The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause

Download or read book The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause written by Orest T. Martynowych and published by Univ. of Manitoba Press. This book was released on 2014-09-05 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.