The Roma Between the Self and the Other: Representations of the Roma in Yugoslavian and Serbian Narrative Film Goran Stanic Faculty of Arts and Sciences Edge Hill University This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY March 2019 Goran Stanic Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The Roma Between the Self and the Other: Representations of the Roma in Yugoslavian and Serbian Narrative Film ABSTRACT The present thesis focuses on the representations of the Roma minority in Yugoslavian and Serbian narrative film. As a corpus-based study (with the total of 35 films divided into seven periods running from 1945 to 2010), it examines in detail the representational strategies employed in depicting the filmic Roma, and aims to specify a developmental trajectory that these strategies take. To this end, a two-step analytical procedure is used: (1) Information Structure Analysis, the analytical framework developed by the present author for the purposes of studying narrative representations, makes use of the diegetic domain categories (Topic/Focus; Active/Passive/Perceiver) as well as the meta-diegetic domain categories (Frame Setter) in order to identify the narrative signals deployed in the construction of minority representations. (2) Narrative-Semiotic Analysis is concerned with the specifics of the representational content. It takes as input the findings of the Information Structure Analysis and investigates more closely the narrative roles and plot units that the Roma are assigned in the film narratives. The representational strategies identified in the project fall into three types: Roma as interactants, indices of socio‐psychological patterns, and meta‐textual devices. The developmental path that emerges reveals a predominance of indexical representations and interactants as modified character types (the latter exemplified by such literary and filmic staples as The Fool/Jester) between 1945 and 1960; this is followed by a slow transition from the ideologically-constrained interactant representations in the 1960s to socially critical and oftentimes didactic representations in the early 2000s. The Yugoslavian New Film period (1960-1972) ushered in meta-textual roles, in which the Roma characters intervene in the filmic text from an interpretively privileged and causally separate narrative position, formulating a varyingly explicit criticism of the public image-oriented Yugoslavian politics of the day. This representational strategy has been found to decrease in number and change focus in the last two periods, thematizing broader issues such as individuality, emotionality, and the nature of relationships. Lastly, the archetype of the Roma musician is posited as the most frequent and salient representation based on the analyses of the corpus. KEY WORDS: Roma, representation, Yugoslavian, Serbian, index, interactant, Frame Setter, meta-textuality, emotion, musician. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have many people to thank for helping me in various ways in my work on this thesis. Living on Edge Hill campus brought me together with some of the most interesting people I have met and had the good fortune to become friends with. Here's to you - Rowan, Gulsha (& Yusuf!), Elisha, Peiman, Lara, Wilson, Donelle, Niro, Lina, Sara, and Jess! It's been a pleasure being your neighbour, friend, and partner in 'expatiations'! I would also like to thank my many friends from afar - Dequan, Yunwei, Braelyn, and Lina have all brought a new perspective on my life (alongside some excellent Chinese and Korean food!). I have also been lucky to gain friends in my Department as well. Thank you to Tonya, Anthony, and Connor for the many walks, talks, and meals, and for putting up with my propensity towards endless analyses! One of the experiences that has truly changed me is being part of the Philosophy Reading and Discussion Groups, convened by Dr Leon Culbertson. Thank you to Chris, Eri, and Craig for so many stimulating conversations, and a very special thanks to Leon, who has turned our intellectual world upside down, and demonstrated the flaws of scientism and neuro-centrism in a remarkably powerful and engaging way. My friends from Belgrade have been by my side longer than I care to acknowledge, but I count myself lucky to have been in their company. Thank you to Sergej, Anja, and especially Jovana, for finding the time and the right words! My Hang has travelled by my side for a precious while, and I am grateful for all the good that she has brought, and would like to acknowledge it here. The same goes for my friendship with Sara, whose stunning creativity and lust for life have been energizing me since I met her. My greatest debt of gratitude goes to my Supervisory Team. Ruxandra and Owen have both provided countless nuanced comments and suggestions - the little pearls of academic wisdom that have provoked me into thinking differently about my work. Ruxandra I have to thank for striking the right note in her work with me - skilfully pointing out ways to improve the project, yet never micro-managing it. A heartfelt thank you to all! 3 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION – THE ROMA IN HISTORY AND IMAGINATION ................................. 8 2 PRELIMINARIES: REPRESENTATIONS AND THE FILMIC ROMA ................................ 15 2.1 Introduction – film, representation, and the communicative situation ......... 15 2.1.1 Realism vs. representation – controversies in the ontology of film ......... 16 2.1.2 The viewer and his ideology – the psychoanalysis of film .............................. 17 2.1.3 Engaging psychoanalysis – Cultural Studies and cognitivism ...................... 19 2.1.4 Engaging the linguistic turn – The New Materiality of Film ........................... 22 2.1.5 Representation in film ‐ Conclusions .......................................................................... 23 2.2 Roma representations in Yugoslavian and Serbian film – Critical findings . 2 4 2.2.1 The narrative-symbolic role of the Roma ....................................................................... 24 2.2.2 The typical Roma representations in Yugoslavian and Serbian film .................. 29 2.2.3 Critical findings on the Roma as regulators of textual meaning ........................... 36 3 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS, CORPUS, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........ 39 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 39 3.2. The research questions .............................................................................................................. 39 3.3 The corpus .......................................................................................................................................... 39 3.4 The methodology ........................................................................................................................... 44 3.4.1 Information Structure Analysis (ISA) ............................................................................... 45 3.4.2 Narrative-semiotic analysis .................................................................................................. 5 3 3.4.3 Typing ............................................................................................................................................ 56 3.4.4 The role of context .................................................................................................................... 57 4 ROMA AS INDICES OF SOCIO‐PSYCHOLOGICAL PATTERNS ......................................... 60 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 60 4.2 The post‐war Roma representations: Bucking the trend in the 1940s .......... 62 4.3 The literary and theatrical adaptations of the 1950s ............................................... 66 4.3.1 The Gypsy Woman ..................................................................................................................... 67 4.3.2 Legends of Anika ........................................................................................................................ 72 4.3.3 Hanka ............................................................................................................................................. 77 4.3.4 The literary adaptations - overview ................................................................................. 81 4.4 Roma in the time of decadence – Indexicality strategies of the 1980s ........... 83 4.4.1. The Truckers Are Back on the Road .................................................................................... 84 4 4.4.2 Fallen Headlong .......................................................................................................................... 89 4.4.3 The Fall of Rock’n’Roll .............................................................................................................. 92 4.4.4 The 1980s indexicality strategies – overview .............................................................. 94 4.5 Roma in the time of war – Indexicality strategies of the 1990s .......................... 95 4.5.1 Underground ................................................................................................................................ 96 4.5.2 Black Cat White Cat ............................................................................................................... 102