This book examines the interface between Polish popular music and screen media against the background of Polish history, cinema, and popular culture and situates that interface in a local as well as global context. It looks at Polish musicals, biographical films about musicians, documentary films and, finally, music videos. The author draws attention to the immense popularity of musical comedies in Polish interwar cinema, the enduring appeal of musical genres during the period of state socialism, despite their low status in film criticism, and the re-birth of musicals in the 2010s. Mazierska also discusses the most important stars, directors and authors of songs presented in Polish films, and points to the effect of technological changes on inception and transformation of music-centred genres of screen media, including the effect of YouTube on their growth and preservation. The book is informed by the question of how parochial and universal is Polish popular music and its screen representation.

Examines the history of Polish popular music on screen from the 1930s to the present day Covers all major genres showing popular music: musicals, biographical films, documentaries and music videos Engages with the history of popular music and cinema at large, arguing for granting Polish screen media a more prominent place in this history

Autorentext

Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Film Studies, at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She has published over thirty monographs and edited collections on film and popular music. They include Poland Daily: Economy, Work, Consumption and Social Class in Polish Cinema (2017) and Popular Music in Eastern Europe: Breaking the Cold War Paradigm (Palgrave, 2016). Mazierska's work has been translated into over twenty languages. She is principal editor of the Routledge journal Studies in Eastern European Cinema.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Part 1: Musicals.- Chapter 1 - Interwar musicals.- Chapter 2 - Musicals of state socialist period.- Chapter 3 - Postcommunist musicals.- Part 2: Music Documentaries.- Chapter 4 - Documenting the history of Polish popular music.- Chapter 5 - Documenting life and work of popular music stars.- Part 3: Biopics.- Chapter 6 - Cinematic biopics.- Chapter 7 - Television series about popular music stars.- Part 4: Music Videos.- Chapter 8 - 'Music videos before music videos'.- Chapter 9 - Music videos of the 1980s.- Chapter 10 - Music videos in postcommunist Poland.