#Serbian pigeon

[candlelightsinner]

A collection of my favourite film posters of the 1987 classic Mališa directed by Boro Drašković. From top left to bottom right:

1. Original Yugoslavian release, 1987

2. Soviet Belarus release, 1988

3. Soviet Russian release, 1988

4. French release, 1987

5. East German release, 1987

6. Serbian-British limited re-release, 2017

[cringelordofchaos]

Random things related to the fake movie "mališa" I'm angry about for literally NO rational reason lmaooooo

Literally no one made a serbian fake poster even though the film is literally supposed to be serbian

All the fake shots of the movie I've seen so far are wayy too high quality but are just put into black and white. Like please the quality needs to be low it needs to be blurry to be realistic no? Or at least s LITTLE bit blurry idk

It's pretty much treated just like a goncharov 2

Some (MANY) people forget to tag unreality properly (this shit is important guys)

Everything else is fine imo the concept is interesting and if it was a real movie I would probably watch it but I'm angry at the very small amount of people that even know about it what is wrong with me lmao

[pahishylje]

I love that Tumblr is getting into older movies lately, it's introduced me to both of these masterpieces. Goncharov was obviously a great find but I wish more people would give credit to Mališa by Boro Drašković (1987).

Honestly, I think this is my new favourite movie. I've never cried such bitter tears over a pidgeon before.

EVERYBODY GO WATCH MALIŠA

[macbethz]

when people get mad at others on the internet for being pretentious they always make it sound oddly desirable. saw someone say "maybe if you didn't have such a throbbing superiority complex-" THROBBING?just fuck and get it over with

[patrocles]

when i say letterboxd filmtwt culture is about the performance and not about the appreciation or understanding of film, this is the goofy shit i’m talking about

[little-candy-store-of-horrors]

FINALLY watched Mališa (1987) just for this scene ngl 💀🤡✌️

[quietwingsinthesky]

I WANT TO WATCH SAM'S FRENCH MOVIE ABOUT A MIME THAT'S SECRETLY A COCKROACH

[guesswhattimeitis]

.

[therevengeoffrankenstein]

i honestly don't care if you don't like star wars or aren't interested in watching it, but i swear to g-d nearly every single filmbro quote unquote 'so-bad-it's-good' quote unquote 'i'll watch anything for my hot dead actor fave' camp lover who acts like they're better than everyone else for not watching it just because it's a popular thing always end up being the most annoying and miserable motherfuckers on this here planet earth.

[natequarter]

practically everyone even remotely into the henrician reformation (or the tudors in general) has said this before, but: the anne boleyn love story blah blah blah has been done to death. could we get Literally Anything Else, please and thank you? write the tragic doomed love story of thomas more and cromwell if you have to, but shut the everloving fuck up about anne boleyn

[an-apocalypse-of-magpies]

Why you wouldn’t actually like the Serbian Pigeon Film

Seeing that thing about ‘film bros when you’d rather watch marvel movie than 2hr black and white movie about serbian govt through the eyes of a pigeon’ again has given me thoughts about performative interest in art.

Specifically, the amount of people coming forward and saying about how, actually, they really like the sound of a 2hr black-and-white film, about the Serbian government, told through the eyes of a pigeon.

I’m probably going to ruffle a few feathers here, but ... no, you probably won’t. Or, more specifically, the audience that would actually like that film is probably a lot smaller than the Tumblr comments would imply.

Before we get any further, I want to point out that I’m not saying this in a ‘marvel movies are true art and i can’t handle any cinematic nuance’ kind of way. Mass market blockbuster movies could definitely stand to be more ambitious as far as artistic endeavour goes. Nor am I saying that complex art movies cannot be good. What I am saying is that, deep down, a lot of people like the idea of art movies more than the actual art movies themselves.

A lot of people like the idea of going to the opera, to fine art museums, to poetry recitations and lectures on obscure and specific topics. But whether they’ll actually enjoy the art when they get there is another matter. I am reminded of a study where, when asked about their taste in coffee, most people will say something like ‘a rich, dark roast’ or ‘full-bodied’, but when those same participants actually drank coffee, they tended to go for a lighter, middle-of-the-road roast that could brew quick and easy. This isn’t necessarily duplicitous - many people like cake but wouldn’t have cake every day, rich dark roasts might be expensive or time-consuming and thus had as a treat rather than an everyday coffee - but, for the most part, people tend to overstate their interest in ‘sophistication’.

‘Sophistication’, and by extent fine art, is entirely subjective and cultural norms shift. A couple of centuries ago, prawns/shrimp were seen in Europe as only good for fish bait, and lobsters were so reviled that an actual worker’s rights movement in Massachusetts in colonial days limited their lobster ration because it was seen as a garbage foodstuff fit only for criminals and slaves. A lot of old films were the blockbusters of their day. Shakespeare, to use the famous if facetious turn of phrase, was writing dick jokes for the masses. But, based on the aesthetics of the day, certain things will be associated with class and good character. Because of historic gatekeeping, this is often art that is rare and/or expensive for the area in which it is consumed, or requires a high level of technical skill to create, or requires a high level of analysis to appreciate everything going on, and as such has often been the province of the rich, who have the time and/or money to invest in such pursuits. A mill-worker who can’t read or write and works 12 hours a day won’t be able to access a complex metaphysical novel like his rich and educated boss who has much more free time. Obviously, in the modern day, media is very accessible and literacy is generally speaking pretty good, global trade means that rare luxury goods and foodstuffs from the other side of the world are not so prohibitively expensive, and many more can engage with the things that are considered ‘sophisticated’.

Coming back to the coffee thing, I once worked in a shop selling fine loose leaf teas and coffees. Even among the coffee lovers who came in, the darkest coffees were a really hard sell. The darkest coffee in the range was intensely roasted, aged in the monsoon season, somewhat oily and extremely powerful in its odour, often described as ‘tarry’ or ‘peaty’. Most people went for a medium roasted coffee from Colombia, or a magarogype coffee that was slightly darker roasted but had more natural sweetness. The price difference was insignificant - in fact, but weight, the magarogype was slightly more expensive - and the access was there. I have no doubt that the intense and rich flavour of the monsoon-aged coffee beans would have been complex and multifaceted, a perfect dark rich roast. But the only people who liked it were old men. Most of the coffee fanatics went for the middle-of-the-road, because at the end of the day, that’s what they really wanted to consume.

So why am I going on about coffee and not Serbian pigeon movies? Because enjoying complex, philosophical/metaphysical art films is the film equivalent of a rich dark roast of coffee. Everyone says they like them, because it is considered a mark of good character to appreciate complex art, and a lot of people think of themselves as having good character (and the media literacy to appreciate and analyse complex art). Many people, I’m sure, even enjoy complex art films every now and then, as an occasional treat. But if asked to put their money where their mouth is and actually go and watch, again, a 2hr film in black-and-white, about the Serbian government, told from the eyes of a pigeon? I’m willing to bet most people would not have the motivation, or find it hard to justify the time and mental energy it would take to unpack that film. And, to be clear, it would not be an easy film to make and it would not be an easy film to watch. People pointing out the interest factor, of this intensely human political drama being observed from the point of view of an animal that fundamentally does not understand what’s going or, frankly, care, have left an unspoken issue hanging - if our viewpoint character has no reason to engage with the narrative happening around them, they’re never going to drive or even necessarily follow the plot, and if that happens it’s not a story. At that point, it’s just a nature documentary with stuff happening in the background that, again, the viewpoint character cannot understand. The dialogue of humans probably wouldn’t mean much if anything to a pigeon. One doorway is much like any other doorway. Pigeons can recognise faces, and recognise people who are good to them, but with a pigeon’s priorities, the narrative is unlikely to stay with those humans while they do things that might be of interest to a human audience. It’s a film that sounds very interesting, but wouldn’t be any fun to watch, because it spits in the face of all of our conventions of plot, characters, storytelling, or motivations.

And maybe some people will like that. Some people would really like that. But, on the whole, people are overstating how much they would like that. Hbomberguy, in his video essay on the game Pathologic, asked whether media has to be enjoyable to be good. To that I say, no, it doesn’t necessarily have to be enjoyable. People love harrowing human tragedies because they allow us to workshop our way through difficult circumstances and emotions that might not come up very often in our own lives. But while art does not have to be enjoyable, it does have to be engaging. Because to call art good art, you need to be able to see if not necessarily understand what it is trying to talk about, and to do that you need to be able to attend to the art and pick out its themes and motifs, and you can’t do that if you can’t engage with it. This is why a lot of people write off certain works as being ‘boring’ or ‘difficult’, even if those things are widely considered to be good art. How many people have the complete works of Shakespeare on their bookshelves and never read them, complaining about the inaccessible language and humour/wit shifts over the last 400 years?

‘That’s quite interesting’ can only carry a person so far as far as engagement goes. Sooner or later, they are going to have to get in the weeds of what that work is trying to do. And, if that work hasn’t grabbed them by that point with some other intrigue, it would be easy for people to say ‘well, that’s boring’ and move on to something else. Is the Serbian Pigeon Film bad art because you got bored of it? Debatable. The merits of art are subjective. You are allowed to not be interested in something that is ‘good art’ just as much you are allowed to find enjoyment in something which is considered ‘bad art’. And, in this instance, I may be a bit biased - I don’t think the Serbian Pigeon Film would be a worthwhile artistic experience, and that colours both how I perceive the film’s potential artistic merits and also my opinions on the sorts of people who would find it a worthwhile artistic endeavour.

I’m going to throw some names out that will probably cause psychic damage to seasoned Tumblr users. All or Nothing, the series about a vibrant and extroverted asexual person and their roommate relationship with an introverted and subdued pansexual person. Miss Officer and Mr Truffles, about the wacky high-jinx of an earnest police officer and her bear cub sidekick, based on a viral photograph appearing to show a police officer taking notes and conferring with a wild black bear. Dashcon, the convention celebrating all aspects of Tumblr culture and popular fandom. Even Goncharov, a joke film based on a bizarre label on some bootleg shoes that turned into a collaborative brainstorming session for a movie that never existed. All of these were born from an idea. An earnest idea, a joke, a quip (also, all of them turn out to be crowdfunding scams where the creators stole the money and ran, except for Goncharov, which was never in any serious talks to be made that I know of). A series with a rarely-represented ace and pan protagonist duo, overturning the stereotypes of both sexualities for humour value. A quirky buddy-cop-meets-animal-mascot show. A place to meet and share fandom with other Tumblr users. The so-called ‘greatest mafia movie that never existed’. All of these are things became memetic sensations because they were ‘quite interesting’ or ‘sound fun’. But, as we saw, none of them could keep up the momentum after a couple of bits. A few comic panels and short animated opening sequences couldn’t convince people to care about Miss Officer and Mr Truffles’ wacky exploits. The enormity of organisation that goes into setting up a fan convention sank Dashcon. Goncharov doesn’t even have a plot, just the outlines of vignettes, with the central appeal of Goncharov being the willingness to weld different people’s ideas of the ‘canon’ together and relying on the gaps to hold it together; the cinematic equivalent of the old joke about nets being holes tied together with string.

Sure, the Serbian Pigeon Film sounds interesting on the surface, but I don’t think it can carry itself with its own premise. And, if it does, it would probably be Tarkovsky-esque in its cerebrality and only of real interest to scholars. It would go the way of so many Kickstarters - inventive ideas that people just aren’t really that willing to invest in. Or, y’know, a scam. It’s fun to sit an look at, but not to put any actual effort into. To use a low-art comparison, it’s like cheap schlocky monster movies like Shark Exorcist which trying to sucker you in with a premise because a mildly-humorous premise is all they’ve got. Cinematic Potemkin villages.

Fundamentally, the original post wasn’t even about the Serbian Pigeon Film being good or bad, enjoyable or boring. It was about the film bros who do like this (hypothetical) art film, being scandalised that someone would rather watch a mass market appeal film, like a Marvel superhero blockbuster, than the Serbian Pigeon Film. And while we can infer mockery towards either side (the film ‘normie’ who doesn’t want challenging media, or the film ‘snob’ who is so obsessed with art films that they forget that art films may not be enjoyed by a casual moviegoer who just wants a couple of hours of enjoyable film entertainment without needing to do homework), the post seemed to be making fun of pretentious film snobbery. Not the enjoyment of the Serbian Pigeon Film specifically, but losing sight of others’ tastes in the process.

I guess the conclusion I’m trying to draw here is less ‘stop having fun guys’ and more ‘be mindful of overstating your interest in hypothetical media to yourself, not because you cannot like pretentious or cerebral media, but because it’s easy to write yourself as an enjoyer of media not because you actually like it but because you think you should be’. Liking art films is fine, don’t let me stop you. But do you really like art films, or do you just say you do because it’s unseemly to say you don’t? Because that last one goes both ways, too - do you really like the popular thing, or do you just put up with it because everyone expects you to like it?

[candlelightsinner]

Mališa (1987), directed by Boro Drašković, starring Bogdan Diklić, Milena Dravić, Predrag Manojlović, and Jelisaveta Sablić

The original poster for the Soviet-Russian release of the (censored) film in 1988. The bourgeois characters and the archduke are clearly highlighted as villains, the scene were Mališa steals the diamond earring is put into the centre of attention. The finely nuanced politics and ethics of the original film are thereby flattened in accordance with Soviet ideals.

[dracoj]

some cliches are just good. i love you shattered mirror imagery reflecting a broken self image and inner turmoil i’d love you in a thousand lifetimes

[kristina100000]

still so unbelievable to me that someone wouldn't want to watch a movie about the serbian government thru the eyes of a pigeon

[txttletale]

getting defensive on behalf of a widely acclaimed and beloved media object is some of the most pathetic behaviour i can imagine for real. like i dont engage because i believe in nice times on the computer and i dont want to wade into mires of purposefully inflammatory bad faith discourse but the base emotional impulse behind those tiktoks about how anyone who doesn't like marvel just wants to watch ten-hour black and white serbian pigeon movies (and that's a bad thing?) inspires a reaction of profound disdain

[nerdykeppie]

Launching Tuesday - Historically Queer, our next enamel pin collection!

We Have Always Been Here.

Ten pins - two pairs, five single pins, and the La Maupin mega pin (she needed extra room for her headdress) - each with multiple unlockable colorways.

We launch Tuesday, 9/12, at 3PM Eastern, noon Pacific. Follow us on Kickstarter to be notified when we launch -- or just to help out! The visibility to Kickstarter from having followers on our campaign helps a lot. :D

Featured in this campaign:

Enheduanna, oldest named author. Incorporating trans themes into writing thousands of years old.

David & Jonathan, king & prince whose love surpassed the love of women.

Sappho, Lesbian poet. She should need no other introduction.

La Maupin, also known as Julie d'Aubigny. The original disaster bisexual. Opera singer, swordswoman. May have burned down a convent.

Publick Universal Friend, American religious figure. Going by gender-neutral pronouns since the year the Declaration of Independence was written.

Anne Lister & Ann Walker, the Gentleman Jack & her wife. Acknowledged as the first same-gender marriage in modern Britain.

Dr. James Barry, British surgeon. A transgender man, Dr. Barry performed the first C-section done by a European in Africa in which both mother & child survived. He is also credited with vastly improving conditions for wounded soldiers in the British military.

Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American genius. Listing Tesla's inventions would take a series of posts. Liked pigeons better than people.

If you don't see your favorite historical figure, don't fret! We've planned multiple sets of Historically Queer figures. We can't use them all up at once. :) Help ensure we can make future sets by helping us create this one!

Frequently Asked Questions under the cut.

Hey, what flag is that on Sappho?

That's the Sapphic flag, created by @tepkunset. NerdyKeppie's owner, Spider, is a butch lesbian who uses that flag for their art.

Hey - what about [historical figure]? How could you forget [historical figure]? This is erasure!

We didn't forget, we promise - this is the first of several installments of this project. After the absolute stress of the last Kickstarter when we had 300+ different SKUs by the end of the project, we decided to take a more focused approach to Historically Queer. We attempted to provide a good cross-section of identities, and will continue to expand in future projects. Spider has a huge folder on his computer full of planned pins and reference images.  

But historically...

Yes, we know that it isn't totally proper to use today's terms to discuss people who lived a long time ago. But also, how else do we talk about our community history in a way that's understood, and celebrate our shared queerness, other than to use the words and iconography which are understandable to us now? We celebrate our shared history with the words and understandings most accessible to all of us, and we hope that by providing not just the pins but a few elementary facts about these historical figures, we'll encourage people to read more about them in their original context.