Cinema Under Political Pressure

Abstract

CINEMA UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURE: A BRIEF OUTLINE OF AUTHORIAL ROLES IN POLISH POST-WAR FEATURE FILM 1945-1995 Before the spread of television in the middle of the Fifties, film -- the Tenth Muse -- was the light in the eyes of politicians who recognised its communication, entertainment and artistic values, and before all, its ability to create a feeling of reality in viewers minds. Not accidentally the leaders of the world powers and countries conducting colonial politics called it "the most important of all arts" (Lenin), "a great means of mass propaganda" (Stalin), "the strongest weapon" (Mussolini) and "the chronicler and commentator of contemporary events" (Hitler). The cinema, as in a distorting mirror, has always reflected ideologists' utopian visions of the world. Film's ideological stance continued to be cultivated after World War II; in several countries (including Poland) it efficiently limited the natural process of film art development. In 1945...