Assessing Turbofolk Controversies: Popular Music between the Nation and the Balkans

Abstract

This article explores controversies provoked by the Serbian pop-folk musical style “turbofolk” which emerged in the 1990s. Turbofolk has been accused of being a lever of the Milošević regime – an inherently nationalist cultural phenomenon which developed due to the specific socio-political conditions of Serbia in the 1990s. In addition to criticism of turbofolk on the basis of nationalism and war-mongering, it is commonly claimed to be “trash,” “banal,” “pornographic,” “(semi-)rural,” “oriental” and “Balkan.” In order to better understand the socio-political dimensions of this phenomenon, I consider other Yugoslav musical styles which predate turbofolk and make reference to pop-folk musical controversies in other Balkan states to help inform upon the issues at stake with regard to turbofolk. I argue that rather than being understood as a singular phenomena specific to Serbia under Milošević, turbofolk can be understood as a Serbian manifestation of a Balkan-wide post-socialist trend. Balkan pop-folk styles can be understood as occupying a liminal space – an Ottoman cultural legacy – located between (and often in conflict with) the imagined political poles of liberal pro-European and conservative nationalist orientations. Understanding turbofolk as a value category imbued with symbolic meaning rather than a clear cut musical genre, I link discussions of it to the wider discourse of Balkanism. Turbofolk and other pop-folk styles are commonly imagined and articulated in terms of violence, eroticism, barbarity and otherness the Balkan stereotype promises. These pop-folk styles form a frame of reference often used as a discursive means of marginalisation or exclusion. An eastern “other” is represented locally by pop-folk performers due to oriental stylistics in their music and/or ethnic minority origins. For detractors, pop-folk styles pose a danger to the autochthonous national culture as well as the possibility of a “European” and cosmopolitan future. Correspondingly I demonstrate that such Balkan stereotypes are invoked and subverted by many turbofolk performers who positively mark alleged Balkan characteristics and negotiate and invert the meaning of “Balkan” in lyrical texts.

The Relationship Between Musical Preferences, Personal Values and Personality Traits

“…U skla-du s rezultatima dosadašnjih istraživanja (Fried, 2003;Rentfrow i Gosling, 2007), očekivano je da će se slušateljima rapa, metala i rocka u većoj mjeri pripisivati crte Mračne trijade te vrijednosti otvorenosti prema promjenama, a manje vrijednosti zadržavanja tradicionalnih odnosa. Također, očekuje se da visoko izražene crte Mračne trijade i vrijednosti vlastita probitka budu procijenjene tipičnim za slušatelje turbofolka (Archer, 2012), dok u pogledu ostalih glazbenih žanrova nema specifičnih očekivanja.…”

“…Od svih glazbenih žanrova, nakon parcijaliziranja spola sudionika, jedino je turbofolk nisko, ali statistički značajno, povezan s crtama Mračne trijade (r = 0,15 s makijavelizmom te r = 0,13 s narcizmom; FDR < 0,01), što se slaže s očekiva-njima, kao i percepcijom slušatelja turbofolka kao sklonih nasilju, eroticizmu i barbarstvu (Archer, 2012). Iako bi se na temelju prijašnjih istraživanja o delinkventnom ponašanju (primjerice, Ter Bogt, Keijsers i Meeus, 2013) i odnosu takva ponašanja s Mračnom trijadom (Chabrol i sur., 2009) mogla pretpostaviti njezina pozitivna veza s "buntovnim i intenzivnim" žanrovima, ovim istraživanjem ona nije zabilježena.…”

“…Odnos turbofolka i vlastita probitka može se objasniti već spomenutom javnom predodž-bom o slušatelju turbofolka kao nasilnom, erotiziranom i konfliktnom "tipičnom Balkancu" koji stremi vlastitom uspjehu (Archer, 2012), dok s druge strane, kako rezultati sugeriraju, slušatelji zabavne glazbe i popa skloniji su tradicionalnijem pristupu životu -konformizmu, sigurnosti i poštovanju tradicije. Iz navedenog se naziru i dvije struje u hrvatskoj glazbenoj kulturi koje opisuje Baker (2008): glazbeni stil koji se proteže srednjoeuropskim zemljama i Sredozemljem, pa i Hrvatskom, a objedinjuje pop i zabavnu glazbu, a s druge strane glazbeni stil razvijen adaptacijom kulturalnih obilježja glazbe istočnjačke tradicije čiji se trag može pratiti do Osmanskoga Carstva, kojemu je suvremeni predstavnik turbofolk.…”

“…Kako bi se izbjegli ovakvi mogući učinci socijalne poželjnosti u budućim istraži-vanjima, uz samoprocjene, kao mjeru sudionikovih osobina, preporučuje se uključiti i procjenu njegovih bliskih poznanika ili barem neku od mjera socijalno poželjnog odgovaranja (poput Marlowe-Crowne skale, Crowne i Marlowe, 1960). Socijalno poželjno odgovaranje moglo bi se smatrati ograniče-njem i drugoga dijela istraživanja, pri čemu postoji mogućnost da su se sudionici pokušali prikazati "strogima" u procjenama prema žanru koji se smatra manje socijalno poželjnim i primitivnim, turbofolku (Archer, 2012), a s druge strane otvorenijima prema žanrovima kojima se često (ne)opravdano pripisuju nepoželjna ponašanja, poput metala. No ta manja socijalna poželjnost upućuje upravo na postojanje negativnoga stereotipa, što se i namjeravalo utvrditi ovim istraživanjem.…”

Feminine Libidinal Entrepreneurship

“…More recently, however, several critics have noted the limitation of this view. For instance, Archer (2012) argues that it is difficult to delegate turbo folk solely to the patriarchal domain because the genre sometimes embraces queer aesthetics (and has a strong LGBTQ following), and furthermore, as Archer finds, female agency and camaraderie seem to be popular motifs in turbo folk (201). Similarly, Uglješa Vuković (2014) notes: "Turbo folk as popular culture, besides pathetic earnestness, political compliance (as any culture), benign and playful kitsch, carries some emancipatory potentials as well."…”