Difference between revisions of "Dizelaši (Serbia)"

<div class="item">Dizelaši is a slang expression that may be translated as ‘Diesel Boys.’ It refers to the members of a youth male subculture that emerged in Serbia in the turbulent socio-political environment of the early 1990s. The break-up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992 plunged the region into war. As violence escalated, Serbia became mired in deep economic crisis. UN sanctions imposed in 1992 provoked soaring inflation and shortages of such key products as fuel. Economic turmoil saw rogue traders and members of criminal gangs grow extremely wealthy very quickly, and some nouveaux riches groups used fashion to express their new-found status (Gordi 2000: 6)<ref>Gordy, E. 2000. ‘Rokeri and Turbaši as Windows Into Serbia's Social Divide.’ Balkanologie, 4(1) 55–81  </ref>.<br><br>The word dizelaši is thought to derive from the fashion brand Diesel, Diesel jeans being one of the most prized fashion items among young males in Serbia at this time (Gerzić 2002: 60)<ref>Gerzić, N. and B. 2002. Rečnk savremenog beogradskog žargona. Belgrade: Istar</ref>. However, it may also refer to the smuggling of diesel fuel, one of the illegal activities in which the dizelaši were allegedly involved (Subcultureslist.com 2015)<ref>Subcultureslist.com. http://subcultureslist.com/DIZELASI/ and http://subcultureslist.com/gopniki/ accessed 23 August 2015</ref>.<br><br>The physical appearance of the dizelaši reinforced their reputation as tough and criminally-oriented. Typically shaven-headed, muscular and robust, they devoted much time to exercising in the gym and paid particular attention to their clothing. As a sign of group identity, their dress code included sporty attire consisting of a tracksuit or jeans (the upper part of the tracksuit tucked into the trousers) and Nike Air Max or Reebok trainers (Klajn 2010: 366)<ref>Klajn, I. 2010. Veliki rečnik stranih reči i izraza. Novi Sad: Prometej</ref>. They wore conspicuously thick gold chains around their necks (Subcultureslist.com 2015)<ref>Subcultureslist.com. http://subcultureslist.com/DIZELASI/ and http://subcultureslist.com/gopniki/ accessed 23 August 2015</ref>. Female members of the subculture, known as dizelašice or sponzoruše (diggers), were known by their fondness for glamorous lifestyles. They wore heavy makeup, provocatively short skirts, high heels, long, usually blonde hair, and extravagant jewellery (Subcultureslist.com 2015)<ref>Subcultureslist.com. http://subcultureslist.com/DIZELASI/ and http://subcultureslist.com/gopniki/ accessed 23 August 2015</ref>. <br><br>'The videos of artists such as Snezana Babic and Dragana Mirkovic were filled with gold jewellery, luxury cars and huge new houses; they depicted young women in knock-off Versace living it up in the mirrored bars and casinos of Belgrade's luxury hotels—the Intercontinental, the Hyatt and the Metropolitan' (Higginbotham 2004)<ref>Higginbotham, A. 2004. ‘Beauty and the beast,’ The Observer (UK), 4 January http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/jan/04/features.magazine67</ref>. This embrace of branded clothing, ostentatious fashion accessories and expensive motorcars was seen as a means used by the young nouveaux riches to distance themselves from social and financial instability.<br><br>The dizelaši were ardent fans of turbo-folk, a new musical genre that emerged in the 1990s and that glorified the luxurious lifestyle. The term was coined by rock musician Rambo Amadeus as an ironic reference to the genre’s hybridity since it blended traditional Serbian folk music with hip-hop, rock’n’roll and dance. In his song 'Turbo-folk,' Amadeus explained that the term encompasses more than just a particular music style: 'Folk refers to people, turbo refers to speedy fuel injection under pressure. Thus, turbo-folk refers to combustion of people. Anything leading to this combustion can be called turbo-folk' (Higginbotham 2004)<ref>Higginbotham, A. 2004. ‘Beauty and the beast,’ The Observer (UK), 4 January http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/jan/04/features.magazine67</ref>. Petar Popovic, director of Serbia’s state-run record company, followed the same line of argument when he said that turbo-folk ‘is the sound of the war and everything that the war brought to this country. It represents everything that has happened to this country over the past few years’ (Higginbotham 2004)<ref>Higginbotham, A. 2004. ‘Beauty and the beast,’ The Observer (UK), 4 January http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/jan/04/features.magazine67</ref>.<br><br>Turbo-folk gained popularity largely thanks to its promotion by state-controlled and private TV stations. State-sponsored TV Pink and TV Palma, for example, supported the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević not only through their news-reporting but also by focusing in their entertainment programmes on turbo-folk and by avoiding any reference to the rich pop and rock scene that had existed in Yugoslavia before the 1990s. According to Amadeus, ‘rock 'n' roll in Serbia died the moment that Milosevic came to power’ in 1989 (Gordi: 129)<ref>Gordi, E. 2001. Kultura vlasti u Srbiji. Belgrade: Samizdat B92 </ref>. Turbo-folk with its kitschy, flashy videos and lyrics popularising the glamorous lifestyle provided an escape from the realities of poverty, sanctions, ethnic conflict and war. On the one hand there was rock 'n' roll, underground and rebellion; on the other there was turbo-folk, dizelaši and crime; this cultural divide reflected the social and political orientations that characterised Serbian society in the 1990s (Gordi: 116)<ref>Gordi, E. 2001. Kultura vlasti u Srbiji. Belgrade: Samizdat B92 </ref>. Dizelaši embraced the aesthetic of 'war chic' (Kronja: 92)<ref>Kronja, I. 2006. ‘Urbani životni stilovi i medijska reprezentacija gradskog života i omladinske potkulture.’ Zbornik Fakutleta Dramskih Umetnosti, 10: 89-109