Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question

The article reconstructs poetics and politics of Polish westerns, focussing on the two most re-nowned examples of the genre: The Law and the Fist (1964) or The Wolves' Echoes (1968). They are set in the western or eastern   borderlands of post-war Poland (1945–1948) and depict the struggles of...

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Main Author: Jerzy Franczak
Format: Article
Language:Polish
Published: Adam Mickiewicz University 2015-12-01
Series:Przestrzenie Teorii
Subjects:
Online Access:http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pt/article/view/4873
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author Jerzy Franczak
author_facet Jerzy Franczak
author_sort Jerzy Franczak
collection DOAJ
description The article reconstructs poetics and politics of Polish westerns, focussing on the two most re-nowned examples of the genre: The Law and the Fist (1964) or The Wolves' Echoes (1968). They are set in the western or eastern   borderlands of post-war Poland (1945–1948) and depict the struggles of righteous militiamen against plunderers and looters. The analysis is based on classical theories formulated by A. Bazin, J. Kitses and W. Wright and aims to highlight hidden contradic-tions between the rules of film genre, the requirements of veracity, and propagandist manipula-tion. These movies reinforce the official politics of memory of the Polish People’s Republic. The Law and the Fist contribute to the discourse on the ‘Recovered Territories’ and renew the Piast concept of returning these territories to the traditional Polish homeland. In turn, The Wolves' Echoes shapes the collective memory of the Bieszczady Mountains and justifies ethnic homogene-ity of this borderland.
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spelling doaj-art-bb18bbd0f9514f6b846e5f065e05e2842025-08-20T02:28:04ZpolAdam Mickiewicz UniversityPrzestrzenie Teorii1644-67632450-57652015-12-0124739610.14746/pt.2015.24.44827Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish questionJerzy FranczakThe article reconstructs poetics and politics of Polish westerns, focussing on the two most re-nowned examples of the genre: The Law and the Fist (1964) or The Wolves' Echoes (1968). They are set in the western or eastern   borderlands of post-war Poland (1945–1948) and depict the struggles of righteous militiamen against plunderers and looters. The analysis is based on classical theories formulated by A. Bazin, J. Kitses and W. Wright and aims to highlight hidden contradic-tions between the rules of film genre, the requirements of veracity, and propagandist manipula-tion. These movies reinforce the official politics of memory of the Polish People’s Republic. The Law and the Fist contribute to the discourse on the ‘Recovered Territories’ and renew the Piast concept of returning these territories to the traditional Polish homeland. In turn, The Wolves' Echoes shapes the collective memory of the Bieszczady Mountains and justifies ethnic homogene-ity of this borderland.http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pt/article/view/4873westernstudia pograniczapolityka pamięci, Ziemie Odzyskane
spellingShingle Jerzy Franczak
Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
Przestrzenie Teorii
western
studia pogranicza
polityka pamięci, Ziemie Odzyskane
title Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
title_full Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
title_fullStr Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
title_full_unstemmed Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
title_short Wild West, Wild East. Western and the Polish question
title_sort wild west wild east western and the polish question
topic western
studia pogranicza
polityka pamięci, Ziemie Odzyskane
url http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pt/article/view/4873
work_keys_str_mv AT jerzyfranczak wildwestwildeastwesternandthepolishquestion