RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Bláhová, Jindřiška
T1 Prague Ain't No Minsk. Selecting Hollywood Films for Czechoslovakia, 1945-1946
JF Iluminace
YR 2009
VO 21
IS 3
SP 5
OP 40
UL https://iluminace.cz/en/artkey/ilu-200903-0001.php
AB The study deals with the issue of the selection of Hollywood films for the Czechoslovak market by the MPEA (Motion Picture Export Association) in the post-war period of 1945 and 1946. It perceives the economic dimension of film selection as dominant and superior to the not insignificant ideological dimension. The text draws on State Department documents, MPEA memoranda, OWI documents, Czechoslovak State Department and Ministry of Information documents, and a list of 140 Hollywood MPEA features compiled under a contract between the MPEA and Czechoslovakia on behalf of the Czechoslovak Film Society (Čefis). The study focuses on three main areas: general selection mechanisms, then selection criteria, different target groups and sources of information, and concludes with an analysis of the Czechoslovakian film list itself, with an emphasis on specific reflection on the set selection criteria, market information and perceptions. In doing so, the economic dimension of the selection of films for Czechoslovakia is expanded to include the perspective of the entire Eastern Bloc, as the MPEA viewed the Czechoslovakia as a testing ground for its operations in Eastern Europe and as an arena for competition with Soviet cinema.