Homo Viator in Contemporary European Comedy Movies

Homo Viator in Contemporary European Comedy Movies explores the popular yet critically underexamined theme of travel and vacation in European comedic cinema, while also engaging with urgent topics such as migration, displacement, and the refugee experience across various comic genres. Despite the commercial success of these comedies produced after 1989, scholarly engagement with them has remained limited. Authors Artur Skweres and Adam Domalewski aim to fill this gap by examining how humor becomes a powerful lens through which Europe laughs at, negotiates, and reimagines its borders.
Structured in two parts, the book first focuses on the figure of the traveler (homo viator) and their pursuit of meaning, transformation, and comic adventure. The second part turns to comedies centered on migrants and refugees, revealing how comic genres can interrogate and even challenge dominant narratives of exclusion, adaptation, and mobility. Unlike many traditional and contemporary media platforms that often adopt clear political stances and dismiss opposing perspectives, the comedies discussed in this book offer a space where conflicting discourses can coexist—highlighting comedy’s unique ability to approach sensitive and contentious issues in a playful yet thought-provoking manner.
This study shows that comedy provides a rich framework not only for exploring movement and migration-related themes, but also for addressing broader issues such as family dynamics, spiritual growth, economic struggle, and shifting urban–rural relationships.