The Transitional Legend of Winners

During 2006 a number of stories that featured the motive of great gain under dramatic circumstances were repeatedly told in betting-houses in Kragujevac, a town in Serbia. The main character of these legends is an empoverished victim of transition who, thanks to luck and help of friends, wins a gre...

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Main Author: Ivan Kovačević
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Belgrade 2006-11-01
Series:Etnoantropološki Problemi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.eap-iea.org/index.php/eap/article/view/975
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author Ivan Kovačević
author_facet Ivan Kovačević
author_sort Ivan Kovačević
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description During 2006 a number of stories that featured the motive of great gain under dramatic circumstances were repeatedly told in betting-houses in Kragujevac, a town in Serbia. The main character of these legends is an empoverished victim of transition who, thanks to luck and help of friends, wins a great sum of money betting. Besides de­scribing the preceding transitional «fall» of the winner (getting fired, failing in private enterprise), the legends describe his economical and social prosperity initiated by capital gained through betting (starting succesfull enterprises, buying good shares). Diachronically following other «sudden wealth» legends this transitional legend speaks about the establishing of a new system of values that, in the categories of so­cial promotion, makes up for the old principles that marked the period of socialism.
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spelling doaj.art-422376ec3c8741308e25771e7f9cba0d2022-12-22T00:00:04ZengUniversity of BelgradeEtnoantropološki Problemi0353-15892334-88012006-11-011210.21301/eap.v1i2.1The Transitional Legend of WinnersIvan Kovačević0Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia During 2006 a number of stories that featured the motive of great gain under dramatic circumstances were repeatedly told in betting-houses in Kragujevac, a town in Serbia. The main character of these legends is an empoverished victim of transition who, thanks to luck and help of friends, wins a great sum of money betting. Besides de­scribing the preceding transitional «fall» of the winner (getting fired, failing in private enterprise), the legends describe his economical and social prosperity initiated by capital gained through betting (starting succesfull enterprises, buying good shares). Diachronically following other «sudden wealth» legends this transitional legend speaks about the establishing of a new system of values that, in the categories of so­cial promotion, makes up for the old principles that marked the period of socialism. https://www.eap-iea.org/index.php/eap/article/view/975legendstransitionSerbiawealthentrepreneurship
spellingShingle Ivan Kovačević
The Transitional Legend of Winners
Etnoantropološki Problemi
legends
transition
Serbia
wealth
entrepreneurship
title The Transitional Legend of Winners
title_full The Transitional Legend of Winners
title_fullStr The Transitional Legend of Winners
title_full_unstemmed The Transitional Legend of Winners
title_short The Transitional Legend of Winners
title_sort transitional legend of winners
topic legends
transition
Serbia
wealth
entrepreneurship
url https://www.eap-iea.org/index.php/eap/article/view/975
work_keys_str_mv AT ivankovacevic thetransitionallegendofwinners
AT ivankovacevic transitionallegendofwinners