Smijemo se jer smijemo. Humor kao sredstvo preživljavanja
We laugh because we can. Humor as a means of survival

Author(s): Marinko Zekić
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bosnian humor; war-themed jokes; black humor; social role of humor in conflicted societies
Summary/Abstract: In spite of the many life challenges they face on a daily basis, humor has never left Bosnians and Herzegovinians. Particularly during the most tumultuous times in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s history, such as the 1992–1995 war, humor served as a means of pursuing self-preservation and a higher purpose, by which at least for a moment they could combat against the horrors of war they were witnessing. Having little other means to cope with their situation, Bosnia and Herzegovinians showed that a sense of humor – the characteristic method of producing and perceiving jokes – could also inspire optimism, empathy and hope, especially today, when after surviving the war they needed to learn how to survive in peace. This paper discusses the issue of whether the serious and painful topic of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be debated by overcoming spoken and written discourse with the help of irony and black humor in the form of jokes; whether or not there is a place for humor in describing the human tragedy and trauma caused by the war. Humor and laughter as recourse, through mockery instead of despair and self-pity over an unfortunate reality, impose themselves as the most appropriate way of dealing with the everyday problems that life brings.

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