On the pages of the journals we can find various Others. Ihe photographic mate¬
rial which was analysed exhibits a lack of a dominant subject. However, it seems
possible to distinguish a large group of photographs that can be reduced to two
groups, specifically presenting close and distant Others‘. Because the subject of
‘close Others’ has been covered extensively in many studies (war caricature, the
images of fools, beggars), I focus my attention on the analysis of visual representa¬
tions of distant Others, i.e. the super-West. For this purpose I discuss the selected
images of the New World. America is described as a land of pragmatic inventions,
sophisticated ideas and peculiar people. Selected images of America exemplify how
evolutionary desires of Europeans and their sentiments towards the Antipodes ma¬
terialise (Weglarz 1994: 85).
Approaches to America at that time in Western European countries were am¬
biguous, making the New World resemble the bipolar face of the Other. Writers
such as George Orwell or Matthew Arnold openly criticised America’s hypnotis¬
ing influence on European society. In their opinion, the weirdness of American
thought was dangerous to European countries. The democratisation of life was
perceived as backwardness. They claimed that equality of all ideas and attitudes
was not the key to modernity, but efficient management by state administration
was the way to success (Arnold 1932: 6). Aldous Huxley, on the other hand, had
a totally different view of America. During his first trip to the States, the writer,
spellbound by the view of shopping malls and skyscrapers, praised the victory of
wisdom over superstition. The metropolitan architecture of American cities, with
the diminishing dominance of churches, gave him hope for a scientific and rational
future that would be universally worth imitating (Johnson 1979: 50).
In the analysed photographic material critical images of America are close to
non-existent. It appears that Pomeranian journals share Huxley’s optimistic view¬
point. The concept of America built upon printed images had culturally important
functions. Compensation was certainly one of them. The comparison of such areas
of life as Pomeranian and American economy, technology or industry prompted
Polish readers to migrate symbolically to the super-West. Photographs by Pomera¬
nian photojournalists show the interfusion of basic aspects of strangeness—the
remoteness of the territory, the high affluence status (Waldenfels 2002: 157). These
images contribute to the Polish fascination with the modernity of the far-away land
from across the ocean. Geographical remoteness is associated here with a presump¬
tion of the mental distinctiveness of the people of the West—it is usual to assign
supernatural features to strangers (Ibid.: 161). The strangeness of Americans is cari¬
catural, to some extent. Their innovativeness and pragmatism, in line with the ‘do
it yourself” rule, created peculiar ideas. A sunbather in an alligator leather swimsuit
(Fig. 128), a roadside shrine in the airport next to the images of a sad millionaire,
a prisoner living a comfortable life and a birdman (Fig. 129) can all evoke cogni¬