War, patriotism and chauvinism as standard topics in Croatian modern cinematography from 2000-2017

Rad se bavi nastankom i razvitom svjetskog i hrvatskog filma, te učestalosti tematika rata, patriotizma i šovinizma u modernim hrvatskim uradcima. U prvom dijelu rada je analizirana povijest filma u svijetu, te je pojašnjenja terminologija vezana za film, faze nastajanja koje prolazi, ali i festivali putem kojih se sami filmovi nagrađuju i prezentiraju široj javnosti. Potom je rađena povijesna analiza hrvatskog filma, spomenuti su hrvatski filmski festivali, ali su raščlanjeni i pojmovi rata, patriotizma i šovinizam, odnosno nezaobilazne teme moderne hrvatske kinematografije. Povijesnom analizom je tako ustanovljeno da je domaći film razoren između gotovo nezaustavljive volje za stvaranjem, i prošlosti pune ratova, konflikata, tenzija i autokratskih režima. Sve te nesretne okolnosti, su uzrokovale (međuostalom) i stagnaciju filmskih tema čak i tijekom perioda mira, i utjecale na filmske umjetnike do te mjere da ili stvaraju većinom filmove ratnog žanra, ili da inkorporiraju elemente rata, patriotizma i šovinizma gdje god je to moguće. A to je potvrđeno i u sljedećem dijelu rada kroz analizu sadržaja 15 igranih filmova neratne tematike, nastalih između 2000. i 2017. Kod svih filmova je uočena velika količina izraza koji upućuju na analizirane teme, ali ponajviše šovinizma, koji je definitivno dominirao u svim uradcima, i to ponajviše na štetu patriotizma, koji je prikazan na najbanalniji način. U zaključku rada, osim sveukupne tmurne slike hrvatskog filma, se također navodi da su spomenuti i analizirani filmovi samo djelić hrvatske produkcije, odnosno da su oni samo ono što se servira masama, i što takozvani eksperti nagrađuju. A sve to ukazuje i na veći problem, odnosno na pokvareni sustav koji nagrađuje samo filmove koji spadaju u određene šablone, a ne na potpuni manjak kreativnosti domaćih filmaša.This thesis revolves around the history of film, in Croatia and in the rest of the world, and around the recurring themes that can be found in modern Croatian films. In the first chapter of the thesis there is a short elaborate on the film history of the world, followed by the process of filmmaking, and a list of major film festivals around the globe. After the first chapter, the focus shifts to Croatian cinema, with its history, festivals, and recurring themes like war, patriotism and chauvinism, that are thoroughly explained at the end of the chapter using definitions given by historians and experts on political science, but also practical examples. What transpired here, is that the Croatian cinema industry has always been torn apart between an unstoppable will to create, and the burden of past wars, conflicts, tensions and autocratic regimes, which has then led to a stagnation in film themes even in periods of peace, and also influenced artists to either create predominantly war films, or incorporate themes of war, patriotism and chauvinism wherever possible. This was confirmed not only from a historical point of view but also in the following chapter, with a content analysis of 15 non war films, produced between 2000 and 2017. In all tof them, traces of said themes were more than present, with chauvinism leading by all accounts, and patriotism been the weakest. Asides from painting a quite bleak portrait of Croatian cinema, in the conclusion it is also said that the analysed films are but a small fraction of what is produced in Croatia at the moment, and that they merely represent what is served to the masses, and praised by so called experts, which points more in the direction of a corrupt system, than on a lack of creativity of Croatian filmmakers