Audiovisual Tactics of Resistance of the Polish Anti-Communist Opposition in the 1980s as Illustrated by Tomasz Łabędź’s Kalendarz Wojny (War Calendar)

Abstract

This study is an interdisciplinary presentation of the changing media paradigm of the Polish anti-communists opposition in the 1980s. The article, in particular, emphasizes the first production of the Polish émigré media institution Video Kontakt, titled War Calendar, directed by Tomasz Łabędź. Interpreted as an example of audiovisual tactics of resistance, his work employed subversion and counterpoint to expose the discursive hypocrisy of the communist regime in Poland. The article also discusses the support that Polish dissident groups received from the Western trade unions and government agencies leading to the ‘paralel society’ with its own communication potential.