Television, Rituals, Struggle for Public Memory in Serbia during 1990s

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to point to the the role of television (mainly state owned and controlled) and ritual actions, in creating and distributing messages concerning important social and political events during the 1990s. The main argument is that the urban street political protest actions that were performed by the political and social opponents of the ruling regime, mainly in Belgrade streets and squares, were a logical outcome of the regime’s media policy, and closely dependent on it. The aim of that policy was to silence the opposing voices and make them invisible, but also to avoid speaking about events that might threaten the image of the ruling regime as tolerant, peaceful and patriotic, the examples of which were information on war crimes, and devastations of Vukovar, Dubrovnik and Sarajevo. Political protests and ritual actions have created a place where these issues could safely be spoken out, thus creating an emerging public counter sphere. Instead of considering media and rituals as separated ways of communication, it will be showed how in particular social and political context in Serbia during 1990s, television and rituals have reached a point of mutual constitution and articulation.