I don't understand turbofolk, and I really don't understand Ceca. Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović, that is.
I think I may be horrified. At the very least, I think I'm confused...
And I know I'm going to open the proverbial bag of worms with this one, so I'm struggling with how to begin. I guess I'll take on turbofolk first, as this is the potentially least threatening subject of the two. Maybe.
I've always been a little lost as to the popularity of this music, but I accept that this may be a cultural thing. If I had been born here, maybe I'd be listening to the pop/folk ululations of those fantastically thin and beautiful women. Really, what's the difference between Madonna and
Christina and, say...Ceca?
Well. Off the top of my head, I would say the first two weren't married to wanted war criminals, but that's just off the top of my head...
Bag of worms. Bag of worms.
I had known of Ceca's existence for quite some time as she was married to the Serbian paramilitary leader (and, if I may editorialize, murdering opportunistic extremist) Željko Ražnatović, commonly known as Arkan. His paramilitary fighters were the stuff nasty is made of. See here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1347218.stm and here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/605266.stm.
Oh, he was also facing charges of ethnic cleansing by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Until he was shot, that is...
From all I gather, Ceca remains devoted to her husband's memory and continues to defend him absolutely--despite all that pesky "war crimes" hearsay.
Yet, she remains popular in Bosnia. Mwah?
According to the good folks at Wikipedia...
Ceca's popularity in Bosnia and Herzegovina and especially Croatia (where popularity of this genre of music is a new phenomenon, yet Ceca is not aired on any major stations), also caused certain controversies. She has been attacked by many Bosnian and Croatian public figures because of her involvement with Arkan and has even been called a war criminal herself. She has said publicly that she loves and greets all of her fans, but that she will never perform in either Zagreb or Sarajevo.
So, why am I in a tizzy?
I just came back from a friend's house, where Ceca was playing seemingly non-stop. My friend, a lovely woman with two children, is Bosniak (which means Bosnian Muslim for those not in the know) who experienced MANY BAD THINGS during the war. Really, any Sarajevan in Sarajevo during the seize has equally ugly stories, just bear this in mind...Anyway, I turned to the television, thinking, "Is that Ceca? No..."
Me: Hey, A. is that..is that Ceca?
A: Oh yes, she's a very popular Serbian singer.
Me: Oh, yeah, I know. Um, wasn't she married to, you know...?
A: Oh yes. Oh my. Bad man.
Me: Right. Right.
I should have followed right up on this, but what was I supposed to say? "Don't you think that's a little like letting your kids watch Eva Braun?" And, no, I don't think that's too harsh a comparison. Why support someone with this history? Someone who has remained openly unapologetic despite evidence to the contrary? (There are pictures and letters...It's not like documentary evidence is unavailable.) I can't get behind that.
How can you?
And I know I'm going to open the proverbial bag of worms with this one, so I'm struggling with how to begin. I guess I'll take on turbofolk first, as this is the potentially least threatening subject of the two. Maybe.
I've always been a little lost as to the popularity of this music, but I accept that this may be a cultural thing. If I had been born here, maybe I'd be listening to the pop/folk ululations of those fantastically thin and beautiful women. Really, what's the difference between Madonna and
Christina and, say...Ceca?
Well. Off the top of my head, I would say the first two weren't married to wanted war criminals, but that's just off the top of my head...
Bag of worms. Bag of worms.
I had known of Ceca's existence for quite some time as she was married to the Serbian paramilitary leader (and, if I may editorialize, murdering opportunistic extremist) Željko Ražnatović, commonly known as Arkan. His paramilitary fighters were the stuff nasty is made of. See here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1347218.stm and here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/605266.stm.
Oh, he was also facing charges of ethnic cleansing by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Until he was shot, that is...
From all I gather, Ceca remains devoted to her husband's memory and continues to defend him absolutely--despite all that pesky "war crimes" hearsay.
Yet, she remains popular in Bosnia. Mwah?
According to the good folks at Wikipedia...
Ceca's popularity in Bosnia and Herzegovina and especially Croatia (where popularity of this genre of music is a new phenomenon, yet Ceca is not aired on any major stations), also caused certain controversies. She has been attacked by many Bosnian and Croatian public figures because of her involvement with Arkan and has even been called a war criminal herself. She has said publicly that she loves and greets all of her fans, but that she will never perform in either Zagreb or Sarajevo.
So, why am I in a tizzy?
I just came back from a friend's house, where Ceca was playing seemingly non-stop. My friend, a lovely woman with two children, is Bosniak (which means Bosnian Muslim for those not in the know) who experienced MANY BAD THINGS during the war. Really, any Sarajevan in Sarajevo during the seize has equally ugly stories, just bear this in mind...Anyway, I turned to the television, thinking, "Is that Ceca? No..."
Me: Hey, A. is that..is that Ceca?
A: Oh yes, she's a very popular Serbian singer.
Me: Oh, yeah, I know. Um, wasn't she married to, you know...?
A: Oh yes. Oh my. Bad man.
Me: Right. Right.
I should have followed right up on this, but what was I supposed to say? "Don't you think that's a little like letting your kids watch Eva Braun?" And, no, I don't think that's too harsh a comparison. Why support someone with this history? Someone who has remained openly unapologetic despite evidence to the contrary? (There are pictures and letters...It's not like documentary evidence is unavailable.) I can't get behind that.
How can you?
posted by J. at
12:14 PM
2 Comments:
Even without the historical-political context, Ceca's "music" is just plain horrific... But, you know, De Gustibus...
Just goes to show, bad taste has no borders (political or other)
Agree and caught your point. Some people do not see the links between the things...Sad.
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