Turbofolk in Serbia and the representation of women: the pseudo transgression of musical production
Keywords:
turbofolk, mujeres, Serbia, sponzoruše, representaciónAbstract
The text addresses the social and cultural aspects of the creation of popular music in Serbia in the post-Yugoslav period, with special attention to the so-called turbofolk scene, and the way in which women are represented in this context. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia and its socialist apparatus, through the changes derived from the formal and informal organizations of social and cultural life, it contributed to the constitution of new paradigms in gender representations in popular culture. Post-Yugoslav societies, and the economic conditions in which a State marked by strong ethno-national principles for homogenization was formed, caused changes in the level of daily consumption of popular culture, especially popular music. In public opinion and in the media in Serbia, at the beginning of the 90s of the 20th century, the turbofolk scene prevailed and took hold, with a characteristic sound that combines simple and repetitive components that came from socialism in socialism. genre called neofolk, with new easily producible arrangements, close to techno and dance music. The main characteristics of this musical production are mainly simplified by a repetitive musical form, a wide offer for consumers and a component of cheap manufacturing of elements at the level of images and lyrics. One of the main characteristics of the media scene is the prominence of the singer and her expressly sexualized image, where the representation of female identities, both on stage and in the media coverage that accompanies these stars, in their The majority are formed according to the behavioral model of sponzoruše: girls who tend to interact erotically only with those men who have a lot of money and influence. The sponzoruše model of behavior became commonplace in public opinion also in the period of economic and social crisis in Serbia. In the media and popular culture, this is often portrayed as the most conducive model for women in Serbia who want to achieve success. This article is specifically concerned with determining whether the image linked to turbofolk includes and incorporates a subversive potential that discredits the hierarchical matrix of manipulative heteronormativity of gender relations. The author's final position is that turbofolk is a production that, although in some cases it introduces elements of an alternative identity and politics, nevertheless firmly resists practices and content that could endanger the heteronormative matrix of this form of entertainment. It can be said that the turbofolk music scene, in essence, symbolically promotes a conformist model of women in the current social, cultural and financial centers of power, in which men dominate, manipulate and support the dominant gender social dynamics in the society.
References
Anthias, Floya, Yuval-Davis, Nira. (1989). “Introduction”, en Floya, Anthias and Yuval Davis, Nira. (Ed.), Women-Nation-State, New York: St Martin’s Press
Čolović, Ivan. (1985). Divlja književnost. Beograd: Čigoja.
Dimitrijević, Branislav. (2002). ”Ovo je savremena umetnost: turbo-folk kao radikalni performans”, en Prelom, No.2-3, 100-102.
Dragićević-Šešić, Milena. (1994). Neofolk kultura: publika i njene zvezde. Novi Sad: Izdavačka knjižarnica Zorana Stojanovića.
Dyer, Richard. (1998). Stars. London: British Film Intitute.
Edensor, Tim. (2002). National Identity, Popular Culture and Everyday Life. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Gordy, Eric M. (1999). Culture of Power in Serbia. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Grujić, Marija. (2009). Community and the Popular: Women, Nation and Turbo-Folk in post-Yugoslav Serbia. Tesis doctoral registrada en 2009, y defendida en 2010 en la Universidad Central Europea de Budapest.
Hall, Stuart. (1997). “Introduction”, en Stuart Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying practice, London: Sage, 13-64.
Ivanović, Stanoje. (1973). “Narodna muzika između folklore i kulture masovnog društva”, en Kultura, No.23, 166-195.
Kronja, Ivana. (2001). Smrtonosni sjaj: Masovna psihologija i estetika turbo-folka. Beograd: Tehnokratija.
Luković, Petar. (1989). Bolja prošlost: prizori iz muzičkog života Jugoslavije 1940-1989. Beograd: Mladost.
Sretenović, Dejan. (2002). “Oh, God, Open all Doors for Me”, en Prelom, No. 2/3, 103-104.
V. Rasmussen, Ljerka. (2002). Newly Composed Folk Music of Yugoslavia. New York: Routledge.
Rasmussen, Ljerka Vidić. (1996). “The Southern Wind of Change: Style and Politics of Identity in pre-War Yugoslavia”, en Slobin, Marko (Ed.). Retuning Culture: musical changes in Central and Eastern Europe. Durham: Duke University Press, 99-116.
Yuval-Davis, Nira. (1997). Gender and Nation. London: Sage Publications.
