Poland under Martial Law in Netflix's 1983 as a Critique of Contemporary Polish Socio-Politics: An Intertextual Analysis

The article presents an intertextual analysis of the first Polish Netflix-original series 1983 created and written by Joshua Long. The series portrays fictional, dystopian Poland as a totalitarian state in which martial law never ended and the communist party remains in power. The analysis uses pivotal events from the series to draw connections between fictional Poland under martial law and post-2015 Poland ruled by the Law and Justice party. Close critical analysis and comparison of political discourse and visual imagery reveal how the socio-political situation in Netflix's 1983 echoes real-world concerns about contemporary Polish socio-politics. The series functions as an intertextual commentary on post-2015 Poland, in which the Law and Justice government's actions revived existing memories of civil protests and state oppression under martial law in communist Poland.