Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made
Film Production, and the Promotion   of Consumer Culture in the
1950s

C 2015

Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s

ČESÁLKOVÁ, Lucie

Basic information

Original name

Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s

Authors

ČESÁLKOVÁ, Lucie (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

First published. New York - Oxford, Cinema in the Servce of the State: Perspectives on Film Culture in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960, p. 166-187, 22 pp. Film Europe, 2015

Publisher

Berghahn Books

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Chapter(s) of a specialized book

Field of Study

Literature, mass media, audio-visual activities

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

is not subject to a state or trade secret

Publication form

printed version "print"

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/15:00081499

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

ISBN

978-1-78238-996-5

Keywords in English

advertising film; short film; propaganda; promotion; socialist consumer culture

Abstract

V originále

This essay examines the relationship between the socialist state and short film in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, focusing on a mixture of ideological and commercial objectives in the process of negotiation about Krátký film's custom-made productions for state bodies. It takes into account the internal structures of consumer culture and the attitudes of official state bodies to consumerism in general and offers a deeper understanding of the importance of film promotion and advertising within the socialist system. It claims, that advertising films that supported consumer culture represented a challenge to socialism, which cultural policy failed to address for quite some time. Due to the medium’s high demand with regard to production time and cost, film had the potential to expose imbalances between the ideals of socialism and consumer culture Methodologically, this text combines the study of so-called 'useful film', custom-made film, and film propaganda—including a consideration of the specifics of exhibition in a non-theatrical environment—with an examination of the role of state-promotional film within socialistic consumer culture more generally.

Links

GPP409/10/P156, research and development project

Name: Vznik Krátkého filmu 1945?1950

Investor: Czech Science Foundation, The Establishment of Krátký Film 1945-1950

Citovat

ČESÁLKOVÁ, Lucie. Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s. In Karl, Lars; Skopal, Pavel. Cinema in the Servce of the State: Perspectives on Film Culture in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960. First published. New York - Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015, p. 166-187. Film Europe. ISBN 978-1-78238-996-5.

@inbook{1331636,
   author = {Česálková, Lucie},
   address = {New York - Oxford},
   booktitle = {Cinema in the Servce of the State: Perspectives on Film Culture in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960},
   edition = {First published},
   editor = {Karl, Lars; Skopal, Pavel},
   keywords = {advertising film; short film; propaganda; promotion; socialist consumer culture},
   howpublished = {tištěná verze "print"},
   language = {eng},
   location = {New York - Oxford},
   isbn = {978-1-78238-996-5},
   pages = {166-187},
   publisher = {Berghahn Books},
   title = {Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s},
   year = {2015}
}

TY  - CHAP
ID  - 1331636
AU  - Česálková, Lucie
PY  - 2015
TI  - Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s
VL  - Film Europe
PB  - Berghahn Books
CY  - New York - Oxford
SN  - 9781782389965
KW  - advertising film
KW  - short film
KW  - propaganda
KW  - promotion
KW  - socialist consumer culture
N2  - This essay examines the relationship between the socialist state and short film in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, focusing on a mixture of ideological and commercial objectives in the process of negotiation about Krátký film's custom-made productions for state bodies. It takes into account the internal structures of consumer culture and the attitudes of official state bodies to consumerism in general and offers a deeper understanding of the importance of film promotion and advertising within the socialist system. It claims, that advertising films that supported consumer culture represented a challenge to socialism, which cultural policy failed to address for quite some time. Due to the medium’s high demand with regard to production time and cost, film had the potential to expose imbalances between the ideals of socialism and consumer culture Methodologically, this text combines the study of so-called 'useful film', custom-made film, and film propaganda—including a consideration of the specifics of exhibition in a non-theatrical environment—with an examination of the role of state-promotional film within socialistic consumer culture more generally.
ER  -

ČESÁLKOVÁ, Lucie. Socialism for Sale: Czechoslovakia’s Krátký film, Custom-Made Film Production, and the Promotion of Consumer Culture in the 1950s. In Karl, Lars; Skopal, Pavel. \textit{Cinema in the Servce of the State: Perspectives on Film Culture in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960}. First published. New York - Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015, p.~166-187. Film Europe. ISBN~978-1-78238-996-5.

Detailed Information on Publication Record