Post-Yugoslav Literature and Film

The 1990s violence in the Former Yugoslavia, the worst in Europe since World War II, triggered the conversion of multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and cosmopolitan areas of idiosyncratic and independent socialism into regions of xenophobic nationalism, wars, and, afterwards, Western-style democracy and capitalism. Unified by their artistic response to these cataclysmic changes, post-Yugoslav literary works and films have much to offer the wider world. Crnkovic reveals select post-Yugoslav literary and cinema works as groundbreaking exploratory achievements of global relevance. She presents post-Yugoslav literature and film as art that makes us aware of previously unconsidered things that bring us wars, and those that constitute part of the tapestry of peace. She foregrounds the radical potential of art to change and enrich the global landscapes of concepts, sensitivities, and politics. As such her book is important not only for those interested in this region, but also for all those wanting to discover and engage with world literature and cinema, and willing to encounter the potential of great new art to illuminate and challenge the world we live in.

Reveals select post-Yugoslav literary and cinema works as groundbreaking exploratory achievements of global relevance.

Acknowledgments Pronunciation Guide Introduction Post-Yugoslav Literature and Film, and a Different Kind of Knowledge Chapter 1 Foundations I While Falling Asleep: A Trace of the Moment in Yugoslavia Chapter 2 Play and the Language of Community Against Rumor and the Guns: Alenka Mirkovic's 91.6 MHz Chapter 3 Reclaiming Charisma, Resetting the Senses: Vladimir Arsenijevic's In the Hold Chapter 4 The Ethics of Listening and the Grounding of a Child: Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain Chapter 5 Foundations II Eternal Realms and Individual Victims in Ivo Andric's Ex Ponto and Unrest Chapter 6 "The Truthful Road to Me": Short Takes on Six Bosnian Films Chapter 7 Under the Star of Orwell: Jurica Pavicic's Plaster Sheep and Ante Tomic's Nothing Should Surprise Us Chapter 8 The Museum Spills Out on the Square, the Past's Challenge to the Present: The Films of Vinko Bresan Chapter 9 I am You and You are Me: on Liberating Anti-Nationalism Chapter 10 Pleasant Distractions: The Danger of Close-ups and Maja Weiss's The Border Guard Chapter 11 Foundations III Success vs. Logic: Miroslav Krleza's On the Edge of Reason Chapter 12 Anarchists Today: The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon Bibliography Index