Never-Ending Cycle: Term Papers on Balkan Conflict

No one can tell when the trouble in the Balkan region began. In fact, no two term papers would point the same period. Many historians would cite the Middle Ages, when there was a continuous migration of different ethnic groups across Europe.

The first serious case of Balkan’s conflict happened in 1914. Jingoism led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which triggered World War I. This conflict resulted to a lost of lives and the birth of new republics. More fights followed.

A number of movies examined Balkan’s volatile past. Numerous term papers have been written on it, and college students wanting to write about it can add their two cents. They only need to keep in mind of the following:

* In 1994, a Macedonian film called “Before the Rain” became a toast of international film festivals. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film the following year. The movie is made up of three stories about ill-fated loved affairs. Perceptive viewers can guess the cause of the tragic stories: hatred between Macedonia’s ethnic groups. No one (in the movie) can tell where and when this hate started. Students who chose to write about this film may come up with one or two educational guesses.

* Many term papers called Emir Kusturica the greatest filmmaker from the former Yugoslavia. “Underground”, a film he released in 1995, won the Palm d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival during the same year. The movie traces the violent history of Yugoslavia from World War II until its civil war in the early 90s. Kusturica managed to find humour in the bleakest moments. The film even turned nostalgic and sentimental during its final scenes. Students who chose to write about this movie can discuss if the black-comedy treatment helped made the film better.

* In 1995, Greek auteur Theo Angelopoulos made “Ulysses’ Gaze”. Harvey Keitel plays an exiled Greek director who returns to his homeland to search for the missing reels of films by pioneering photographers who introduced cinema to the Balkan region during the start of the 20th century. His travels across the Balkans symbolizes Angelopoulos’ attempt to find a common history of the Balkan countries. Is there really a shared history? Students who want to write a term paper on this movie can write a position paper based on that question.

PROFILE:

Ana Kostanic is a History graduate. She wrote a lot of term papers on Balkan Cinema. Watching historical epics and reading biographies are her passions.