Monika Kowalczyk-Piaseczna

The article aims at presenting the image of Poland that emerges from reportages written by three journalists strongly influenced by the British culture: Michael Moran, Edward Enfield and Tom Fort. As many historical sources and the analysed texts confirm, from the perspective of a traveller from the Western part of Europe, Poland belongs to the group of Eastern-European countries. Moreover, the selected reportages of the aforementioned authors illustrate that, despite the significant influences of the Western culture, which may be observed in various spheres of the Polish inhabitants’ lives, the perspective of a Western traveller has remained unchanged, and to him/her, a journey to the Eastern part of Europe still constitutes a promise of a fabulous, or even unreal experience.
The most important aspect which was subjected to analysis in the presented article, and which the discussed reportages vividly depict, is the image of Poland that allows one to regard it as a country existing on the other – reverse – side of Western Europe. The theoretical studies in the field, referred to in the present study, illustrate that, while drawing on the Western philosophical thought, and attempting to imitate the political and economic development of other European countries, the Poles simultaneously cherish their memories connected with the past. This visible dichotomy impairs the image of Poland as a European country that the inhabitants of Western Europe might have created otherwise. Additionally, since some of the reportages discussed in the article are accounts of journeys of British reportage writers to Poland during the communist regime, the Western-European ideas of development and freedom inevitably find their reverse reflection in the Polish country. Simultaneously, the presented article illustrates the Poles’ participation in the process of creating the image of their country, which they tend to adjust to foreigners’ expectations, this way creating only an imitation of the Western-European country and contributing to the sustainment of the distorted image of Poland that apparently has already been formed in the Western reporters’ minds.