes, with the limit of maximum 10 points to be scored throughout the semester.
Important note: Attendance throughout the semester is required and monitored. Maximum 2 absences are allowed. Every next unjustified absence results in deduction of 5 points out of the total number of earned points.
Make-up exam:
Any student who fails to meet the requirements to pass the course will receive the grade of 2 in first term and will be allowed to take the make-up written exam consisting of set of different types of questions related to the substance of the course. The second and final grade of the course will result from the total number of earned points on the make-up exam:
- 46-50 points: 5
- 41-45 points: 4+
- 36-40 points: 4
- 31-35 points: 3+
- 26-30 points: 3
- points and below: 2