Balkan nations put cultural stars on a pedestal

Bilefsky, D. (2007, November 11). Balkans nations put cultural stars on a pedestal. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved November 26, 2007, from http://www.iht.com


In Zitiste, Serbia, a statue of Rocky (yes, as in Rocky Balboa from Rocky I, II, III, IV, V, VI....) has been put up, only 12 miles away from the future site of a Tarzan sculpture in the village of Medja. The Tarzan statue will commemerate Olympic swimmer and actor Johnny Weismuller.

In Mostar, a Bosnian city scarred by war between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, a statue of Bruce Lee was built to commemerate the actor, who "brought cultures together and embodieded the fight for justice."

In Cacak (southwest of Blegrade), a statue of former topless model Samantha Fox will be built soon, say city officials. She captured the attention of the locals when she performed her hit song, "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)."

"But Bojan Marceta, a 28-year-old local cameraman who raised €5,000, or about $7,300, to commission the statue, said Rocky was a universal hero and far more deserving of respect than Serbia's own recent leadership.

"Nobody from the wars of the 1990s or from the former Yugoslavia deserves a monument, because all our leaders did was to prevent us from progressing," said Marceta, who celebrated the unveiling of the statue in August with fireworks at a public concert. "My generation can't find role models, so we have to look elsewhere. Hollywood can provide an answer.""

(My country has not provided heros to build statues of, so we have to find heros elsewhere. Thank you, Hollywood.)

"Dragan Pusara, an assistant to the mayor, said he hoped that the brawny likeness of Weissmuller, the town's native son, would bring luck and investment to Medja after devastating floods.
He said Tarzan was a fitting icon for Serbs because he had been put in the jungle with nothing and, against all odds, managed to survive. Tarzan, he added, would transcend the ethnic divisions of Medja - home to Serbs, Hungarians and Serbs of German descent - because "he belongs to everyone."
"After World War II, hundreds of displaced people arrived here with their families and one piece of luggage, and they needed to be strong to survive just like Tarzan," Pusara said.""

Some sociologists say that the Balkan states suffered an identity crisis after the wars in the 1990s, when it was hard to tell the differene between opressors and victims. In Hollywood movies, it's very obvious who the heros and villians are, so it's easy to pick a hero to make a statue of.