Media - Culture - Social Communication

How do Poles binge-watch?

Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska — 2024-07-02

Binge-watching is a relatively new form of consuming media content, which has found
a permanent place in the set of viewers’ media consumption behaviours. The aim of this
project was to identify the scale and diversity of binge-watching among Polish Internet
users. The study was conducted using the quantitative method (CAWI) on a representative
group of Polish Internet users in two cycles – in 2020 and 2021. The respondents were
asked, for example, whether they binge-watched, and if they did, what they watched
and whether the pandemic had an impact on their behaviour as viewers. The results
indicate the scale of binge-watching, the preferred types of content and the potential
impact of the pandemic on the behaviour under study. Thus, the first full, representative
picture of binge-watching among Polish Internet users was obtained.

Main plot, parallel plot or episodic? Storyline A, B or C? The question of plots in serial narratives

Artur Borowiecki — 2024-07-02

The paper is concerned with the terminology of plotlines in serial narratives. Regarding
the formal factors that have undergone considerable transformations, media scholars
mention a particular type of composition that is based on a multi-plotline arrangement
and is characterised by the dominance of continuing plotlines. The evolving storytelling
paradigm entails the need to redefine some of the descriptive terms, as well as introduce new designations. The term “plot” is explained in the context of literary studies, film studies and the industry nomenclature associated with the production of serials. The author also proposes adopting a new scholarly term, i.e. the “catalytic plotline”.

Specificity of an information and knowledge sharing system in the TOR (The Onion Router) network

Zbigniew Osiński — 2024-07-02

Aim: To develop a model of an information and knowledge sharing system, existing on the Dark Web in early 2023, in a shape that it is constructed but also perceived by its users – an information and knowledge sharing individual. Method: The study was empirical and consisted of the acquisition of quality data directly from the study object (TOR network). Qualitative data processing (qualification) was performed, which resulted in identifying resources in which users share information and knowledge, and the resources were divided into relatively homogeneous groups comprising the model of an information and knowledge-sharing system. Subsequently, the TOR-specific system features were identified. Results: Sharing information and knowledge on the TOR network takes place in the system in which the needs and motivations of the authors (mainly mercantile) and those of resource users meet with the capabilities created owing to technologies, including anonymity, bypassing censorship restrictions and payment methods that employ the use of cryptocurrencies. This system is significantly influenced by the culture of freedom, sometimes leading to anarchy and violation of laws. Significant features of this system include its variability, ephemerality and instability of a considerable part of the resources and low effectiveness of tools used to search for specific content.

The specificity of online journalism. Fake news in the messages of selected Polish politicians in 2022

Kamil Wroński — 2024-07-02

This paper focuses on the analysis of fake news identified in the communications of two prominent Polish politicians, Jarosław Kaczyński and Donald Tusk. The aim of the text is to show untrue statements, explain the reasons why they were made in the public forum, and subsequently present how online outlets such as tvp.info and tvn.24.pl responded to such communications.
The study takes advantage of critical analysis of media discourse, which demonstrates that Jarosław Kaczyński uses fake news in his statements to create a vision of an alternative reality so as to discredit political opponents and the allegedly hostile states and supra-state organisations, divert attention from current events and thus generate media hype. Donald Tusk selectively exploits problems currently faced by Poles and attempts to instil a vision of the world in the minds of the public, which the ruling party bears responsibility for. In either case, the aim of such contrived messages was to gain and maintain power. The media respond to manipulation and, therefore, contribute to increasing media hype and deeper political polarisation.

Empathetic storytelling in reportage photography by Ryszard Kapuściński: image, text, context

Aneta Wysocka — 2024-07-02

This article contains a semantic and pragmatic analysis of Ryszard Kapuściński’s
reportage photographs, published in the first editions of his books and in his original
photo albums. The findings of cognitive and cultural linguistics are the methodological
basis for the study (Mandler, Taylor, van Dijk and others), which, in significant respects, correspond to theories from other humanities and social sciences, describing the meaning of visual messages (Baudrillard, Bourdieu, Feininger, Goffman, Lundsen, Sonesson and others). The aim of the research is to describe the course and possible results of the process of interpreting photography, which, in Kapuściński’s case, is a multimodal (verbal-visual) message with storytelling potential. An analysis of Kapuściński’s photographs has shown three main factors influencing the interpretation of his verbal-visual works: 1) cultural context dependency, 2) metatextual determination, and 3) intertextual associations.
The study has also shown the close relationship between his literary reportages and photography in the illocutionary (intentional) dimension and, more broadly, in the way of understanding the most general duties of a journalist.

From Shire to Polish shelves. The literary phenomenon and cultural impact of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit

Małgorzata Harbanowicz — 2024-07-02

This article analyses the publishing reception of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in Poland
from 1960 to 2023. Focusing on quantitative aspects of editions and distinctive editions,
it presents a summary of 65 Polish editions, discussing in detail those that stand out
from the rest. The paper employs a literary and bibliographic method of analysis and
criticism. It notes the influence of The Hobbit on popular culture and that it still remains
a relevant and popular work, as evidenced by successive reissues of the novel on the
Polish market.

The Donbass landscape and its symbolism in the film Atlantis by Valentin Vasyanovich

Tomasz Adamski — 2024-07-02

This article analyses the landscape of Donbas appearing in the film Atlantis (2019),
directed by Valentin Vasyanovich. The author of the article draws attention to the topographical possibilities of reading this film in the context of the negative aesthetics of Arnold Berleant. He also highlights how the devastated landscape of Donbas and the psyche of the main character (Sergei), who is struggling with PTSD syndrome and post-
-war trauma, correspond to each other. Sergei, in order to undergo a transformation, has to change himself, but he also has to change his attitude toward the landscape, which, after the main character’s transformation, will become a sight to him and not (as before) the neighbourhood within which he carried out his activities. The post-industrial landscape will also change, which, following Anna Storm, is referred to as a post-industrial scar, which refers not only to the past but also has a healing character.

Multifaceted nature of nostalgia in video games: Trends in game studies on nostalgia for 2021

Jakub Chudy — 2024-07-02

Nostalgia is a feeling used by most, if not all, entertainment companies creating all sorts of content, from books, series, and movies to analog and video games. In the case of video games, it is reasonable to ask not “if”, but “who”, “how”, and “what exactly” is studied under the term “nostalgia”. This review-bibliometric article shows the results of a study conducted on a corpus of game study texts selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The collected data was used to determine key themes (retrogaming, socialization by games, community building, motivators of gaming, nostalgia in design), current trends (deepening research) and the most popular research methods (case studies, surveys, interviews).

Military metaphors in Polish phraseology

Dorota Połowniak-Wawrzonek — 2024-07-02

The aim of the article is to present how military metaphors are revealed in contemporary Polish phraseology. The analyses are based on the principles of syntactic phraseology. Research has shown that military terms include primarily: VERBAL DISPUTE, POLICY, ECONOMY, MENTAL PROCESSES, PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, LOVE, AND COURTING. Military metaphors are revealed in the following types of phraseology: I. Consisting of a metaphorical main element originally related to (ARMED) FIGHT and a defining element that refers to the sphere of transference; II. Containing two metaphorical components – one of ARMED FIGHT; III. Registered in military texts in the form of fixed connections with a specific metaphorical and metonymic meaning, while in non-military texts, they acquire a new, metaphorical semantics; IV. Being variants, derivatives of compounds recorded in military texts; V. Appearing in texts about (ARMED) FIGHT in the form of loose word compounds; subject to phraseologisation in non-military texts; VI. Not recorded in their entirety in military texts, although their components are related to (ARMED) FIGHT.

Presence of John Paul II in television series

Dorota Kulczycka — 2024-07-02

The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the presence of the motif of John Paul II in TV series in which the figure of the Pope appears in the form of archival footage, mocumentary, or as played by an actor. The author is particularly interested in the semantics of representations of the Pope (pictures, sculptures, etc.) in TV series such as Komisarz Aleks, Klan, Złotopolscy and in the productions which contain church or religious themes: the Italian series Don Matteo, its Polish equivalent Ojciec Mateusz, and Ranczo. She is also interested in the performative acts of the protagonist of the miniseries Eureka Street, who photographs himself with John Paul II. Additionally, the author examines animated TV series and other productions which feature caricaturized or irreverent references to the dying (Miasteczko South Park, original title: South Park), or already deceased (HBO series Avenue 5), Pope. Another type of TV series analyzed in the article are those in which actors play John Paul II or his successors, Młody papież (2016) and Nowy papież (2020), which, interestingly, feature allusions to John Paul II, as well as his portraits on the walls of papal residences. In the context of other cultural artefacts, such as literature (fiction and non-fiction), feature films, etc., the author interprets the selected TV series, exploring the role the motif of the Pope plays in them. The results show the advantage of irony or neutrality towards the pope.

Past and present in an alliance for the future

Bernadetta Darska — 2024-07-02

Rec. Resilence Academic Team / Humanistyka prewencyjna, red. Ewa Domańska, Piotr Słodkowski, Monika Stobiecka, Wyd. Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie, Poznańskie Centrum Dziedzictwa, Warszawa – Poznań 2022.

A Century of Conflicts. A journalistic story about the war

Joanna Szydłowska — 2024-07-02

SIGNIS Poland - SIGNIS Europe meeting - November 2023

Mariola Marczak — 2024-07-02

52nd International Seminar of Scientific Circles “Information flow for the advancement of science”

Magdalena Golińska-Konecko — 2024-07-02