THE POEM "BANOVIĆ STRAHINJA" AND ITS CINEMATIC ECHOES: PRESENTATION OF MORAL HEORISM

Abstract

Having argued that the screenplay is a kind of literature and that the relationship between literature and the film industry is not something external, but something very intimate and immediate, the paper continues with the analysis of the poem Banović Strahinja. It is about the version recounted by the old man Milija and recorded by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in 1820. The author of this paper mentions various creative echoes of this epic poem, from drama to poetry and film. He is particularly interested in the depiction of moral heroism in the poem itself, but also in the two film adaptations.

The moral aspect of the poem itself was emphasized by Petar Kočić, and other authors who analyzed the poem and its moral tone. The character of Banović Strahinja differs from other heroes of epic poetry in that, in addition to his physical courage, he is also characterized by moral heroism evident in his decision to defy the prevalent moral conceptions, i.e. the morality that he himself grew up with. The author of this paper links this to the fact that Banović Strahinja speaks several foreign languages,

i.e. knows more ’’forms of life’’ (Wittgenstein). He also argues that in different languages there are sometimes expressions and idioms that morally condemn something that is viewed as indifferent or praised in other cultures.

The author argues that in different languages and cultures there are expressions and idioms that morally condemn something that speakers in other languages praise or view as indifferent. Different ’’forms of life’’ may have different values that are expressed in language. Familiarity with the existence of different moral norms could lead to a reflexive attitude towards the moral conceptions of one’s own culture. The film Banović Strahinja (1971) by Vatroslav Mimica, based on the screenplay of Aleksandar Petrović, faithfully follows the plot of the poem but nevertheless omits the moment when Banović Strahinja informs his parents-in-law of his wife’s betrayal, whereas the film Strahinja Banović (2021) directed by Stefan Arsenijevć, is about an African migrant and his wife who find themselves in Serbia. This African migrant wants to settle in Serbia and in order to integrate better, he adopts the Serbian name Strahinja.