57 research outputs found
Cinematic representations of nationalist-religious ideology in Serbian films during the 1990s
No full textThis thesis is a critical exploration of Serbian film during the 1990s and its potential to provide a
critique of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. In this dissertation I focus upon how selected films
provide insight into the ideological discourse of the 1990s within the Serbian socio-political and
cultural context. I discuss a range of Serbian films produced during the 1990s, and I analyse in
detail several films, in particular Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (Lepa sela, lepo gore, Srdjan
Dragojevic, 1995) and Wounds (Rane, Srdjan Dragojevic, 1998), in which I focus on the depiction
of nationalist and religious elements in the films. I analyse cinematic representations of the
nationalist-religious ideology, its characteristics, impacts and promotion. On the basis of this
analysis I consider the extent to which these cinematic representations are subversive.
My dissertation has seven chapters. In chapter 1, which is an introduction to the thesis, I
state my research questions and methodology. In chapter 2 I discuss the research context and
I consider literature relevant to my research. Since I am basing my research upon different
fields, I divide this chapter into three parts: the first one is devoted to the field of film and
religion in which I position this study; the second part is on the literature that I used for the
exploration of the socio-political context of the 1990s; and the last part is devoted to
literature written on Balkan, Yugoslav and Serbian cinema. In chapter 3 I provide an
analysis of the Serbian socio-cultural and political context of the 1990s. Chapter 3 is divided
into eight parts, in which I primarily focus on the creation, characteristics and impacts of the
nationalist-religious ideology. This discussion includes an analysis of the interaction
between the Church and the state in the promotion of this ideological discourse. This
chapter is important for the further analysis of Serbian film, its contextualization, and
understanding the main issues which films communicated. In chapter 4 I analyse Serbian
films produced during the 1990s. In the first part of this chapter, and for the purpose of
contextualization of Serbian film, I first briefly discuss the cinematic tradition of former
Yugoslavia: the Black Wave movement. I move on to discuss the cinematic context of the
1990s and the films produced over this period of time. I particularly focus on several films
which dealt with the political-ideological context of the 1990s. I discuss the most significant
films which dealt with the war, violence, ideology and the collapse of Serbian society under
the Milosevic regime. The aim of this chapter is to provide a cinematic context for the
analysed films and a clearer understanding of Serbian film of the 1990s as politically
engaged cinema. Chapter 5 is devoted to the film Pretty Village, Pretty Flame while in
chapter 6 I analyse the film Wounds. I analyse these two films separately because of their
unique depictions of the nationalist-religious ideology. Both chapters are structured the
same way and are divided into two major parts. In the first part of each chapter I consider
the film's plot, its genre and its production, as well as discussing the film's critical reception.
In the second part of each chapter I analyse the film narrative and images. At the end of each
chapter I discuss the results of my analysis. Chapter 7 is the last chapter of my thesis and is
devoted to the conclusion. In this final chapter I discuss the findings based on the cinematic
and contextual analysis in the previous chapters. As part of my final remarks, I outline the
contributions this study has made and future research that can be developed on the basis of
this thesis
Transnational Cinema and Ideology: Representing Religion, Identity and Cultural Myths
No full textThis is a book review of Transnational Cinema and Ideology: Representing Religion, Identity and Cultural Myths, by Milja Radovic (New York; Abingdon: Routledge, 2014)
Film, Religion and Activist Citizens
No full textFilm, Religion and Activist Citizens An ontology of transformative acts By Milja Radovic, 2017 Film can be a socio-political and artistic-transformative cultural practice through which acts and activism are performed. Going beyond ideological constructs of activism and legal definitions of citizenship, this book offers a novel approach to understanding the ontology of acts and activist citizenship, particularly in the context of their expression through film. The author approaches film as act..
JRFM / Constructing Space, Changing Reality of Israel through Film
No full textThis paper investigates the ways in which filmmakers through cinematic space frame reality, mediating the issues of conflict and reconciliation, religion and identity(ies) within Israel. Cinematic space depicts and expresses borders through elements of film language, such as mise-en-scène, montage and the disruption of temporal reality. By (re) framing meanings cinema questions existing socio-political realities, and their impact on the individual or whole communities. The microcosmic realities which constitute different communities within Israel’s wider socio-political reality are built and confronted through the cinematic space. The cinema thus becomes a site through which existing realities are reflected and new realities are constructed, opening up possibilities for transformation. In other words, how film frames an ‘alternative reality(ies)’ is a question related to the construction of space, which will be addressed in this paper. The paper focuses on two films: WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER (Amos Gitai, 2017) and GEULA (Joseph Madmony, Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, 2018). I juxtapose these two diametrically different films in order to assess the ways in which the cinematic space functions as a direct site for negotiating the identities, religious belonging, and the different communities’ relation to the geographical space of Israel. The analysis of these two films aims to ‘sharpen the focus’ on cinematic space as a continuum in which such complex realities are expressed, renegotiated, and transformed
Activist Citizenship, Film and Peacebuilding: Acts and Transformative Practices
No full textIn this article I explore film as a socio-political and artistic-transformative cultural practice through which acts and activism are performed. I am interested in how film embeds acts of peacebuilding and how this scene of imagery/imaginary is transformed by those acts, with the filmmakers transformed into activist citizens whose activism questions ideologies that surround them. I argue that acts of citizenship and activism, as a creative practice, do not solely involve the analysis of how activism has been represented in films, but also the understanding of what is beyond these representations and narratives. I look at a) how film auteurs emerge as activists through the narratives and the created scenes 1 in film; b) how these acts consequently represent the “answerability to Others” 2 and c) the link between (cinematic) performativity and activism
JRFM / Framing the War: The Calvary of Serbia(YU 1932/1940) : Innovation, Faith, History in the Early Documentary Film
No full textThis article examines the early documentary film of the Yugoslav space, assessing the innovative deployment of film language to communicate faith and history in the context of the First World War. The pioneering work involved in developing war cinema in the Yugoslav space has been largely overlooked by scholars. The research introduces readers to the rich heritage of such documentary film and encourages new approaches to researching history and religion through this medium. The article is a case study of the documentary film THE CALVARY OF SERBIA (GOLGOTA SRBIJE, Stanislav Krakov, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1932/1940), which was assembled from various forms of footage and is regarded as the best documentary made in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia prior to the Second World War. Incorporating different modes and codes of representation, THE CALVARY OF SERBIA is a milestone in the development of film language. How the author(s) saw and framed faith and history within the context of the war resulted in a unique cinematic space, in which on-screen and off-screen spaces are (re)negotiated. To examine the language of film is to study film as a historical document, and in this sense this article approaches film as a primary source. Its overarching goal is to advance and enrich scholarly inquiry into early cinema and to introduce novel avenues for accessing documentary film
Reframing Space: Religion, History, and Memory in the Early Documentary Film of the Yugoslav Space
No full textThis paper examines cinematic representations of religion and religious communities in the early cinema of the Yugoslav space. This paper introduces the readers to the rich heritage of the cinema of the Yugoslav space by providing 1) the first study of the representations of religion and the concepts of faith in the early film, and 2) novel approaches in reading religion and history through film. Film is used as a primary rather than supplementary source in historical research on diverse religious and ethnic communities in this part of the Balkan Peninsula. This is the first study that investigates the importance, place, and role of religion in everyday life in the Yugoslav space through the case study of the early documentary film between 1896 and 1939. This paper will enrich scientific inquiry by providing new approaches for researching history through the documentary film
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