Postmemory in the Post-Yugoslav Drug Film: Siniša Cvetić’s 'Usekovanje'

• In Event: Out of the Past: Representations of Communism and Post-Communism on Screen

Abstract

After briefly reviewing the genealogy of this cinematic discourse – including the works of Jovan Jovanović, Srdjan Dragojević, and Srdan Golubović – the paper will discuss the film Usekovanje(dir. Siniša Cvetić, 2022). In particular, it will analyze Cvetić’s attention to postmemory, a novel theme in post-Yugoslav drug films. As I argue, Cvetić’s comedic appeal to memory offers a break from the exclusivist paradigm of the genre, allowing the speed-snorting young protagonist his proverbial and literal seat at the table of post-Yugoslav Serbian society.

Author

• Ryan Hoaglund, U of Michigan