Aristocrați și escroci balcanici în filmul occidental

Abstract

The multicultural and multiethnic societies in the Balkans were seldom mirrored in Western literature and cinema. Most often their aristocrats and swindlers offered spectacular images from this region of the world. Writers like Byron, Saki, Saul Bellow, Alistair MacLean, Olivia Manning, Lawrence Durell and Agatha Christie spent some time in the Balkans, while others such as Voltaire, Bram Stoker, Karl May, G.B. Shaw and Sidney Sheldon have never set foot in these places. On the other hand, Jules Verne, Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, Marguerite Yourcenar, Umberto Eco and Julian Barnes tried to do a more thorough research into Balkan history and culture. Apart from screening literary works on the Balkans there are mainly three reasons for making films about this region: to portray some local historical figures, to locate romances and to use their ill fame or simply to tell stories about venturesome voyages in exotic places. Therefore most often such images are conventional and full of stereotypes. However, a stereotype proves a certain fame and it is better than no image at all.

Keywords

• the Balkans
• romance
• ill fame
• screening literary works
• stereotype
• exoticism
• escapism
• imaginary countries