"In one newspaper, I came across a witty headline 'No landing, but ballet', which is roughly what happened. This is the time when the nationalist euphoria begins, the republics have different perceptions about their existence and survival within the common state, and it becomes less and less clear what are the elements for the confirmation of society, that is, which society, and finally which nation"
Youth Day, which was celebrated in Yugoslavia on May 25, plays an important role in Jovana Karaulić's book Cultural performances of Yugoslavia published before the latest Belgrade Book Fair.
Namely, the Day of Youth, its preparation and implementation from the start to the arrival of the relay at the JNA stadium in Belgrade, to the landing where it was handed over to Josip Broz Tito, as well as the Sokol landing in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, were important instruments by which these two countries implemented, spread and preserved the idea of national identity and belonging. The book shows how cultural performances of various formats function as an instrument of public policy in relation to complex social issues: from state weddings (King Alexander) to funerals (Tito), from the landings of 1930 to Youth Day. The book is an analysis of historical circumstances, a document about a time when many things were possible that cannot be done now, but also a story about state manipulation.
Jovana Karaulić is an assistant professor at the Department of Theater, Radio and Culture Management and Production at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, and she has practical knowledge and experience as a producer of complex cultural performances in the subject she dealt with. The publishers of her book are the FDU Institute for Theatre, Film, Radio and Television and Clio publishing house.
"WEATHER" You dedicated the book to young people because, you wrote in the foreword, they need to know about Yugoslavia to help them understand the times ahead. What did you want to warn them about??
JOVANA KARAULIĆ: We live in a turbulent time full of crises, which affect our understanding of social patterns that we consider natural, but in fact they are not at all. In my daily professional life, working at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, I encounter constant questioning of identity patterns among young people, who, confused by the times they live in, do not have a clear picture of where to start in forming their own perspectives. In this regard, the book offers possible answers in which ways the political instruments of the ruling groups can contribute to the shaping of a desirable reality, which, unfortunately, we still often witness today.
In one place you say that the Sokol movement was the initiative of an individual whose idea gathered tens of thousands of people. We need unity and togetherness now, but they seem to be unattainable. Why, is it because, unlike Sokol, now there is no unifying idea?
The Sokol movement in the period of the formation of the Yugoslav state did have the characteristics of an instrument of the ideological apparatus, especially during the dictatorship of King Alexander, but even then it did not lose a clear picture of a common idea that brought people together, giving them a sense of solidarity and togetherness. Today, in the age of individualism and fragmentation, it is difficult to find a single idea that could unite different social groups. Nevertheless, I believe that creative and participatory initiatives, which focus on common values and goals, can play an important role in establishing solidarity and unity in our society, despite all obstacles or attempts to marginalize such initiatives. On the other hand, for public policy, only the (political) idea that underpins it is not enough, it is also necessary to have an environment that enables successful implementation through different models of public management. Here, the question of contextualization of public policy is important, because its implementation is always connected with specific policies, which represent a response to a specific problem in society. In the context of the idea of Yugoslavia, the problems that affected the social agreement are different than today, but even then the processes were not simple, just as they are not today.
Since the landing was a means, the mechanism by which the political idea of Yugoslavia was promoted, can it be said that the landing was abused, that it is manipulation?
Ways of building the Yugoslav identity can be seen as natural and organic, but also as imposed and artificial. It leads to thinking about the use of content and symbols that reflect the complex issue of the nation's identity. Public policies had to make the idea of matching ethnic and political boundaries massively accepted, so that community members became actors of the new ideology. In this context, the landings were imposed as a natural format for promoting that idea, gathering a large number of people, first in stadiums, and later through television.
During the period of the Kingdom, the sletos were based on Czech tradition and had the goal of promoting a spiritually healthy and morally strong nation. Performances in socialism took over and improved these elements depending on the social moment. The shows from the 1987s and after Tito's death differed significantly in terms of program concept and messages. In both periods of Yugoslavia, stadium events were a special form of showing the state of society. For example, the overall program concept and controversies surrounding the Youth Day in XNUMX pointed to complicated social circumstances and everything that followed a few years later. The landings, therefore, were a reflection of social and political changes, which makes them important for understanding past and present social dynamics.
How was the cultural policy interpreted in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and how in the other Yugoslavia?
In this context, the cultural policy in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia aimed to create a unique Yugoslav identity, which was supposed to unite different ethnic and cultural groups within the new state. In socialist Yugoslavia, cultural policy also had the goal of creating a unique identity, but through a different approach. The focus was on socialist values, fraternity and unity, and cultural performances, including landings, were adapted to new ideological goals using the same or similar tools. Connecting these historical contexts to the contemporary moment, we can observe that cultural policies today are faced with similar challenges in trying to define and promote their own identity. In times of globalization and ubiquitous crises, this issue becomes even more complex and difficult. If I wanted to be a bit naive, I would say that I guess that's why we don't have an adequate answer, so the instruments of cultural policy can only be seen in the outlines but not in the (non)existing strategies.
At the Sokol meeting in 1930. there were also foreign participants in Belgrade, and on landings in FNRJ and SFRJ only Yugoslav ones. What does that say about their target audience??
Accepting Divino's idea that society uses spectacles to confirm its existence and power, it is not surprising that stadium cultural manifestations became part of the calendar of the most important events in Yugoslavia. However, the ways of its creation are different - the Sokol movement influenced the shaping and implementation of the idea of integral Yugoslavia, and had the task of demonstrating the ideology shown through the disciplines through mass gymnastics performances. The importance of this event is indicated by the fact that the Sokol stadium of monumental dimensions was built for its needs on the site of today's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering for 45.000 visitors. From the point of view of managing the event, the landing committee was first formed, composed of 14 sections that numbered more than 500 members. The Participant Accommodation Section ensured that guests from abroad were accepted, from the reception at all access stations, barracks, or the hangars and tents erected for the occasion. The section, made up almost entirely of hawks, collected data on available rooms in hotels and inns, as well as with private individuals, but also appealed to Belgraders in terms of hospitality and accommodation in private apartments, sometimes by dropping motivational leaflets from airplanes. The analysis of the organizational structure of the landing in 1930 showed that the propaganda section had a major role and task - it developed an advertising strategy in the country and abroad and established relations with radio stations and journalists. All this speaks in favor of the fact that the intention of King Alexander as the sponsor of the event was to learn about the possibilities of implementing integral Yugoslavia beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Later, during socialism, the Youth Day celebration had the advantage of televised broadcasts, which allowed ideas and messages to spread throughout the country. The relay tradition, which originated from the Sokol movement, continued, and the manifestation evolved into Youth Day, with a relay that symbolizes unity and is handed over to Tito at the central manifestation, dominantly directing its message to the Yugoslav community.
What message did the landing in 1957 send?, and which one, for example, 1980. years? How social events reflected on the landing?
In different periods of socialist Yugoslavia, sletos, as cultural performances, were created in accordance with the current socio-political ideology. Introduced in 1957, the Youth Day parade promoted the ideology of brotherhood and unity in multinational Yugoslavia and the achievements of the NOB: the anti-fascist struggle and socialism as a state-building agenda through the mass of both the performers (about 8.000) and the audience at the stadium (about 60.000). or an audience of millions who followed the event in their homes with TV broadcast. As the political and social circumstances changed, especially after Tito's death in the mid-eighties of the last century, songs were still sung about the unity of the Yugoslav community, the brotherhood of peoples and nationalities, but Yugoslavism was most often promoted through content that addressed young people with the idea of approaching the rigid , bureaucratized ideology using elements of popular culture. Sletas, as cultural performances that promoted Yugoslavism in those years, differ in many ways from performances from previous decades. First of all, because it was no longer clear what the idea of Yugoslavia actually is in its essence (does it still exist or has it disappeared in plain view of the Yugoslav public) and what exact message the state ideological apparatus should send to the people.
You wrote that it is "artistic scope of cultural performance '1988' is almost unthinkable in today's circumstances with the help of the state ideological apparatus, just like the impression of freedom it evoked". What is it, as you say, unattainable today?
As a researcher, I had the good fortune that during the writing of the paper, it had been 30 years since the abolition of Youth Day, which is also the time period that is needed for the archival material to be available. With great excitement, I was the first to open the boxes with transcripts on the reasons for canceling Youth Day. In a newspaper from that time, I came across the witty headline "No landing, but ballet", which is roughly what happened. This is the time when the nationalist euphoria begins, the republics have different perceptions about their existence and survival within the common state, and it becomes less and less clear what are the elements for the confirmation of society, that is, which society, and finally which nation? What is this new ideology and what, according to it, is the set of beliefs and values that unite, and who do they unite? What is the message that needs to be conveyed and to whom? From the analysis of the summary of the multi-hour discussion of the session of the Federal Committee for the celebration of Youth Day, it is possible to see that this composition considered every detail of the staging, in order to avoid "different associations" or "unacceptable connotations" and concluded that "the final performance should be freed from unnecessary ideologies and politicization and to insist more on the artistic aspect, which in its essence does not correspond to the concept of landing or more precisely cultural performances. Thus, today we got an unimaginable stadium artistic performance directed by Paolo Magđeli and with an unforgettable solo performance by the ballerina Sonja Vukićević. It is additionally interesting the fact that due to the very dilemmas surrounding the ideological need (as well as needs in general) within the Youth Association, the scenario for this event was completed and adopted in mid-April, and the event producer Nenad Brkić shared with me the point of view that this event was one of the most complicated until then, not only because of the social climate in which it was created but also because of the artistic ambitions it had. Overall thorough observation of the current social moment, even in a completely disoriented state, contributed to an obvious paradigm shift, a direction towards new, contemporary artistic patterns, creating very bulky performances and an act with about 4000 performers - all of this in total is not easily imaginable today.
Messages from the Prologue that started the last landing held on the occasion of Youth Day in 1988. years, they are still relevant today. For example, that the past should be respected but not lived, and that we will overcome the crisis of the spirit only when we establish what we should stop being. It was said "those who no longer want to hear bad news will appear before you on the field... " Please comment.
Many elements of this performance pointed to unclear reasons for its existence, so together with the performance program, the entire creative potential of the celebration suffered numerous objections, from the fact that the stadium performance sends unclear messages, an overly abstract approach, to the fact that the name of the president is not mentioned in the script Tita. The negative climate was additionally influenced by the news that members of the JNA would not participate in the Youth Day celebration for the first time, which was explained, among other things, by the concept that omitted general Yugoslav symbols, but also by the non-participation of young people from all over the country. In the Prologue, which was read by the actors Ivana Žigon and Dragan Petrović in front of a full stadium, there was talk of a "crisis of the spirit". And after 30 years and more, we are still in the same questioning - what is it that we should stop being, and there are still those who will not listen to bad news. The only thing is that we still somehow haven't really decided what kind of social contract it is that tends to influence the necessary changes.
The cultural performances of both Yugoslavia are related to the personality of the ruler, for example the wedding of King Alexander, Tito's funeral, and landing. Are the current SNS rallies part of that ideology??
Although events in honor of rulers or ruling groups belong to the umbrella term of cultural performances, their nature has been quite different over time. Today's rallies of the ruling party are actually gatherings with a large number of organized people, those who organically support them, but probably also to a large extent those who have different interests in being there. However, the essential difference is in the messages that are communicated, which today are mostly of a populist nature in some kind of fight with an imaginary enemy. On the other hand, a distinct and, I would say, larger cult of the ruler existed in both periods of Yugoslavia, however, the motivation of citizens to attend the mentioned events had a different character, the overall atmosphere in society was different, so it seems to me that these things, although seemingly similar, they are not quite comparable.
As a producer, you participated in many local cultural performances; whether they were also a tool of the ideological apparatus and in what way?
Various national cultural performances in which I participated as a producer and executive producer (Universiade 2009, Expo in Shanghai, Opening of the European Basketball Championship, Opening of the Fina Cup, etc.) had the same intention of confirming their identity position. However, the systemic understanding of the seriousness in the approach of the state apparatus regarding the possibility of realizing complex events differs from epoch to epoch. Somewhat absurdly, the research showed that the most serious approach to the organization of complex contents was at a time when there were no telephones and when the majority of the population was uneducated, while in the period of socialism the system influenced the forms of organization, but with increasing difficulty over time.
In the age of "superconnectivity", this type of performance has its limits, but they are not huge. Ideological patterns of capitalism and consumption as dominant values of global society tie their symbolic values to commercial capacity through the spectacle/media/market triangle located in the field of entertainment, so today we can read the role of landing through the analysis of the construction of the program, for example. in the halftime of the Superbola sports program. By crossing popular culture, the entertainment industry, information, technological innovations, the formats of contemporary forms of cultural performances are aimed at the market values of society, that's just the way it is. And so it will be until the value orientation changes, the dominant views of which will be focused on solidarity as the key word of the century in which we live.
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