Primitive insults, violence, and Sex in front of the camera: Not a rarity in Reality Shows, which are produced in Serbia. A young Serbian lawyer would like to change that. Dragoslav Dedovic met him in Belgrade.
Savo Manojlovic: “suddenly, you don’t see that you’re alone”
In an average Serbian household, the television runs almost continuously, even children can usually sit for long in front of the telly. Especially popular are Reality Shows, which are broadcast by private stations almost around the clock. The typical participants range from mentally unstable persons to known Criminals. Rude behavior, insults, gleefully described intimate Details of violence and Sex are part of the standard repertoire.
“The humiliations suffered by the participants of the Show, are a consolation for the bad circumstances of life and the Suffering of the audience,” says psychologist Aleksandra Djurić, who has written her doctoral thesis on the subject of Reality Shows in Serbia. The consequences of both children and adults suffer. These include Increasing passivity, numbing of critical thinking, loss of integrity, impoverishment of the emotional and intellectual development of the people belong to:”.”
Conclusion: in The name of Reality Shows, with their aggressiveness, their pornographic and vulgar tendencies, a growing Problem in Serbia is. While there is a General legal framework, the this could contain, but the room for interpretation is large. This allows institutions to simply look the other way.
“First they ignore you…”
The 33-year-old legal scholar and activist Savo Manojlovic not want to accept the. With its already 2015, founded the “Association for the protection of constitutionality and legality” makes it mobile now – for legislation on the electronic media, which are formulated so clearly that there is no room for different interpretations.
To show why this is important, it’s called Savo Manojlovic the example of a Serbian Reality Show, in which a participant is a Participant with the gun threatened. During the Live broadcast to the living room, the danger seemed real. “Finally, when a Boy exposes himself to a girl in the school, such bullying, has he seen such a pattern before in the TV show,” says the young lawyer.
His club wrote to various Serbian institutions and sent as proof of the YouTube Video with the gun scene. The office of the public Prosecutor-in-law. The independent state Commission to oversee adherence to the Law, the television stations, replied simply: “The Review of Online channels such as YouTube is not part of our jurisdiction.” A ludicrous formulation, says Savo Manojlovic. It was as if you would send the Video recording of a crime to the Prosecutor, and the answer would be, the Prosecutor’s office write not a review of the movie, says the young lawyer.
“…then they fight you”
According to the Serbian laws, the glorification of violence on television is punishable by law, explained Savo Manojlovic. This also applies to “mislead the audience”. The Jurist did not hesitate long: His Association gathered signatures, with the goal of moving the Parliament to clarify the existing laws.
Serbia is part of the daily TV consumption of the world’s top
The powerful owner of the media group’s Pink of this popular initiative was not thrilled, is obvious. In Serbia would make “all of the TV programs according to their own taste and censorship exercise,” he lamented. A year ago he left his excellent political contacts, as the Serbian Minister of culture publicly criticised the Proliferation of Reality Shows in Serbia. Even President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić back booed the Minister.
In the Savo Manojlovic written response to the censorship accusation of Pink was rejected-owner decided. In the Letter, the indication is that in the case of TV Pink seven hours of broadcast time per day, with Reality Shows almost 40 percent of the entire program be filled, and so, without a single Minute of broadcast time for other, legally binding content from the areas of culture, science or children. The answer was published in the Pink programs never.
“…and then you win”
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win” – quoted by Savo Manojlovic his favorite saying of Mahatma Gandhi. Initially, the environment responded skeptically, many argued that in Serbia, without the appropriate party logistics, nothing to go to. However, some of the club members, students, and NGOs were immediately impressed. “Our biggest success was that we had a Zero Budget and still showed that the simple citizen is sovereign. People are Power,” says the lawyer.
His team gathered Volunteers between the ages of 23. and the 29. June behind lent and handmade posters taped stands patiently persisted. With success: they collected more than 42,000 signatures. A popular initiative may be in Serbia for the official bill, if collected within seven days of 30,000 signatures. For comparison: The pre-condition for the participation of the political parties in the electoral process are 10,000 signatures in a much longer period of time.
Savo Manojlovic know for a fact that his law could catch a draft for a long time in various drawers dust. He will organise the second stage – the public pressure on institutions. Because of the success of revived hope: “At once one sees that one is not alone, that there are in the country, many similar thinking people. If you find these people, then the common victory is only a matter of time.”
For the Rulers, their public appearances to remember, sometimes, to Reality Shows, when the Opposition and the dissenters are reviled at the end, has Savo Manojlovic a clear message: “The Parliament will not accept the proposed amendment to the law only when the Supreme legislator of the law will approve of adversity. We are not a part of the problem, but the solution.”