From a Look in the Mirror (Anna Świrszczyńska – Grzegorz Uzdański – an Insta Lie

Abstract

In the article “From a look in the mirror to photographs on Instagram,” I investigate the phenomenon of intermedial interpretation. I compare and contrast a social campaign aimed at young people meant to raise awareness of the perils of Instagram, the pastiche of Anna Świrszczyńska’s poem by Grzegorz Uzdański, and Świrszczyńska’s original poem. I ask questions about different types of reflectivity triggered by different media and artworks which differ generically, historically, and socially. The central issue is the changing role of visuality and the differences in experiencing a given medium. My ahistorical interpretation is motivated by a specific didactic assumption: media images often precede “textual” readings and they often condition their understanding. It is therefore worth exploring the mechanisms of reception of visual images and how they relate to literary structures.