Vladusic: The entertainment industry participates in pushing certain political agendas and changing consciousness

Attempts by celebrities to promote specific political goals, such as Kosovo's independence, should not be seen in isolation but as a part of a broader process of "manufacturing consent" and changing consciousness involving the entertainment industry, Slobodan Vladusic from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad emphasizes.

According to him, such cases should neither be overestimated nor underestimated.

"It is a process or phenomenon that we can call the manufacture of consent, which means that the same message is always broadcast from various places, from various spheres. These messages have a very clear political tone that is, of course, harmful to us: an independent Kosovo, Serbian crimes, and everything that can justify the Greater Albania project, which I sincerely hope will never come true. So, these things should never be viewed in isolation but as a part of a broader process involving the entertainment industry and celebrities who are an integral part of that entertainment industry and who are not autonomous individuals with their own views on some issues but rather an extension of working hours: to push a political agenda that suits the owners of the entertainment industry", Vladusic emphasizes.

He adds that "it's not a conspiracy theory, but rather a system of voices and a system of changing consciousness and habituating a political agenda, a political plan, which is precisely why it is being pushed in all different spheres to reach the largest number of people so that these people perceive that political plan - in this case, an independent Kosovo and later Greater Albania - as something normal, something legitimate, and ultimately acceptable, which, of course, is not, especially for us".

He believes that there should be a system that would counter that system and try to push "not our truth, but the truth".

"Because it's not about two truths; it's actually about, on the one hand, the truth, and on the other hand, about forgeries. This forgery is also the takeover of the Serbian Church, which is turning into a Catholic one. So, it's not a conflict between two sides equally right, but on one side, there are historical facts and data, and on the other side, there is sheer force and readiness to falsify history to legitimize an occupation", our interlocutor explains.

He emphasizes that we can only respond systematically, "as we were attacked".

"In theory, there is the concept of pressure groups that serve precisely to prevent a kind of systematic work on soft power and the creation of an atmosphere in which, from our side, there would be a systematic response to such work by celebrities close to the Albanian political plan. So, these pressure groups are usually paid; they are professionals paid to question our attempts to fight for it. On the other hand, there are often useful idiots who do it for free", Vladusic says.

According to him, soft and hard power cannot be compared because they are a part of the same sphere and are strictly connected.

"Soft power depends on possessing hard power. No one has had soft power so far without hard power behind it. So, we shouldn't compare them. We should understand them as they correspond to the truth: it is actually the same power that only operates in different spheres, and all spheres are equally important, and in all spheres, that power should be countered", Vladusic concludes.