Case Study of the Czech Republic

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Case Study of the Czech Republic FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE National Film Culture and Global Flows: Case Study of the Czech Republic Bachelor Thesis KAMILA JABLONICKÁ Supervisor: Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. Department of Media Studies and Journalism Programme: Media Studies and Journalism Brno 2020 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Bibliographic record Author: Kamila Jablonická Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University Department of Media Studies and Journalism Title of Thesis: National Film Culture and Global Flows: Case Study of the Czech Republic Degree Programme: Media Studies and Journalism Field of Study: Media Studies and Journalism Supervisor: Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. Year: 2020 Number of Pages: 83 Number of Words: 17 079 Keywords: National film culture; Global flows; Cultural Imperialism; Americanization; McDonaldization; Global Hollywood; Czech cinema; Kolja; Film analysis 2 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Bibliografický záznam Autor: Kamila Jablonická Fakulta sociálních studií Masarykova univerzita Katedra mediálních studií a žurnalistiky Název práce: Národní filmové kultury a globální toky: případová studie České republiky Studijní program: Mediální studia a žurnalistika Studijní obor: Mediální studia a žurnalistika Vedoucí práce: Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. Rok: 2020 Počet stran: 83 Počet slov: 17 079 Klíčová slova: Národní filmová kultura; Globální toky; Kulturní imperialismus; Amerikanizace; McDonaldizace; Globální Hollywood; Česká kinematografie; Kolja; Filmová analýza 3 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Abstract This bachelor thesis is focused on the issue of how global cultural and media flows have influenced the Czech film industry throughout his- tory, with a particular emphasis on the period after the Velvet Revolu- tion. It examines developments in this context in light of several theo- retical frameworks, considering how indigenous cultural attributes re- lated to film culture in the Czech context have been impacted by the in- creasing influence of neoliberal market dynamics (socio-cultural, eco- nomic, etc.) therein. It concludes with a case study of one of the most successful Czech films of all-time – Kolja – considering the film as both – response to and result of – the dramatic forces the country and its film culture have experienced since 1989. 4 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Abstrakt Tato bakalářská práce je zaměřena na to, jak globální kulturní a mediální toky ovlivňovaly a ovlivňují český filmový průmysl napříč dějinami. Zvláštní důraz je dán na období po sametové revoluci. Práce zkoumá vývoj v této souvislosti s ohledem na několik teoretických rámců a po- suzuje, jak byly kulturní atributy související s českou filmovou kulturou ovlivněny rostoucím vlivem neoliberální dynamiky trhu (sociokulturní, ekonomické a jiné). Práci uzavírá případová studie jednoho z nejúspěšnějších českých filmů všech dob – filmu Kolja – který se dá pov- ažovat za odezvu i důsledek působení vlivů, které země a její filmová kul- tura zažívají od roku 1989. 5 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Affidavit I hereby declare I wrote the thesis independently, using only the sources cited and the help of my supervisor. In Brno, 24th May 2020 ....................................... Kamila Jablonická 7 NATIONAL FILM CULTURE AND GLOBAL FLOWS: CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Acknowledgement Many thanks to my supervisor Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. for his great help with this thesis. I also want to thank my family, especially my mum, who has always supported me. Special thanks to Ing. Luboš Říčař for proofreading. Šablona DP 3.0.7-FSS (2020-04-14) © 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 Masarykova univerzita 9 CONTENT Content 1 Introduction 13 2 Theoretical part 15 2.1 Cultural Imperialism ................................................................................ 15 2.2 Modernization paradigm ........................................................................ 19 2.3 Americanization ......................................................................................... 20 2.4 McDonaldization ........................................................................................ 29 3 Global flows in cinema 32 3.1 National cinema .......................................................................................... 32 3.2 Transnational cinema .............................................................................. 33 3.3 Hollywood Aesthetics .............................................................................. 35 3.4 Global Hollywood ...................................................................................... 36 4 Post-communist Film Industry Transitions 39 4.1 Czech Film Before and Under Communism ..................................... 39 4.2 Czech Film After the Velvet Revolution till Nowadays ................ 44 5 Case study 56 5.1 Kolja ................................................................................................................ 56 6 Discussion 63 7 Conclusion 66 Name Index 68 References 70 Bibliography............................................................................................................. 70 Online sources ......................................................................................................... 77 11 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction Scholars, politicians, and filmmakers rarely agree on perspectives. In the case of the importance of film, they do. Thus, we can see film either as an instrument of politics and economy, as a medium providing the transfer of culture, as an artistic testimony about a certain national culture, or simply as a form of entertainment – in any case, it has an unquestionable role in modern society. During the last century, film, like other cultural products, became a tool of (super)power politics. Especially during the long era of the Cold War, which stimulated debates about the enforcement of power via me- dia and later , the economic consequences of expanding conglomeration and commercialization in culture, moving the focus of questioning from that of state hands to the invisible hand of the market. The free market brought new aesthetics and new meanings into filmmaking. The international audience has changed: in the words of In- ternational Communication theorist Daya Thussu, the producer’s per- ception of spectators shifted from that of citizens to consumers (Thussu, 19). Such a metamorphosis challenges both aesthetic standards and the meaning of film for the public. As such, the topic of how the dynamics of global film flows have impacted Czech cinema in the years after the Vel- vet Revolution is a pressing one. In light of post-Cold War changes, these powerful flows emanated especially from the United States of America and Western European countries. What makes an investigation of this phenomena pressing is this: The liberalization of the market after the Velvet Revolution happened in connection with the appeal for everything Western in Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic. This included film, as well as television broadcasting. The role of VHS and later DVD and most recently streaming online plat- forms have played a significant role in the dissemination of Hollywood- produced motion pictures. Also, the advent of foreign filmmakers into the Czech Republic caused an interest within the local film industry for a new style of shooting, production and marketing. But it is also the aes- thetics that changed, as well as the way of storytelling. 13 INTRODUCTION The theoretical part of this thesis aims to explain theoretical con- cepts that relate to globalization and cultural imperialism and its subcat- egory known as Americanization. At the same time, I tried to link those theories to the Czech environment. I also tried to capture the evolution of American culture and its impact in the period from 1918 to 1989 in Czechoslovakia. Another chapter deals with global flows in cinema with an emphasis on Global Hollywood. Finally, the case study describes and analyzes the foreign elements that appear in Czech films. The Czech Republic, a rather small central European country, yet possessing a specific cinematography history, has nonetheless had an impact (i.e. Czech New Wave in 1960s) as a global influence. When speaking about Czech films nowadays, there is a big dif- ference (as well as a very thin line) between ‘artistic’ and ‘mainstream’ production. This work therefore focuses more on what could be consid- ered as mainstream film production. For determining the ‘mainstream’ examples to examine, I chose three indicators: official award of Czech films, popularity ranking from internet databases and cinema attend- ance. 14 THEORETICAL PART 2 Theoretical part Intercultural influence has been the subject of several theories, including cultural imperialism, modernization, Americanization, McDonaldization, and theories about global cinema. Comprehensively, they lead us to a better framework for analyzing contemporary processes related to global flows in culture. 2.1 Cultural Imperialism Cultural imperialism as a theory was developed in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Writers used the concept to explain how the cul- ture of less developed countries was influenced by flows of cultural texts, forms and technologies from more developed countries – universally called ‘the West’. However, the term is problematic, especially due to the nonexistent homogeneity
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