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"Polish Spring" in progress?

Opera about Poland
Regissør: Piotr Strasik
(Polen)

Opera about Poland takes us into a country characterized by a right-wing populist government with one hand on the Bible while the other whips the people.




(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

In Norway, we are perhaps best acquainted with Poland and Poles through labor immigrants who want to make sure their families have a better future. Few of us know that much of the country's politics are still governed by the principles of Roman Catholic faith, which are extremely strong in Poland. A glance at Poland gives us an idea of ​​what the United States might look like if Christian conservative values ​​continue to influence political decisions in major value issues – such as women's reproductive rights.

A multifaceted Poland. PiotrStrasik takes us into the Polish people's soul to find out who the Poles really are, and whether it is so that the Roman Catholic view of values ​​is so ingrained in the people that it becomes difficult to make changes that challenge this.

Through the use of still images, press releases, speeches and something as special as personals, we meet various Polish people. The director has succeeded in making the Poles appear multifaceted, but unfortunately this only makes the documentary seem cluttered. Occasionally the scenes are also accompanied by incredibly annoying music.

State and Church. However, the fact that the Roman Catholic church and state in Poland are closely linked is clearly evident in Strasik's film. The country is today governed by a government of the Party of Law and Justice, which since last fall has had the majority in the Polish National Assembly. The party is nationally conservative and has promoted a good deal of controversial bills. The government has also introduced new laws, such as the new media law, which gives increased opportunity to intervene in editorial boards that act religiously or critically to the politics of the government.

About 90 percent of Poland's population are Catholics, and many attitudes are based on archaic interpretations of the Bible and Catholic teachings. Poland has been strictly Roman Catholic since its inception, and religious and national affiliation is an essential part of Poles' identity. Even communism had to see the battle lost to the Roman Catholic church there; it is said that Pope John Paul 2 contributed not only to the fall of communism in the country, but also to the rest of the eastern bloc countries.

One can draw the conclusion that homosexuality is considered in line with animal sex between people among a majority in Poland.

Homosexuality sight. In the documentary, we get a quick insight into several issues that show contradictions between the Roman Catholic values ​​and how people actually live in Poland. One woman says that she fell in love with another woman even though she was married, and that they had to move to Warsaw because it was more accepted there to be gay. In the next sequence, a completely different woman talks about sexual experiences with her dog. One can conclude that the majority in Poland consider homosexuality in line with sex between humans and animals – both are "sodomy". It is probably not without reason that this is considered one of the worst countries in Europe to be gay in.

The abortion issue. Then we come to the recurring problem of abortion. In Poland, self-determined abortion has been illegal so far, except for rape or incest. New bills are constantly being proposed which mean that women's reproductive rights will be violated, such as criminalizing abortion and that women who still carry it out will receive up to five years in prison. The bill was defeated through the Czarny protest in October 2016.

We see the same struggles going on in the United States these days, where women's right to control their own bodies is constantly being curtailed by the authorities, locally and nationally. Which state you live in and what financial resources you have, determines whether you have access to contraception and to have an abortion in the US – in some places only hospitals and free clinics are often run by organizations whose values ​​do not allow for such offers. And what happens in the event of an unwanted pregnancy when the health service does not include abortion or contraception? Yes, women take matters into their own hands in illegal clinics with little competence and poor equipment, or do it themselves with the coat hanger at home – with the great health dangers this entails. Imagine the extent of this in Poland, where the Roman Catholic view of life has shaped political decisions about self-determined abortion and contraception for years.

It seems that the people of Poland have begun to mobilize on issues they consider important – such as women's rights and freedom of the press.

But there are some essential differences between the United States and Poland: Poland has a state health care system; In the United States, you are at the mercy of free clinics if you do not have good health insurance. And legally, there is far greater access to self-determined abortion in the United States than in Poland – although in practice this does not apply to all women in the United States.

Polish spring? The political climate in Poland has been constantly evolving, and one might say that it has gone in the completely wrong direction, as the country is now ruled by a very conservative and right-wing populist majority government. At the same time, it seems that the Polish people have now begun to mobilize on issues they consider important – including women's rights, freedom of the press and democratic rights, and criticism is being leveled at the policies pursued in the country.

The Czarny protest gets some of the credit for this, as it actually led to – it was not the legislative changes the authorities wanted. It is no wonder that the documentary says that you can vote for whoever you want, but preferably not vote at all. For the government can not possibly be blind to the revolt among the people.

Careful optimist. After watching Opera about Poland I am left with cautious optimism on behalf of the Poles. They clearly have a way to go when it comes to things we in Norway take for granted, but it may seem as if the country is heading for a paradigm shift – that some old Roman Catholic values ​​are being challenged and that new ones are in the pipeline.

The film will be shown on DocLisboa in October.

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