Overview
- Provides a profoundly transnational approach, drawing on case studies from more than 15 countries
- Adds a longitudinal and diachronic perspective to the subject of migration in European cinema
- Offers an in-depth discussion of the nexus between migration and European identity/identities through the prism of modernisation and Europeanisation
Part of the book series: Palgrave European Film and Media Studies (PEFMS)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This study explores the representation of international migration on screen and how it has gained prominence and salience in European filmmaking over the past 100 years. Using Polish migration as a key example due to its long-standing cultural resonance across the continent, this book moves beyond a director-oriented approach and beyond the dominant focus on postcolonial migrant cinemas. It succeeds in being both transnational and longitudinal by including a diverse corpus of more than 150 films from some twenty different countries, of which Roman Polański’s The Tenant, Jean-Luc Godard’s Passion and Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Trois couleurs: Blanc are the best-known examples. Engaging with contemporary debates on modernisation and Europeanisation, the author proposes the notion of “close Otherness” to delineate the liminal position of fictional characters with a Polish background. Polish Migrants in European Film 1918-2017 takes the reader through a widerange of genres, from interwar musicals to Cold War defection films; from communist-era exile right up to the contemporary moment. It is suitable for scholars interested in European or Slavic studies, as well as anyone who is interested in topics such as identity construction, ethnic representation, East-West cultural exchanges and transnationalism.
Reviews
“The first thing to recommend the book is the timespan it covers. … He is able to cover such a long period without losing focus … . The book’s greatest virtue, however, lies in the author’s inherently dialectical approach: time and again, he reminds us that the image constructed of the Other reveals more about the host society than about the newcomers.” (Masha Shpolberg, ZSPH Zeitschrift für Slavische Philologie, Vol. 78 (1), 2022)
“This study … is written for students of film, but it provides an interesting counterpoint to studies based on Polish emigration itself. How Poles have been viewed by residents of the host countries over the last century of emigration for political, social, and economic reasons provides insight into Polish migration and its role in the national identity.” (Gerard T. Kapolka, The Polish Review, Vol. 66 (1), 2021)
“The book could also be read as a tacit call for more variegated portrayals of expats (expat intellectuals, forexample) that do more than merely confirming what Western European viewers might already know of Eastern Europe.” (Ewa Stańczyk, Studies in European Cinema, November 17, 2020)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Kris Van Heuckelom is Professor of Polish Studies and Cultural Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. He specialises in late modern Polish culture, with a particular focus on comparative and transnational perspectives, and has published several books, edited volumes and anthologies in these domains.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Polish Migrants in European Film 1918–2017
Authors: Kris Van Heuckelom
Series Title: Palgrave European Film and Media Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04218-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-04217-2Published: 06 May 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-04218-9Published: 23 April 2019
Series ISSN: 2634-615X
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6168
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 283
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations, 14 illustrations in colour
Topics: European Cinema and TV, Migration