History and Ideology on the TV Screen – The Case of Serbian TV Series Ravna Gora

Abstract

In this presentation we will analyze how the TV Show “Ravna Gora” constructs historical events and actors. Our main theoretical inspiration will be Stuart Halls understanding of ideology as a “code” which structures discourses and texts. Therefore, by analyzing “Ravna Gora” as a text we will set out to find an underlying code that structures various signifying chains and narrative elements within it. Our analysis will consist of a syntagmatic and a paradigmatic dimension. In the syntagmatic dimension we will use narrative analysis to explore how various character behaviors, transformations, relations as well as events through the duration of the series form a coherent structure. In the paradigmatic dimension we will apply the semiotic method to analyze various symbolic elements that appear throughout the series. By combining these two dimensions we seek to find a “deep structure” within the text of the series which structures the way various characters and events are symbolized and contrasted with each other. We will conclude our presentation by relating the findings of our analysis to the broader context of cultural changes in the serbian post-socialist transformation in which “Ravna Gora” appeared.