From Self-Fulfillment to Survival of the Fittest ─ Work in European Cinema from the 1960s to the Present

Drawing on the work of philosophers, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians, Mazierska, in a case-study approach, examines cinema in conjunction with histories and theories of work in her effort to understand and assess a paradox: why, now in a time when productive capacity has made it possible for most people to move from the realm of necessity to affluence, education, and unimagined life choices, these ideals are instead receding, poverty and unemployment are growing, and workers are working more for less. Favoring an overthrow of the current system, she uses Marxist theories as she focuses on European cinema in particular for her ideological critique. Five chapters cover Homo Faber and the work of cinema; the 1960s; the 1970s; the 1980s; the 1990s. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Film Studies at the School of Journalism and Media, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include European Cinema and Intertextuality: History, Memory, Politics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), Jerzy Skolimowski: The Cinema of a Nonconformist (Berghahn, 2010), Masculinities in Polish, Czech and Slovak Cinema (Berghahn, 2008) and with Laura Rascaroli,Crossing New Europe: The European Road Movie (Wallflower, 2006) and From Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2003). She is principal editor of the journal Studies in Eastern European Cinema.