Utopian visions of solidarity in Polish cinema

Abstract

The “Solidarity” movement, especially in the first period of its activity, that is, in the years 1980-1981, instigated numerous myths. Polish cinema contributed immensely to their creation and proliferation. The most important among those myths were: the myth of solidarity between all working people, the myth of solidarity between the genders, and – perhaps the most lasting of all – the myth of the Alliance between workers and intellectuals. All these forms of solidarity really existed for a short period of time in 1980/1981, but each of them collapsed afterwards. Consequently, one can say that they bore the marks of beautiful utopias which in the long run were doomed to failure.