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RTK, Pristina*
31 05 2006 The BIRN-organised "Life in Kosovo" TV debate show, which is rapidly
becoming the most popular current affairs programme in the territory,
this week took a break from analysing news to examine Kosovars'
reaction to the bestselling novel the Da Vinci Code and the
recently-aired film based on the book.
Adopting a format similar to the BBC's cultural slot Newsnight Review,
the programme asked why so many Pristina movie-goers were going to see
the film and what religious and non-religious Kosovars felt out about
the controversy surrounding it.
To discuss the issues thrown up by the book and the film,
BIRN invited a panel of four prominent Kosovars: Dukagjin Gorani, from
the Kosovar Institute for Journalism and Communications; Iliriana
Loxha, an artist; Milazim Krasniqi, a writer; and Anton Berisha, an
engineer.
Gorani said that the popularity of the film in
Pristina, as in the rest of the world, was down to its incorporation of
numerous religious dilemmas in a "populist thriller" format.
"For me as a Catholic, the Da Vinci Code is not interesting at all," said Berisha. "This book has no facts and no analyses, nothing but unproved claims." Berisha reckoned the book was an insult to Catholics the world over.
Gorani
disagreed, saying it allows readers to question biblical stories, in
particular whether Jesus was the son of God or an extraordinary human
being with great leadership and oratory skills.
Discussing
whether the controversial assertions made by the film could be defended
as freedom of speech, Krasniqi said this right ends the moment it is
used to offend, upset or ridicule others. He drew parallels with the
Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed which so enraged Muslims.
The
panelists contrasted the big local interest the Da Vinci Code generated
with the generally low turn-out for other cultural events in the
territory.
Krasniqi pointed out that a bookfair held
this month served to highlight the low level of interest in reading.
"There is a huge cultural crisis happening in Kosovo at the moment,"
said Krasniqi.
He described the Da Vinci Code as
something of circus which will do little to encourage local audiences
to buy books or go to the theatre and cinema more often.
* The RTK debates are moderated by Jeta Xharra, BIRN Kosovo Director.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
