The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause
Folk Dance, Film, and the Life of Vasile Avramenko
Nonfiction, History, Canada, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Emigration & Immigration, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism
| Author: | Orest T. Martynowych | ISBN: | 9780887554728 |
| Publisher: | University of Manitoba Press | Publication: | September 5, 2014 |
| Imprint: | University of Manitoba Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Orest T. Martynowych |
| ISBN: | 9780887554728 |
| Publisher: | University of Manitoba Press |
| Publication: | September 5, 2014 |
| Imprint: | University of Manitoba Press |
| Language: | English |
A quixotic figure, Vasile Avramenko (1895-1981) used folk culture and modern media in a life-long crusade to promote Ukraine’s struggle for independence to North American audiences. From his base in New York City, he built a network of folk dance schools and produced musical spectacles to help Ukrainian immigrants sustain their identity. His feature-length Ukrainian language films made in the 1930s with Hollywood director Edgar G. Ulmer, the “king of ethnic and B movies,” were shown throughout North America. Orest T. Martynowych’s The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause is a fascinating portrait how culture can become a political tool in a diaspora community.
A quixotic figure, Vasile Avramenko (1895-1981) used folk culture and modern media in a life-long crusade to promote Ukraine’s struggle for independence to North American audiences. From his base in New York City, he built a network of folk dance schools and produced musical spectacles to help Ukrainian immigrants sustain their identity. His feature-length Ukrainian language films made in the 1930s with Hollywood director Edgar G. Ulmer, the “king of ethnic and B movies,” were shown throughout North America. Orest T. Martynowych’s The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause is a fascinating portrait how culture can become a political tool in a diaspora community.
