Journey to Emancipation. On the Ambivalent Meaning of the Motif of the Road Using the Example of the Theme of Race in American Cinema
Patrycja Włodek
patrycja.wlodek@gmail.comPedagogical University of Krakow (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4019-3727
Abstract
The theme of travel belongs to both the most universal in cultural texts en bloc, and those readily updated in American culture. There it is eagerly combined with categories of progress and emancipation, not only social but also individual. That is why characters in some way excluded or underprivileged often set off on the American road. The obviousness of the juxtaposition of journey and emancipation, however, is problematic in mainstream cinema dealing with the topic of racial relations from the 1950s, through the 1980s to the present day. In those three moments, Hollywood film-makers reached for these themes with greater intensity, placing them within distinctive film phenomena (e.g. civil rights cinema), as well as in travel topos.
Keywords:
American cinema, road movies, race, civil rights, racial relationsReferences
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Authors
Patrycja Włodekpatrycja.wlodek@gmail.com
Pedagogical University of Krakow Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4019-3727
Doktor habilitowana nauk o sztuce, absolwentka socjologii i filmoznawstwa na Uniwersytecie Jagiellońskim, adiunkt na Uniwersytecie Pedagogicznym im. KEN w Krakowie. Autorka książek Kres niewinności. Obraz i upamiętnienie ery Eisenhowera w amerykańskich filmach i serialach – pomiędzy reprezentacją, nostalgią a krytycznym retro (2018) i „Świat był przemoczoną pustką”. Czarny kryminał Raymonda Chandlera w literaturze i filmie (2015) oraz licznych tekstów o tematyce filmowej i serialowej publikowanych w tomach zbiorowych i czasopismach naukowych. Współredaktorka tomów zbiorowych: Od de Laclosa do Collarda. Adaptacje literatury francuskiej (2016, wraz z A. Helman), Autorzy kina europejskiego VII (2018, wraz z K. Żyto) i Pomiędzy retro a retromanią (2018, wraz M. Major). W kręgu jej zainteresowań znajdują się zagadnienia z zakresu historii kina, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem kinematografii amerykańskiej i neoseriali.
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