engleski

The Historical Other as a Contemporary Figure of Socialism - Renegotiating Images of the Past in Yugoslavia Through the Figure of Matija Gubec

This paper questions the notion of historical Other in contemporary social and cultural contexts of popular culture and political discourse. Special attention is paid to the historical figure of Matija Gubec, a 16th century peasant revolt leader from Hrvatsko Zagorje region, today north-western part of Croatia. Even though the peasant revolt failed, the notion of Matija Gubec’s bravery stood as continual reference in different representations of this historical event. From the 19th century on, his bravery and supposed sacrifice for the freedom of the serfs made him a hero and often an argument of various political parties and ideologies. In this presentation special emphasis is paid to the figure of Matija Gubec as socialist contemporary in Yugoslavia. The presentation will show the interplay between the official representations of Matija Gubec in political discourse and the popular notions of Gubec in comics, movies and musical performances. As opposed to the official representations of Gubec where his unprecedented bravery and historical mission was brutally abrupt by his death thus anticipating the historical role of Josip Broz Tito in WWII, the popular culture made his figure more open to common people who identified themselves and their everyday problems with Gubec. Thus, the paper in general will question the strategies and practices of creating various representations of the past in socialist and post socialist contexts.

Socialism, Matija Gubec, historical figure, representation of the past

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