Media as Memory Makers: Television, Film and Music in the Construction of Yugonostalgia Across Generations

Abstract

The topic of our paper will primarily be the role of media (films, TV shows, music) in conjuring (Yugo)nostalgia in the former citizens of Yugoslavia and, vicariously, in their descendants, although they might not have been born during the existence of Yugoslavia. Consequently, the media proves to be of enormous importance in creating not only a form of shared, cross-cultural memory of the former citizens, but a sort of cross-generational memory, providing an opportunity to the younger generations to see what living in Yugoslavia looked like. The corpus for our research will consist of the selected examples from the Yugoslav films and entertainment programs which still present a part of some television programs, as well as certain radio stations which specifically broadcast music from the former Yugoslavia. The analysis will try to reach the conclusion that the video or auditory content might represent a powerful tool in arousing pleasant, or unpleasant emotions in their potential consumers, or in bridging the cross-cultural, or cross-generational gap.