The Perpetuation of the Myth of the Polish Mother In
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THE PERPETUATION OF THE MYTH OF THE POLISH MOTHER IN POLISH NATIONALIST DISCOURSE THROUGH SELECTED FILMS FROM THE COMMUNIST ERA A thesis submitted to the faculty of a , San Francisco State University . In partial fulfillment of n the requirements for ^ \ the Degree *0 * Master of Arts In Cinema by Katarzyna Izabela Rogawska San Francisco, California May 2017 Copyright by Katarzyna Izabela Rogawska 2017 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read The Perpetuation o f the Myth o f the Polish Mother in Polish Nationalist Discourse Through Selected Films From the Communist Era by Katarzyna Izabela Rogawska, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Cinema at San Francisco State University. Aaron Kemer, Ph.D. Professor of Cinema R. L. Rutsky, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Cinema THE PERPETUATION OF THE MYTH OF THE POLISH MOTHER IN POLISH NATIONALIST DISCOURSE THROUGH SELECTED FILMS FROM THE COMMUNIST ERA Katarzyna Izabela Rogawska San Francisco, California 2017 The aim of this thesis is to examine the myth of the Polish Mother within Polish national discourse and its manifestations in the realm of cinema. In the first part of my paper I will trace the origins of the myth, its evolution, and its cultural and political significance. I will analyze the implications of the myth for shaping the image of Polish femininity through decades that followed its birth within Polish national and socio-cultural discourses. The second part of the paper will be a case study of selected Polish films that I see as cinematic representations of the myth or ones that seem to be a polemic against it, showing the particular ways in which the notions of gender and nationality are closely intertwined within the construct. I certify that the abstract is a correct representation of the content of this Date ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis advisor Professor Aaron Kemer of the Cinema Department for guiding me in writing this thesis. I would also like to thank Professor R. L. Rutsky, the second reader of this thesis for his support throught my studies at San Francisco State University. I would also like to acknowledge Professor Steven Kovacs for inspiring me to explore Polish cinematography in my thesis. Finally, I must express my profound gratitude to my parents Jadwiga and Czeslaw Miskiewicz who instilled in me the importance of education. Last but not least, I want to thank my spouse Marcin Rogawski for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement through the process of resarching and writing this thesis. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I: History of the Myth........................................................................... 1 Introduction.................................................................................. 1 Poland as Woman.........................................................................2 The Birth of the Myth................................................................. 4 The Communist Era.....................................................................9 From a National Myth to a Stereotype...................................... 11 Part II: Cinematic Incarnations of the Polish Mother and Their Political Significance................................................................................................13 Introduction............................................................................... 13 Sexmission - Case Study...........................................................16 Sexmission and Solidarity - The Heroic Tale Continues......... 24 Summary...................................................................................30 Bibliography.............................................................................................. 32 VI 1 PART ONE: THE MYTH OF THE POLISH MOTHER - HISTORICAL CONTEXT. Nationalism has typically sprung from masculinized memory, masculinized humiliation and masculinized hope.' - Cynthia Enloe Everywhere there’s nationalism, there are people trying to control the bodies o f women.2 - bell hooks The aim of this paper is to examine the myth of the Polish Mother within Polish national discourse and its manifestations in the realm of visual culture/cinema. In the first part of my paper I will trace the origins of the myth, its evolution, and its cultural and political significance. I will analyze the implications of the myth for shaping the image of Polish femininity through decades that followed its birth within Polish national and socio cultural discourses. The second part of the paper will be a case study of selected Polish films that I see as cinematic representations of the myth or ones that seem to be a polemic against it. I will start with an overview of the films which employ and perpetuate the myth, to focus my analysis on a movie that never directly mentions the myth, but which I argue remains in a dialogue with it and draws its strength from critiquing attitudes that go against it. It is not my aim to examine the images of the maternal within Polish cinematic tradition in general, but more specifically, the particular ways in which the notions of gender and nationality are closely intertwined within the construct. 1 Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases: Making Feminist Sense o f International Politics (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990), 45. 2 bell hooks, Lecture delivered to SFSU students (speech, San Francisco, CA, February 20, 2017). 2 Poland as Woman It’s not a carnival, but I want to dance, and I’ll dance with her till dawn It’s not a party, but I’m having fun. Sleepless nights, dreary days She’s not my lover, but I sleep with her, even though they laugh at me. Don’t ask me why I’m with her. Don’t ask me why not with another. Don’t ask me why I always want to fall asleep and wake up in her. Those dirty railway stations where I see her. Those crowds who curse quietly, This drunkard who is humming in his sleep that as long as we live, she will live.*3 Rebublika, ’’Don’t ask about Poland” To begin with, the Polish translation of the word fatherland: ojczyzna, is a feminine noun, and so is Polska—the endonym for Poland. Therefore, linguistically, the nation is automatically gendered female. This affects and is reflected in the ways in which the country is portrayed visually. In many countries symbols of freedom, revolution and national struggle are often depicted as women.4 We see this for instance with the French Revolution: Liberty Leading the People, in the famous painting by Delacroix, is a bare-chested woman leading fighters over the barricades, holding a tricolor flag in one hand and a musket in the other. At the gates of the United States the Statue of Liberty is a female figure in robes holding a torch and welcoming newcomers to American shores. Poland was no different in this respect, often anthropomorphized as woman in her visual representations.5 3 The song was written in 1980s, at the height of Poland’s struggle against the/Soviet regime. What may initially seem to be a tribute to a degraded female lover, is a tribute to Poland. The last line of the quote is a direct reference to Poland’s national anthem, which is clear to any Pole listening to the song: ’’Poland has not yet perished/So long as we still live.” 4 Maria Janion, Kobiety i duch innosci - http://www.akademiapolskiegofilmu.pl/pl/historia-polskiego- fllmu/artykuly/obraz-matki-polki-w-kinie-polskim-mit-czv-stereotyp/498 Accessed November 17th, 2016. 5 Elzbieta Ostrowska, Obraz Matki Polki w kiniepolskim, mit czy stereotyp? Kwartalnik Filmowy, 19997, No. 17, 130. 3 What sets the allegory of Poland as woman apart, however, is the way that Polish women are portrayed. Rather than representing a woman leading crowds to fight, Polish 19th century paintings usually represent Poland/the Polish woman as a widow, prisoner— regardless always a suffering one. In this sense it is more in line with the representations of Mother Ireland6 sheltering her hungry children or Mother India7—a virtuous traditional Indian mother symbolizing the conquered and lamenting country. As I am going to show later on, these early representations, influenced by the Polish national struggle and Catholicism, had a profound impact on shaping the idea of Polish femininity. Even though Polonia remains the visual symbol of the Polish national struggle, the scope of her involvement is strictly regulated in the nationalist discourse, narrated mostly by men. As Magdalena M. Zaborowska and Justyna M. Pas observe, certain terms and ideas remain reserved exclusively for men: ’’While the patria-related notions of heroism, honor, freedom, and equality have been traditionally represented as masculine, Polonia, as she has been called, signified the matria, or the nation’s feminine qualities as homeland and hearth.”8 Even though real Polish women’s involvement in the 19th century national cause was often an active one, the most celebrated literary works by male writers from the period celebrate the female imagery associated with the Polish Mother. 6 Harpers Weekly 1850 cover pictures Mother Ireland on the shores of Ireland sheltering her starving children and begging for rescue. 7 Such images are visible in Abanindranath Tagore’s portrait “Mother India”/ “Bharat Mata”, or in Mehboob Khan’s epic drama “Mother India” from 1957. 8 Magdalena M. Zaborowska, Justyna M. Pas, Poland. Talking “Woman" in the Other Europe: The Case o f Poland since 1989 http://www.umich.edu/~glblfem/ZaborowskaPas-TalkingWoman.pdf