Jánošík as a Pop-Cultural Phenomenon

Abstract

The study presents Juraj Jánošík, a folk national hero and iconic folklore figure in the widest possible pop culture context as practically the only original Slovak pop culture phenomenon. It offers a historicizing cross-section of the diverse representations of Jánošík within the traditional artistic modes that canonize Jánošík, but predominantly focuses on treatments that shift and reinterpret the Jánošík myth almost to the point of complete emptiness, in the sense that Jánošík no longer functions as a semantically polyfunctional symbol within their framework. In chronological order, the study offers an overview of high and profane literary works dedicated to Jánošík, devotes a substantial part to Jánošík as a defi ning element of Slovak cinema, but also presents other models of adaptations in which Jánošík appears as a character in television shows, a musical hero, or a functional comic (super) hero.