Purple Travel
[May 18 2015]
The Red West, Croatia
The landscapes featured in this series are film set locations from the Obrovac region of Croatia. They were used between 1960 and 1980 to make “Cowboys and Indians” films such as Winnetou Parts 1, 2 and 3, Old Surehand, and Der Schatz im Silbersee. The term used to describe the Eastern Europe’s rendition of the Wild West, “Red Western”, is a reference to communism. Tales from the former East were created in non-authentic environments, demanding viewers to participate in a radical suspension of disbelief and they became an instigator of identity confusion and cultural appropriation across the Eastern Bloc. The locations in this series, and the films they facilitated, essentially catalyzed a mirroring of Native American culture in Europe.
Text and photo Jen Osborne
