The New Yugoslav Cinema Master's Thesis for the Award of The
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Deconstructing Yugoslav Narrative on Screen: The New Yugoslav Cinema Master’s Thesis for the award of the academic degree of Master of Arts (MA) At the Karl-Franzens University of Graz Submitted by: Ines ŠKRBIĆ At the Centre for Southeast European Studies Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Renate Hansen-Kokoruš Graz 2017 Abstract This thesis aims to analyze seven Yugoslav films made between 1980 and 1989. The connection point of the films analyzed is the way they treat an important part of the forming of the new Yugoslav supranational identity – the split with Stalin, while at the same time reflecting on the current situation in Yugoslavia, during the economic and political crisis in the 1980s and after Tito’s death. I am analyzing the way these films are perceived as a historical source, since their directors were the first to start talking about certain taboo topics in Yugoslavia. These topics include the forced labor camps after the split with Stalin, foremost Goli Otok, before the events were included in the official historiography and in that way the artists paved the way for historians. The generations of directors before, such as the ones behind Black Wave in Yugoslavia were discussing controversial topics as well, but they mainly failed to reach the mainstream audience of Yugoslavs. Taking into consideration the general relationship between the state and the cinematography in Yugoslavia, I am using the scholar work of memory studies, ideology and Robert Toplin’s historiopahy to see in what way the analyzed films treat the past and the present in Yugoslavia as well as how they approach subversion in cinema and the society of the time. Keywords: Yugoslav cinematography, Goli Otok, Josip Broz Tito, Stalin, Collective Memory, Individual Memory, Emir Kusturica Kurzfassung Diese Diplomarbeit hat zum Ziel, sieben jugoslawische, zwischen 1980 und 1989 gedrehte Filme zu analysieren. Die analysierte Verbindung zwischen den Filmen ist die Art und Weise wie sie mit einem wichtigen Teil der Entstehung der neuen jugoslawischen, überstaatlichen Identität – die Trennung von Stalin, umgehen, während sie gleichzeitig über die damalige Situation in Jugoslawien, während der Wirtschafts- und Politikkrise in den 1980ern und nach Titos Tod reflektieren. Ich analysiere hiermit die Art und Weise, wie diese Filme als historische Quellen angenommen werden können, da die Regisseure die ersten waren, die gewisse Tabuthemen in Jugoslawien behandelt haben. Diese Themen beinhalten die Zwangsarbeitslager nach der Trennung von Stalin, in erster Linie Goli Otok, bevor die Ereignisse in der offiziellen Historisierung aufgezeichnet wurden und die Künstler, so, die Historiker beeinflussen konnten. Die Generation von Regisseuren zuvor, solche hinter „Black Wave in Yugoslavia“, haben ebenfalls umstrittene Themen behandelt, scheiterten jedoch daran die etablierten Zuschauer zu erreichen. Für die allgemeine Beziehung zwischen Staat und Kinematographie in Jugoslawien, ziehe ich die Studienarbeiten, Ideologien und Robert Toplins Historiophotie in Betracht, um zu sehen in welchen Aspekten die analysierten Filme die Vergangenheit und die Gegenwart Jugoslawiens behandeln, sowie ihren Versuch sich dem Umschwung zwischen Kino und Gesellschaft der Zeit zu nähern. Schlüsselwörter: Jugoslawische Kinematographie, Goli Otok, Josip Broz Tito, Stalin, Kollektives Gedächtnis, individuelles Gedächtnis, Emir Kusturica ii Acknowledgements I am very grateful for the help of my supervisor, Prof. Renate Hansen-Kokoruš, for the guidance while writing this thesis and the valuable comments. I am thankful to the other faculty and staff at the Centre for Southeast European Studies for their assistance and to my colleagues for their support and comments. I dedicate this thesis to my family on both continents. iii 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Literature review .................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Methodology and theoretical guidelines ............................................................................................ 6 2.1. History and memory on film ........................................................................................................... 7 2.2. Relationship between ideology and film ...................................................................................... 11 3. Yugoslav political and social context ............................................................................................... 13 3.1. Tito – Stalin dispute: Fighting Stalinism with Stalinist methods ............................................. 13 3.2. After Tito – there will be Tito ....................................................................................................... 16 3.3. Cultural policy in Yugoslavia ....................................................................................................... 19 3.4. Yugoslav film industry .................................................................................................................. 22 3.5. Film Censorship in Yugoslavia ..................................................................................................... 26 3.6. The New Yugoslav Film of the 1980 ............................................................................................ 28 4. Film overview ..................................................................................................................................... 31 4.1. Otac na službenom putu / When Father Was Away on Business: A Historical Love Film . 34 4.2. Balkanski špijun / Balkan Spy ...................................................................................................... 35 4.3. Srekna nova ’49 / Happy New Year ‘49 ...................................................................................... 35 4.4. Bal na vodi / Hey Babu Riba / Dancing in Water ...................................................................... 36 4.5. Rdeči boogie / Red Boogie ............................................................................................................. 36 4.6. Život sa stricem / My Uncle’s Legacy .......................................................................................... 36 4.7. Visoki napon / High Voltage ......................................................................................................... 37 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 37 5.1. From Stalinism to Titoism ............................................................................................................ 38 5.2. Present vs Past ................................................................................................................................ 43 5.3. Yugoslav identity and ideology ..................................................................................................... 47 5.4. The representation of Goli otok and other forced labor camps ............................................... 51 5.5. Collective vs Individual ................................................................................................................. 54 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 58 iv 1. Introduction The cinema as one of the most powerful means of influencing the population should be developed to the utmost. (Stoil 46) Film represents a powerful medium that “can influence public opinion, shape the popular imagination, and reach great numbers of people in a short period of time.” (McAllister 63) With that in mind, one can argue that film has been used since its inception to persuade people through exposing them to different ideas. In the case of Yugoslavia, film was originally used to help the foundation of the Yugoslav ideology, collective identity, and the official political narrative. In this regard, one of the most important points in building the Yugoslav identity represents the period after the Second World War when in 1948 Yugoslavia was expelled from Communist Information Bureau (or Cominform). The period after the country split ways with Stalin, from 1948 until 1952, is referred to as the Informbiro period in Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav leadership decided to pursue a different path from the one where Yugoslavia was looking up to the Soviet Union and Stalin as their role model. Using Benedict Anderson’s terminology, Yugoslavia can be seen as an imagined community, brought together by use of political myths, and cinema was used to enhance these myths among ordinary people, primarily through films about the national liberation war. Yugoslavs were supposed to be united by a shared common past, and cinema was used to create this common past. I started looking more into this topic when I noticed an interesting pattern. Many of the films produced in the 1980s were reflecting on another important moment in Yugoslav history – Tito’s famous “no” to Stalin. I wanted to see if these films were made not only to merely show this period of history, but also in order to say something about the sociopolitical situation in Yugoslavia at the time. That is why I consider it important to give a contextual background to the situation in Yugoslavia both during the end