A Society in Distress: The Image of the Czech Republic in Contemporary Czech Feature Film

A Society in Distress analyzes the value system constructed by feature films produced in Czechoslovakia since the fall of Communism in 1989. The book provides an overview of some 300 Czech feature films made during this period, showing how Czech filmmakers have dealt with the legacy of Communism and other traumatic past experiences, and how they have borne witness to recent political and social developments in the Czech Republic. In the book's view, Czech feature films construct an image of society that is still heavily influenced by the so-called "normalization" regime of the 1970s and 1980s, which was created in Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Soviet invasion. These films present a society which suffers from fairly weak social and political structures. Many films highlight the subordinate position of women in Czech society and project an image of impractical, inefficient, and aggressive men. In discussing the films, the book uses the methodology of Cultural Studies, in which art is seen primarily as a specific kind of social communication within a certain cultural and historical context.