1. NAŠA KRMAČA AND THE POLITICS OF HUMOR IN 1990s AND EARLY 2000s SERBIA.
- Author
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Petrović, Tanja
- Subjects
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PRESS & politics , *NEWSPAPERS , *SATIRE in journalism , *CITIZENSHIP - Abstract
This essay addresses the position satirical paper Naša krmača (and Bre! as its supplement and, later, an independent paper) occupied in the Serbian media landscape in the 1990s and early 2000s, both during Milošević's regime and after its toppling. It also discusses the legacy these newspapers created and their significance for today's Serbia and its media scene. Focusing on these satirical newspapers the essay touches upon three broader questions that are at the heart of debates about meanings, functions, and effects of political humor. The first question concerns the relationship between the serious and unserious/humorous content in media practices that employ humor, parody, satire, and related discursive means as a reaction to political circumstances perceived as oppressive or generally unacceptable. Secondly, it discusses the nature of the relationship between political humor and political change. And lastly, the time span that encompasses both the time of Milošević's rule and the post-Milošević period after October 2000 up to today and the temporal distance from the time of their publication allows me to analyze Naša krmača and Bre! not only as satirical newspapers, but also as a reflection of a specific period and a discrete generational experience. In the concluding part of this essay I discuss the importance of Naša krmača for media based on political humor in contemporary Serbia, in political and media circumstances different from those that prevailed in the 1990s. Despite Naša krmača's "unserious" character and short life span, its position among counter media in Serbia in the 1990s and its significance for those still involved in alternative and critical activism in Serbia suggest that the importance of this satirical newspaper goes beyond mocking the regime and "having fun in hard times" and point to visions, practices, and imaginations of moral citizenship and journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021