Abstract
This chapter argues that postcolonial theory can be usefully applied to Eastern European fantasy, with regard to both its suppression under communism and its subsequent appropriation by the West.
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Notes
- 1.
Terms such as West or Other are capitalized to emphasize their constructiveness as they are of imaginary character and defined by those with the power to world. For further reading, see Yeǧenoǧlu (1998).
- 2.
For this chapter, culture is defined as the sum of what connects people and binds them together as a group on a small scale or as a nation on a larger scale. Aspects of a national culture are among others basic values, core beliefs, customs, and language, while aspects of the culture of a smaller circle of people can include the first but are not limited to them (cf. Young 2005).
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
The English terminology and novels’ titles are only used in the first instance. Following, only the Polish terminology is deployed to acknowledge the saga’s background as well as to not resort to false semiotic signs.
- 6.
As an example for Polish fantasy incorporating Tolkien’s formula, one can point to the previously mentioned series by Ziemkiewicz (1990) which was torn apart by Polish critics precisely because of its similarity to Tolkien’s works.
- 7.
- 8.
For further reading on anti-fairy tales, see McAra and Calvin’s Anti-Fairy Tales: The Uses of Disenchantment (2011).
- 9.
The term transmedia refers to the establishment of a relationship between products of various media that relate to each other in terms of commerce, narrative, and reception: the products are branded as complementation to one fantastic universe, the narrative thread and characters are the same or at least resemble each other, the audience acknowledges the relation (cf. Jenkins 2006).
- 10.
The most prominent example of earlier adaptations are the game series launched by CD Project RED in 2007 which then forced the pace of the novels’ translation to English as the global success of the games led to a rise in demand. Further, the final success of a comic version was achieved by Dark House Comic who published The Witcher: House of Glass (2014), The Witcher: Fox Children (2015), and The Witcher: Curse of Crows (2016).
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Walder, A.D. (2023). Cultural Appropriation of Poland’s Fantasy: The Cold War Saga o Wiedźminie Moving into American Mainstream Culture. In: Gomel, E., Gurevitch, D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Fantasy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26397-2_19
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