Człowiek i Społeczeństwo, 34/2012
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Item Eurotrash jako praktyka,lektura i kultura filmowa. Przypadek Jesúsa Franco(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Kamińska, MagdalenaThe article discusses Jesús Franco’s directing work as a film auteur’s work. His oeuvre, which contains about 200 pieces, is often classified under the depreciating name of ‘paracinema’ or ‘eurotrash’. The author depicts Franco’s activity in the field of popular cinema (which is not to be mistaken for commercial cinema) as an incessant struggle with censorship. His style of filmmaking can be considered as symptomatic of a certain special moment in film history: the decade between the Hollywood studio system’s collapse and the video boom. This article shows how the so-called exploitation movies, which was Franco’s main area of activity, fructified with a new model of film reading and culture as well as new modes of production and cinematic practice.Item Thematischer gehalt und dramatisches geschehen im platonisczen dialog. Sokrates und die "umwendung der ganzen seele" oder zur audiovisualität der platonischen dialoge(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Königshausen, Johann-HeinrichDuring Plato’s lifetime it was a very common thing to read loud circulating writings or let them be read by others. It is said that Plato initially wanted to write tragedies. And he undoubtedly created dramas, which are performed in the mind of the reader, listener and viewer. Therefore, the addressee of a Platonic dialogue is, in principle, not only a listener, but also a spectator. We can hear what is being said by an actor (a character) and we can see his acting; and if the stage is too far away, then distant, no longer visible events are “told” to the viewers. Thus, as for the philosophical reading of the Greek classics, one should not only read the written texts, but also watch what is being shown by the characters’ play (arguments).Item Ziemski i mistyczny obraz wędrówki w islamie(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Wachulak, SylwiaMigration is an intrinsic characteristic of the Islamic world. It can be seen from two perspectives: earthly (literal) and mystical (spiritual). The origin of the archetype of an immigrant can be traced back to the times of the ancient Bedouins who traversed the desert in search of an oasis. However, physical distance does not play such an important role as spiritual matters, especially for people who go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Following in the footsteps of the ancestors (Abraham, Muhammad), the faithful strengthen ties with their community. A similar thing is true of a mystic who has achieved the highest level of initiation. As an experienced master, he is able to share his experience with others. Unceasingness, perseverance, humility and love are important characteristics of migration which is seen both from the earthly and the mystical perspective.Item Locke and Muller on Language, Thought and Religion(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Sztajer, SławomirThis article is a contribution to research on the influence of John Locke’s philosophy on Friedrich Max Müller’s science of language, thought and religion. In the present study, influence is understood not merely as a more or less original continuation of Locke’s philosophy, but also as an opposition to his achievements and criticism of his thought. While in the former case Locke’s achievements form the basis for philosophical considerations, in the latter they constitute a negative point of reference which determines, to a considerable degree, debates on philosophical issues. The author of this article argues that many hypotheses elaborated by Müller, especially in the fields of the science of language and the science of religion, are based on Locke’s philosophical achievements. Among the theories developed by Müller are the conception of mythology as a “disease” of language, the theory of metaphor as a linguistic phenomenon that allows language users to represent those domains of discourse which transcend sense experience, and a study concerning the relation between language and thought.Item Autorytet serialu dokumentalnego. Na przykładzie trzeciej części meczu. Rzecz o reprezentacji(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Piepiórka, MichałThis article attempts to show that documentary series project a sense of authority which makes television viewers believe in their objectivity. It also argues that documentary series have become a source of knowledge about the world for the viewers. I analyze a documentary series entitled “Trzecia cz#$% meczu. Rzecz o reprezentacji” by Adam Bortnowski. In the article I examine three sources with respect to this series: online journalistic articles, the audiovisual text of TV series and respondents’ opinions. In order to analyze online journalistic articles I used a theory of discourse which allowed me to distinguish between two discursive strategies appearing in such articles, that is, the strategy of objectivity and the strategy of exploration. As for audiovisual texts, their authors use rhetorical tricks aimed at convincing the audience that documentary series show some previously unknown information about reality. Miros!aw Przylipiak and Stella Bruzzi highlight a few features of documentary series which differentiate them from factual films and which bring them closer to a docusoap. This type of TV series emphasizes entertainment and belittles the realm of knowledge. Therefore, we should not treat such TV series as objective documentaries. I attempt to prove that Bortnowski’s TV series meets the conditions for a docusoap. At the end of my article I analyze the opinions of TV series’ viewers about the features of a documentary series. In their opinion objectivity is one of the major features of this type of television text.Item Antropologia i filmoznawstwo: dialogu ciąg dalszy?(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Morozow, IwonaThis article discusses several perspectives on a possible, further relation between anthropology and film in Poland while taking into account some proposals from Polish, British and American researchers. As anthropology deals with the present culture and society as well as with all aspects of society’s life to an increasing extent, a part of it will also need to engage with film and film culture, which, as a powerful medium, could no longer be ignored. But in order to deal with film, anthropology needs to gain a deeper insight into film studies to be able to adopt a holistic approach and create space for interesting analysis. Thus, the authoress pays attention to both past and new, promising perspectives, which could strengthen and diversify the alliance between these two disciplines (anthropology and film studies) in an interdisciplinary (or multidisciplinary) discourse on film in Poland.Item Pograniczność sztuki i filmoznawstwo interdyscyplinarne. Przykład poezji "filmowej"(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Koschany, RafałThe starting point of this reflection is to emphasize that the first theories of film were interdisciplinary, which was determined by the nature of film as a synthetic art. However, as the time goes by, we can observe a reverse tendency: now other fields of art are becoming film-like. Therefore, it is necessary to theoretically analyze this borderline between different fields of art and, consequently, the interdisciplinarity of film studies. In this article I analyze Polish poetry which owes much to film on many levels. This poetry can be classified based on two main criteria: the subject (the presence of cinema itself, directors, actors, and particular films in this poetry) and the substance. Apart from historical and theoretical literary problems, the main aim of studying film poetry is culture as such, namely: the presence of the media in everyday life, film consciousness, the ways of perceiving reality and, finally, the shape of imagination which I call film imagination.Item Pamięć o rodzeństwie Scholl w filmach Michaela Verhoevena i Percy'ego Adlona - konteksty i interpretacje(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Klejsa, KonradThis paper analyses two German feature films dedicated to the life of Sophie Scholl: The White Rose (Die Wei#e Rose, dir. Michael Verhoeven) and Five Last Days (Fünf letzte Tage, dir. Percy Adlon). They both premiered in 1982 and caused a nationwide debate on the legacy of German anti-Nazi movement. Drawing on German memory culture, which underwent vital changes in the post-1968 period, the author focuses on the dramaturgy of both movies and various differences in treating the material which is “based on facts”. It is argued that Verhoeven’s film obliterates the religious background of the White Rose, while Five Last Days fails to discuss the group’s political agenda. In the conclusion the impact of both movies on the German public is presented (a special attention is given to the prosecutions against war-time criminals who convicted and sentenced the White Rose’s members).Item Kino i pamięć(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Kijko, MaciejIn this article I would like to show the involvement of cinema – as an element of mass culture – in discussions concerning key historical (but not only) experiences or, in other words, in the process of constructing and reconstructing social memory and collective identity. I interpret two movies which were recognized as important: Falling down by Olivier Hirschbigel and Rose by Wojciech Smarzowski in reference to the reasons behind their controversiality. I am interested in the way in which they participate in the process of constructing and reconstructing collective memory and identity as well as in the way in which discussions about them reveal the mechanisms of organizing reality, exclusion and distribution of guilt. Both movies tell stories connected with European and Polish historical experience but it is possible to consider these movies in relation to the concepts of nation, guilt and responsibility, which are used to handle reality and to integrate the community. Cinema turns out to be an important medium and an active participant in the process of constructing social reality.Item Niebieska jak niebo, biała jak wapno, czerwona jak krew. Cała prawda o Rewolucji Francuskiej... na podstawie filmu Danton w reżyserii Andrzeja Wajdy(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Kandulski, StanisławThis article was written on the basis of Robert Darnton’s article entitled Film: Danton and Double Entendre which is a review of Wajda’s film Danton. The author of the text below tries to show the main problems regarding this film’s interpretation both in Poland and France, including the cultural and historical differences varying the scope of the mentioned.Item Brunona Schulza gnostyczna mityzacja metafizyki(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Jocz, ArturThe main aim of this article is to make an attempt at interpreting a meaning of reality which is reconstructed in the works of Bruno Schulz and which constitutes one of the many meanings of reality. This meaning reveals itself thanks to Schultz’s understanding of body, corporeality and materiality, which are categories that have appeared in European metaphysics for centuries. It seems that traces of Gnostic mythology can be found in this new metaphysics of corporeality.Item Religia i świeckość jako obszary badawcze w pismach Niccolo Machiavellego(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Iwanicki, JuliuszThis article presents the relationship between religion and secularism in Machiavelli’s social philosophy. Machiavelli used the same method to study both state and religion. For him, in fact, there is no difference between the world of state and the world of religion. Machiavelli’s works mainly include tips on how a ruler should rule a country. According to the metaphor he used, a prince must be a lion and a fox at the same time. A ruler should also be able to use religion as an instrument of state policy. Religion teaches us that moral goodness is an element of people’s moral life. Machiavelli, however, felt that the old pagan religions, especially the Roman religion, were better than the Christian religion. In his opinion ancient religions cultivated the virtue of courage. A lord and prince, however, should be above moral standards that are drawn from religion. These and other Machiavelli’s arguments make his thought very secular.Item Jerzy Kmita (1931-2012) - logik, metodolog, filozof nauki i kultury, twórca szkoły naukowej(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Grad, JanItem Pejzaż elekTRONiczny - o znaczeniu multimedialnych paratekstów na przykładzie filmu "TRON: Dziedzictwo"(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Żaglewski, TomaszIn this article the author tries to deal with the common hypothesis about the growing role of multimedia paratexts in the modern film industry. By analyzing Disney’s highly paratextualized production TRON: Legacy this article attempts to reveal the very complex multimedia universe that surrounds the initial text (a movie) and immerses viewers in the fictional world. The main object of research is a specially designed website which is dedicated to the TRON: Legacy feature and represents all possible ways of extending cinematic entertainment to social practices, thus creating completely new ways of “using” a film production. Nonetheless, the question arises: are we dealing (in such a multiplatform entertainment system) with a new kind of cyberculture which incorporates our physical world into the imaginative dimension of popular culture? By referring to Derrick de Kerckhove’s well-known statement about the evolution of the electronic layer that covers our culture as we know it, the author intends to show TRON: Legacy not only as an entertaining space for paratextual play, but also as a paratext of the non-elecTRONic space of our existence.Item The Rationality of Affirmation and Negation in Modern French Philosophy(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Drozdowicz, ZbigniewThis article refers to the rationality of affirmations and negations appearing in the philosophies of Descartes and Voltaire who can be treated as followers of previous traditions that separated these two modes of articulating rationality, including the traditions of antiquity. These modes became somewhat of a rule first for Socrates, and later for his disciple, Plato. However, Descartes and Voltaire slightly modified those traditions in order to adjust the rationalities they wrote about to the needs and expectations of their contemporaries. Voltaire negated, among other things, the rationality of Descartes’ philosophy, but there were also a significant number of critics before him who expressed similar opinions, such as Leibniz or Kant.Item Na Wschodzie, czyli nigdzie. Spojrzenie na kino Europy Środko-Wschodniej w perspektywie postkolonialnej(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Bartczak, MagdalenaThis article explores the theme of applying postcolonial theory to the culture of Central and Eastern Europe, basically – to the contemporary cinema. Eastern European postcolonial consciousness at the end of the 20th century is marked by overcoming cultural provinciality and marginality and, as such, is infected with imaginary revenge and the emotion of resentment to a significant degree. Eastern European cinema is a field where postcolonial imagination is articulated and where various forms of cultural identification are tested. The interpretations offered here focus on selected works of Hungarian auteurs: Zoltan Huszarik and Béla Tarr, as well as of several directors of the new Romanian cinema and filmmakers from Balkans: Theo Angelopoulos, Emir Kusturica and Danis Tanovi". Their stories are strongly connected with the Eastern European experience of being dominated by the Soviet empire and marginalized by the Western countries. They reflect such distinctive elements of cultural mentality as the experience of melancholy, foreclosure and alienation. Their cinema portrays space which is marked by historical traumas of communism and which is suspended between Eastern and Western Europe as well as between a difficult past and an unsteady future. Each of these countries has to confront different problems and the films, on the one hand, emphasize these cultural differences, while on the other hand, they build a somewhat consistent picture of a typical mentality and experiences. These analyses lead to the conclusion that cinema not only illustrates some sociocultural condition, but it can also be a form of working through some historical and political experiences in a proper film language.Item Wprowadzenie(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Adamczak, MarcinItem Podmiotowość, rewolucja demokratyczna,wykorzenienie. Pojęcie hegemonii Antonio Gramsciego w kontekście nowoczesnych przemian władzy(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Wróblewski, MichałThe aim of this text is to situate the Gramscian theory of hegemony in the context of a philosophical reflection on power. The modern transformation of power is based on three processes: the emergence of a model of power which is focused on subjectivity; a democratic revolution (acquiring of a political identity by a growing number of social groups) and the delegation of power. The main argument of this article is that hegemony is a practice of gaining and maintaining power, which is characteristic of modernity, its practices and institutions. It entails exerting moral, cultural and intellectual authority, by an alliance of dominant groups, over other social groups. The aim of hegemony is to subjugate these groups, not only through coercion, but also through eliciting their consent.Item Rashomon: Kinematografia okresu PRL(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2012) Adamczak, MarcinThis text deals with the reality of film production in Polish cinematography during the socialist period. The author presents arguments against the common perception of socialist (“evil communists”) and brave anti-socialist, oppositionist film-makers (“our heroes”) as contradictory. The actual field of cinematography was much more nuanced and fluid. What is more, nowadays it is perceived from several different, general perspectives, like in Kurosawa’s classic drama. Therefore, the real state of affairs in Polish cinematography during the previous decades still needs careful scholarly examination and solid archival research.Item Varieties of Idealization and Strategies of Modification of Social Theory. The Case of the Totalitarian Syndrome(Wydawnicwo Naukowe UAM, 2012) Brzechczyn, KrzysztofThe aim of this paper is to consider the influence of the methodological status of the concept of the totalitarian syndrome on the strategy of its development. It is argued that the totalitarian syndrome as put forward by Carl J. Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski represented a kind of social modelling. However, there are different approaches to modelling in the social sciences. Modelling, when perceived from a neo-Hegelian perspectives, leads to the elaboration of dependencies between social phenomenon and their main factors. Modelling, when seen from a neo-Weberian perspective, relies on the construction of notions which systematize and order social phenomena. This hypothesis is illustrated by a methodological analysis of the extension of the totalitarian syndrome authored by Achim Siegel and Mark Thompson.