Exaggeration, order turned upside down, annulment of norms, mockery of authorities, mockery of values that normally stand on the throne - this is how Bakhtin describes medieval carnivals. In these celebrations, the lower classes temporarily cancel the boundaries of their own world: dogmas, rules and hierarchies. It is their form of resistance, a short-term release, inhaling air from constricted lungs.
U film Wedding there is something fundamentally carnivalesque - if nothing else, then in that mockery of the greatest "truths". There is no depth, a handful of layers or great catharsis. But there is a little over an hour and a half of respite from the rigors of great "truths", from national and religious leaders who, the film says, look like an egg to an egg, driven above all by opportunism. Nationalism, the instrumentalization of religion, laziness, corruption, prejudice - it's all there, let's laugh at it.
Wedding Igor Šeregija is probably the most successful film in the history of Croatian cinema, if you look at the tickets sold. It would not be a surprise if it became so in the regional framework as well (region, another word for our part of the Balkans/Southeastern Europe or the countries of the former Yugoslavia, in modern discourse divided into the Western Balkans - west of what? - and the countries of the European Union).
You are busy. cinema halls, sold-out screenings every half hour, a million viewers in the first three weeks. These days, the film is among the most watched in countries with a large ex-EU diaspora, in Germany, Switzerland, Austria...
Wedding is also a phenomenon. Does it provide a recipe not only for commercial success but also for thawing neighborly relations? Or is it just an indication that not everything is so black? And maybe it's none of that?
SOME OTHER TONES
photo: promo...
"It gave me hope that, watching Nedjelmo u dva, where the director of the film was a guest, and then in some texts, I heard a different discourse about Serbs than in the context of Thompsoniads," Ana Raffai, a peace activist and Catholic theologian, told Vreme.
“Context Thompson's Day" can be understood more broadly - as a series of controversies and conflicts related to the glorification of Pavelić and the Ustasha heritage. By the way, as our interlocutor reminds us, the case of "another singer" is relevant these days, with the fact that we are talking about the parliamentary representative of the Homeland Movement, Josip Dabra, who, on a video that has reached the public, proudly sings the lines "in Madrid there is a tomb of gold, in it lies the leader of all Croats", addressing them to Milorad Pupovac.
photo: miroslav lelas / hina / tanjug...
"At Thompson, I am horrified by the multiplication of hatred towards Serbs. They now allegedly want to harm us, and we will defend ourselves and save ourselves with hatred," says Raffai. "I read the reviews Wedding which talk about the shallowness of the film, but through the story of the film I felt a different mood in this polluted media space."
According to her, it is not only about the motive of reconciliation, but about a shift in perception: the Serbs are no longer the monsters from Thompson's songs. "We are tired of recycling the same narratives about the Homeland War, the silent ban on saying anything about it and questioning it, attacks on the film Peacemaker about Josip Rajhl Kir..."
For younger readers: Josip Rajhl Kir was the chief of police in Osijek, a voice of reason, he advocated for peace between Serbs and Croats, saying: "As long as I am the chief of the Osijek-Baranja police department, there will be no war between Serbs and Croats in this area." He was killed on July 1, 1991, while returning from negotiations with the Serbs. Anton Gudelj, a member of the Croatian police reserve, shot at his car. Last year, Ivan Ramljak made a documentary film about the last months of Reichl Kir's life. The film was awarded at several festivals, but at the same time, both the film and the director were the target of attacks and discredit from a section of the right-wing public. Hence the popularity Wedding could serve as an occasion for a more relaxed view of the neighbors.
And for the historian Vjeran Pavlaković, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Rijeka, Wedding represents a certain step forward in an atmosphere where such developments are sorely lacking. He says that the screening he attended was so crowded that at first he didn't even understand what was happening.
"On the one hand, the film plays with banal stereotypes, but on the other hand it is funny and I was actually glad that the discussion could be opened in such a way", says Pavlaković, drawing a parallel with the film Parada, which also used stereotypes to bring important themes into the public sphere.
Pavlaković emphasizes humor as a useful tool for a more relaxed conversation about serious issues, which is otherwise lacking in Croatian cinematography. He concludes that "no matter how close the individuals are, Serbs and Croats will hardly ever have a similar view of the Storm and talk about it without tension. But we can laugh at this film together, maybe it's a way to communicate more. Of course, we should come to difficult questions, not ignore them or suppress them, but we should not necessarily start with the most difficult things".
However, what is the actual range of those different tones? How is it possible that almost every fourth citizen of Croatia goes to the cinema to watch a film about the marriage of a Serb and a Croatian woman, while at the same time hundreds of thousands go to Thompson's concert? Are they parallel or networked worlds? Are young people simply indifferent to both? How much do they really know about history and what does it have to do with contemporary social trends?
photo: miroslav lelas / hina / tanjug...
THE PERFECT STORM
Both Raffai and Pavlaković note that an eclectic mix is often present at the parties - "a row of chicks, a row of Thompsons". Does anything change under the influence of popular culture and music? Raffai is not particularly optimistic. The conversation brings us back to Thompson's concerts.
"We are talking about the thousands of people who were at the Hippodrome to listen to Thompson. They say they are not Ustashi. But they are something. They cannot be completely freed from responsibility. They raise their hands, wear T-shirts. It's not like they don't know anything and that the narrative of hatred is not present." In addition, Raffai adds, almost no one talks to young people about it. "Even in Parliament, Plenković is afraid to openly oppose it." In other words, she concludes, toxicity has spread, the question is to what extent, while unenlightenment and stupor persist unhindered.
Pavlaković points out that the "people in black", the cry "Ready for home", the fans who propagate it, Thompson have been present for decades, only that sometimes it is more illuminated, and sometimes it is more in the shadows.
According to his opinion, in the last few months it has been a kind of "perfect storm" because global trends additionally give such social tendencies a tailwind.
"In addition, there is another phenomenon, which is also present in Serbia, but on a different level. The Croatian demographic landscape has changed significantly. There are a lot of migrants who work in various, mostly low-paid jobs. In fact, we only emerged from the post-socialist society 30 years after the war and now we are very similar to other European countries, and we also have their problems regarding relations with migrants", emphasizes the "Vremena" interviewee. He believes that there is also room for a political party that would represent the hard right.
If right-wing populism is a global phenomenon, the "incentives" of which come from Europe and the United States, in the region it is necessarily intertwined with the legacy of wars. From there, it seems that the politics of memory "from above" in Serbia and Croatia bear part of the responsibility for the growth of xenophobia.
The culture of memory in Croatia is firmly cemented in the narratives about the Homeland War, about victory and infallibility, and essentially little changes, Pavlaković points out.
"There were some attempts in 2020, I mean at the instigation of the European Union, when Boris Milošević, the vice-president of the SDSS, went to Knin to mark the 25th anniversary of the Storm, and then Andrej Plenković and Tomislav Medved, the Minister of Defense, went to the commemoration of the Serbian victims in Grubori, then in Varivode. That was a way of saying that Serbs also died in the Homeland War," he recalls.
But that space closed very quickly. And it should be remembered - it is not predetermined that a certain event will result in only one form of memory.
"A Croatian official said that in November the entire Croatian people suffered because of Vukovar," continues Pavlaković. "And I'm thinking, well, for 30 years you systematically worked to make people feel that way. We can imagine some science-fiction version in which there was a different culture of memory all that time - the war happened, there were victims, the perpetrators must go to prison, but let's use this tragedy to open up to our neighbors, so that things like this don't happen again, to build a better future together..."
November would look different today for both Serbs and Croats.
Pavlaković goes on to cite the example of his students, who, paradoxically, often do not know the basic facts about the Homeland War, when what happened and how, even in master's studies. However, at the same time, they have a strong emotional reaction and are firmly convinced that Vukovar is the greatest Croatian tragedy. On the one hand, saturation with the topic and lack of knowledge, on the other, an intense emotional response.
The Vukovar water tower, continues Pavlaković, is present almost like a mural throughout Croatia - in popular culture, films, video games... Last year, a large number of young people participated in the commemoration.
In other words, politics in the region often instrumentalizes popular culture. So, for example, in the Croatian example, Plenković goes to Thompson. However, it is hard to imagine that someone from the HDZ would call Šeregi to congratulate him and praise him with the words that he is Wedding good movie.
"A responsible policy would support and illuminate positive examples," emphasizes Pavlaković.
RESPONSIBILITY AND THE CHURCH
"Throughout history, the Church has been the bearer and guardian of art, always respecting the freedom of art and calling for responsibility as a reality of freedom. Unfortunately, today we are witnessing that there is too much freedom, and little or no responsibility. What kind of freedom is it that offends other people's fundamental religious truths? Where is the responsibility?"
These are the words from the announcement of the Ascension Parish of Novi Travnik, which called for a boycott of the film. The reason? U Weddings both the Orthodox bishop and the Catholic priest were portrayed in a very negative light - as overly inclined to materialism and opportunism. The projection was even called a blasphemous event in the announcement of the parish, and it was stated that the church would remain open until midnight in order to "come and pray for all artists, actors, directors and all others who in this and similar ways insult the religious freedom of any religion, faith or person".
The question "where is the responsibility" is certainly legitimate. But it could also be read differently: where is the responsibility of the churches when it comes to the relationship with others - minorities, the vulnerable, neighbors?
"I see the responsibility of the Catholic Church, when it comes to Croatia, in the failure to nurture people and the community in terms of Christian values. If these values were consistently nurtured, hatred would be incompatible with them," says Ana Raffai. The Catholic theologian recalls that she recently watched a program about a doctor of Jewish origin who helped Croats during the war.
"On the trucks carrying aid to the hospital in Nova Bila, and there were a lot of friars and nuns - I emphasize, during the war - there was a message of reconciliation and forgiveness. Where did that disappear?", he asks.
Recently, she adds, she spoke in Germany on the topic of "disagreement out of loyalty to religion". Why is criticism important?
"I took two topics - misogyny and nationalism. A few months ago, I realized that the Church is the only institution in Croatia that constantly sends misogynistic messages. Now stronger, now weaker, but constantly. Then, nationalism. Except for Archbishop Uzinić, not one of the 17 bishops, for example, has clearly criticized black shirts. Nationalism is so much in their DNA that they cannot recognize the danger from Thompson both for the people and for the Church."
Zagreb Archbishop Kutleša, Raffai reminds, sees in Thompson the unity of the people. One might add – unity against whom.
When it comes to the laity, he says, the situation is different than in the church leadership. There are also theologians who criticize populism, but those voices remain individual, while, as Raffai assesses, "the leadership of the Church is still in herd politics."
And the problems are numerous: historical revisionism encouraged from above, from the circles of political and church elites; the glorification of war and militarization without awareness of its real consequences, especially among those who have never experienced war; too few personal encounters between Croats and Serbs, encounters after which a certain immunity to poisonous narratives is acquired.
"There are too few encounters, and too many noises", believes Ana Raffai. "Now we see this polemic in connection with MP Dabra - it did not give birth to some anti-fascist attitudes, but showed that we are even more crazy. Similar to what Vučić is doing in your country - he drives people crazy, and nothing is learned from the conflict. And a crazy man cannot think wisely, no matter how hard he tries."
Public discourse is simply not conducive to prudence, deepening the topic or catharsis.
"And in that, populism will take more root," says Raffai. If we say that half a million of Thompson's listeners are not Ustashi, then I could answer - what were these Germans when they followed Hitler? Weren't they all fascists too? I mean, the fact that they don't know anything is not a guarantee for us, but there is a danger in that."
Hence, it is regrettable that the potential that the Church, including the faithful and not only the hierarchy, could have for peacemaking is wasted and fragmented.
"The main problem is who works in a structured, strategic manner on reconciliation both here and there. I guess it's good when Vučić says something and we all get up on our hind legs, and it's really nice to live like that with a neighbor... It's as if Vučić is Serbia. It's the same here - something happens, and your side only shouts: Ustaše, Ustaše... That's why the story of this film brought back at least a little warmth to me", concludes the interviewee.
Finally, the space of shared laughter can hardly be anything more than a space for conversations, questioning and reflection. If nothing else, the fact that the Croatian actors spoke in Croatian, and the Serbian in Serbian, and everyone understood each other perfectly. It's like they speak the same language, really or symbolically, it doesn't matter.
