Hollywood Western in Socialist Yugoslavia – Reception and Production
Hollywood Western in Socialist Yugoslavia – Reception and Production

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with social and aesthetic factors of the popularity of the American cinematic western with the Yugoslav audience, beginning in the middle of the 20th century. The author first examines sociological determiners of film audiences and analyzes social conditions under which their taste is formed. The empirical basis consists of the research into the preferences of film audiences, conducted in Belgrade from the 1950s to the 1980s. In this period the Western genre was the most popular one along with the adventure film. This was the phase of Westernization or “Americanization” of the Yugoslav society that served the purpose of decisive distancing from the policy of the Soviet Union. The second part of the paper contains the sociological analysis of the so-called partisan Western, a subgenre of the partisan war film produced in the manner of the Hollywood Western. Using the works of Yugoslav directors (Mitrović, Krvavac), the author shows how and why the Hollywoodization of films dedicated to the people’s liberation war waged by the Yugoslav partisans took place at that time. Cowboys in partisan uniforms rekindled the interest of the audience in the domestic war film. It is also worth mentioning that these partisan Westerns, apart from being financially profitable, played a socially desirable role as they performed the function of strengthening Yugoslav patriotism.

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