Towards an increase of the ludic element in culture: the modern city as a space of fun consumption and identity creation. The example of the “Dni Gwarków” event in Tarnowskie Góry

Abstract

The author is interested in the issue of the expansion of the ludic element in contemporary culture seen as a space of consumption and fun. The subject of the analysis was a few days long outdoor event called “Dni Gwarków”, organised cyclically in Tarnowskie Góry (Silesian voivodeship), and she particularly highlighted the parade illustrating the most important events and figures from the history of the city, which takes place on the third day of the celebrations. The aim of the empirical research and analysis of the collected material was an attempt to discover the reason for such a high popularity of mass outdoor events and determine the purposes of their organisation. Referring to the regional specificity of this urban festival, the author focused on the time and place of the celebrations and analysed the parade in the context of a conventionalized theatrical show with history in the background, bringing the heroes and theatrical setting of the street performance to the fore of her analysis.