Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

My doctoral dissertation will be devoted to the idea of the Gnostic myth in Hollywood. Taking into account recent developments in Gnostic studies, the theoretical part of the work will be centered around the works of Hans Jonas, Carl G. Jung, Eric Voegelin, and Philip K. Dick. A particular attention will be paid to the ways by which these authors pictured the relationship between Gnosticism and modernity.

Their ideas and theories will provide a conceptual framework for analyzing selected group of films that emerged between 1990 and 2003, e.g., “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990), “Dark City” (1998), “The Truman Show” (1998), or “The Matrix” trilogy (1999-2003). Firstly, this research will focus on disclosing intertextual relationships between cinematic narratives and the examined approaches to the Gnostic myth. Secondly, it will assess to what extent studying popular culture from intertextual perspective can contribute to the academic debate on the affinities between Gnosticism and modernity. The presented results will lead to a meta-analysis of the developed approach by delineating its limitations as well as explanatory merits.

Supervisor: Prof. dr. Lautaro Roig Lanzillotta