Má Bohéma. Meze a možnosti historikova soudu // My Bohéma. Confines and possibilities of a historian’s judgement

Abstract

The author considers in his article a Czech Television series called Bohéma aired in January and February 2017 (screenplay by Tereza Brdečková, direction by Robert Sedláček). This production merits attention not only as an artistic phenomenon but also as a background for questions that a historian asks. Is it really an interpretation of history or pure fiction? What is the genre of this work: playing with history on the edge between a trashy production, fiction with a historical background, playing with an ambition to present a slice of Czech history? In every case it is a stimulus for reflections on the relationship between ‘memory’ and its demands (represented by contemporaries — survivors) and ‘drawn history’, or art that has incorporated into its narrative real-life characters, time and space. For the author the series is a stimulus for bringing up to date classic historic themes.

Keywords

• film
• Czech history
• 20th century
• coming to terms with the past