Posters and Propaganda

The propaganda machine is in full-blast mode here. There are posters, graffiti, and rumors everywhere. Everyday there are new posters pasted on buildings, walls, columns, and buses. Usually they are just posted right on top of the previous day’s posters. Sometimes somebody takes the time to rip off the posters underneath. It seems like it is a mini-competition between Tadić and Nikolić (the two candidates who are in the second round of the presidential elections) supporters to see who can keep their signs on top. When I walk by a building in the morning, I see Tadić posters, but when I return buy there are Nikolić posters.

Presidential candidate posters aren’t the only posters making the rounds. As I mentioned a few months ago, there are huge signs in the pedestrian underpasses posted about Kosovo. (They say, “It was, It is, and It always will be”). Originally these posters were only posted in English and Serbian, but now new languages have been added. I have seen them in Japanese, French, and German. These posters don’t get ripped down or covered up because they are in glass cases so they are one of the constants in a stream of ever-changing posters. In addition to these posters, a recent appearance has been made by more Kosovo posters (in English, Serbian, and German). The English translation left me confused; it says, “Ahead for Kosmet!” From far way, I was thoroughly confused as to whether this message was supposed to be pro-independence or anti-independence. Was it a “Kosovo will continue to forge ahead for independence” message or a “We will continue to forge ahead in our campaign against Kosovo independence”? I tried to look up the words from the Serbian poster in my dictionary. Well, this proved unhelpful since the first word listed was ‘head.’ Looking further is had the word ‘ahead’ listed as well. This clarified nothing for me. So, last night I was walking around the city with a few of my friends. J (who is Serbian), was kind enough to provide a translation for J (the American one – she is also from Indiana) and I. Her translation was that they were actually saying “A head for Kosovo!” As in, “Give your head up for Kosovo.” We also looked closer at the posters and found that there was a web address and a nationalist symbol on the poster. So, the nationalist propaganda continues.

Then there is the graffiti. Graffiti in Belgrade is a political act. Most of the graffiti here is not the meaningless tagging that appears in the U.S. (Tagging = graffiti that is the “artist’s” name or symbol). There is some of that here (particularly of the type proclaiming that Jane loves John forever), but I would say at least two-thirds of the graffiti here has some political or social message. Which makes it very interesting. Since my arrival, I have been seeing “We won’t give up Kosovo!” everywhere. I have also seen a lot of the “Kosovo is Serbia!” variety. These are usually accompanied by a web address for a ultra-nationalist group.

The recent addition to the graffiti of Belgrade is the message saying “EU? No thank you.” J (the Hoosier) and I found this really funny that they would remain so polite about it (because EU, No thank you does not rhyme in Serbian so they weren’t going for poetry there). [The political context for this graffiti (in a nutshell) is the following: There is currently a lot of debate amongst Serbians as to whether or not they should join the EU (or more realistically, move towards joining the EU). One of the huge differences between the presidential candidates is that Tadić is pro-EU and Nikolić is against Serbia joining the EU.

The last venue of the propaganda (or the last I am going to discuss) lies in the rumors that have been generated regarding Hollywood actors and Kosovo. On Friday, during my mid-class break several of my fellow students were talking politics. The Kosovo question came up and the three of the students in my class made comments about their feelings on the subject. All three supported Serbia’s claim to Kosovo. I was not surprised that the Russian felt this way, but I was a little surprised the Australian and the student from Cyprus wholeheartedly supported Serbia. However, they are all three married to Serbians. One of the students then informed us that a lot of Hollywood actors are supporting Serbia and are against Kosovo independence. The actors specifically mentioned were George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie.

Last night when I went out for coffee with J and J (the Hoosier and the Serbian) we discussed this rumor. J, the Serbian, had heard that George Clooney and Sharon Stone were against Kosovo independence and were willing to lead a protest. We discussed our surprise that U.S. movie stars would take such an interest in the issue and have such strong positions (particularly ones that are against the mainstream U.S. opinion or at least the U.S. policy). We decided this was something we needed to google when we returned to their apartment. As soon as we returned from the cafe, I googled it. I found a lot about George Clooney and Sharon Stone in connection to the Kosovo issue. Apparently, George Clooney’s publicist has made a statement saying that George Clooney never made a statement against Kosovo independence. I found two separate articles trying to trace the statement back to the original source. One claimed it was first published in a German newspaper, while another article claimed it first appeared in a Serbian television news clip. Whatever the case, it is viewed as fact there that George Clooney is supporting Serbia’s claims to Kosovo. I did find this reported on several major Serbian news sites (a few of which have sense run retractions with the statement from Clooney’s publicist).

I did not find anything on google about Brad Pitt or Angeline Jolie making statements about Kosovo. I did find some Serbian nationalist websites that were claiming that Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, and Sean Connery were all supporting Serbia on this issue (along with George Clooney and Sharon Stone). However, when I tried to verify these statements nothing came up. I could only find these sorts of claims on Serbian nationalist websites and message boards. I sincerely doubt that any of these celebrities came out and supported Serbia and made statements against an independent Kosovo. Perhaps, the y did, but I doubt it. The point is that it is viewed as fact here by many people that they are supporting Serbia. The propaganda machine is hard at work and they are not only using international historical figures (such as President Lincoln, JFK, President Washington, Churchill, etc.), but they are also creating modern edge to their campaign by using international movie stars and celebrities. So far no billboards have been posted with a quote (used out of context as the quotes of JFK, Lincoln, Churchill, and Washington are being used) by George Clooney (which of course would be accompanied by a picture).

P.S. Don't miss the other new post entitled New Year's Eve.