‘IT’S ALL QUIET, DEAR, NOBODY’S A QUEER’: QUEER MOTIFS IN SERBIAN CINEMA
Posted: Sep 30th 2008
Author: Olga Dimitrijević
In her text about queer motifs in Serbian cinema, the author understands the term queer mainly as an umbrella expression for different self-identifying culturally marginalized groups, usually lesbians, gays, bi- and transsexuals, and then lists and examines different examples of representation of queers in Serbian film. For the most part throughout history, Serbian films have followed social stereotypes about queers sometimes to absurd dimensions (as in Ćao, insprektore (Ciao, inspector!, 1985), while female sexuality and lesbians have been almost ignored. Some rare and valuable exceptions are films of “The Black Wave” like Vrane (Crows, 1969), WR: Misterija organizma (WR: Mysteries of the Organism, 1971), Bubašinter (The Bug Killer, 1971), and later on Marble Ass (1994). In recent films such as Diši duboko (Take a Deep Breath, 2004) and Mi nismo anđeli 2 (We Are Not Angels 2, 2005), where authors have claimed they showed something nobody had shown before, homosexuality serves as a marketing logline that adds a dose of sensationalism to the movie premiere. This essay points out the stereotypes and singles out notable and artistically successful exceptions in the treatment of queers and queer themes in Serbian cinema.
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