Serbians Respond to In the Land of Blood and Honey
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Carrie NelsonTags:
Angelina Jolie Bosnia Bosnian War In the Land of Blood and Honey Serbia War Crimes wartime rape Yugoslav Wars
Image via http://impawards.com
Though still in limited release worldwide, Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, has sparked a lot of discussion. In particular, it is being acknowledged for its brutally honest depictions of violence (especially violence against women) that occurred during the Yugoslav Wars. Though the film is being received well globally, the response in Bosnia has been particularly strong. Many feel that the film speaks to the horrific realities of the war, and that the film will serve as an important record for future generations, including today’s youth, who did not grow up during the 1990s.
However, not all of the response has been positive. The Serbian media is accusing the film of being slanted and Jolie of having a pro-Muslim bias. Global Voices reported last week that Kurir, a daily paper in Serbia, has run a series of articles about the In the Land of Blood and Honey, claiming that the film presents “Serbs as criminals, killers, murderers and rapists, and Muslims as the only victims,” and asserting that Jolie “would like the public to think it is an art film, but it is actually pure anti-Serbian propaganda.”
Kurir is known as a sensationalist tabloid, so its influence may not be particularly damaging. However, it is not the only voice in Serbia speaking out against In The Land of Blood and Honey. Global Voices writes:
Momir Stojanovic, former director of the Serbian Military Intelligence Agency, also supported Kurir’s claim that Muslim extremists had funded Angelina’s project, saying “it is very close to the truth.”
Certainly, these responses by the Serbian media and military are completely offensive, but they also perpetuate flat-out lies. International courts have classified the abuses committed by Bosnian Serbs during the wars as ethnic cleansing, and there is significant evidence that the Serbian military is guilty of war crimes, particularly war rape. So the fact that In the Land of Blood and Honey is creating so many waves in Serbia probably means that there is a great degree of uncomfortable truth and accuracy in its depictions.
Though the film itself is bold and confrontational, Jolie has been wary of making generalizations about experiences that are not her own. As L.V. Anderson wrote on Slate:
Jolie, to her credit, seemed wary of making declarations about how the Bosnian conflict “really was.” She also seemed uncomfortable with her role as an outsider giving voice to other people’s stories of trauma. She spoke of her guilt about asking actors to play scenes of torment that their fellow countrymen had actually lived through. It’s quite clear that Jolie didn’t undertake the making of this film lightly. “Sometimes with even the best intentions … you still feel this huge pressure and responsibility to this real, very real, very difficult part of history,” she said.
Jolie is letting the film speak for itself. Though the film is arguably an extension of her global advocacy work, she is not interested in using it to make personal political statements. Rather, the film is the statement. Like all good political art, it is able to stand on its own as a representation of a larger truth — in this case, the realities of wartime sexual violence and abuse — and cause audiences to think about the issues in new, deeper ways. I am glad that she is using her directorial voice to magnify the voices of those directly impacted by the war, rather than as a vehicle for self-promotion.
I have yet to see In the Land of Blood and Honey, but I am curious about it. It sounds like a challenging, but vitally important, viewing experience. Have any of you had a chance to see it? If so, do you feel that it accurately and sensitively depicted the horrific realities of the Yugoslav Wars?
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4:15 pm
Carrie, the Serbian media has every right to critique the film. That is freedom of expression. Also, do you really know that the Serbian media comments are flat-out lies? All sides suffered during the Bosnian War. including the Serbs, and all sides committed atrocities, including the Croats and Bosniaks.
6:02 pm
Tanya -
I never meant to imply that the Serbian media does not have a right to critique the film. If my words suggested that, that was poor articulation on my part, and I take it back.
That said, people do not have to agree with every critique they read. I do think that the criticisms that were brought to light in the Global Voices article reflect untruths about the situation. I absolutely agree that all sides suffer in war, but it does seem that there was a significant imbalance of power and abuses during the war. Furthermore, the critiques in the Serbian media seem to have significant undertones of extreme anti-Muslim sentiments, which is why I called them “offensive.”
I will admit that my knowledge of the war is not vast. If you have any resources that refute what I wrote, I would be happy to read them and write a follow-up post to this. Thank you for your comment – I’m glad to have a discourse about this!
11:37 am
If you’re really interested in the topic, I’d recommend the book “How to Kill a Nation” by Michael Parenti and a documentary called “A Town betrayed.”
6:44 pm
Dear Carrie,
You are absolutely right that one is free to disagree with the critiques they read. I certainly disagree with the same ones as you, however, the paper has a right to quote people who have extremist views, fortunately or unfortunately. I also think that it is important to present different sources and angles on the coverage of this movie as Serbian media is not one publication, and certainly not Kurir at that. It would be interesting to follow this post up with a second one on your personal views after you see the film.
In the end, this film is bringing to light a very important issue, one that occurs in all wars, and is rarely discussed: wartime rape. Hopefully, we will see more hollywood films tackling violence against women in conflict.
Thanks for the response!
8:37 pm
In hindsight, I should have looked into other media sources to see their different takes on the film. This post was specifically inspired by the Global Voices article I referenced, but this is a very good reminder to always go beyond that initial level of research when writing, so thank you for that.
The film’s in very limited release now, but I’m hoping to see it soon. Once I do, I will definitely write a follow-up.
9:49 pm
I believe that any group that has the balance of power during war abuses such power and the people whom they have power over. It matters not whether they are Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Nazi’s, etc – during war, people justify horrible atrocities in the name of whatever cause they stand for. It is our acceptance of war that allows the atrocities to continue.