Sunday, May 24, 2009

#2 - Let's get out of this country



Surrounded by natural and cultural riches, a father and son dream of a better abroad. In another country we'd be happy! In sending up the stereotypical Polish habit of denigrating Poland, Raczkowski also mocks the common human tendency to overlook the treasures under one's nose in favor of an imaginary better life far away.

The deer with his front hoof on a stump is a Raczkowski trope that usually appears in a painting on a wall in the background of a cartoon. It is a reference to a Polish cliché that a painting of a deer is symbolic shorthand for kitsch or mediocre art. The mushrooms refer to the popularity of mushrooms in Polish cuisine and culture - mushroom gathering season is practically a national event, and there's a scene of mushroom gathering in the Polish national epic Pan Tadeusz.

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