Marko Markovic: We do not respect the nature, or each other
Marko Markovic, the Serbian National Theater actor, believes that the time of the pandemic showed how civically illiterate we are, primarily because we do not respect nature, and so we do not respect each other. In an interview with the SEEcult.org, Markovic estimates that the root of the problem is the lack of elementary decency.
When it comes to the pandemic measures, his impression is that people who come to the theater are a more responsible part of the society.
He also believes that actors, like all artists, after all, must be a beacon of society and speak up even when others are silent, and as the best example of that he cites actress Svetlana Bojkovic, who has recently been active in an environmental movement.
"We have shown, for who knows how many times, that we do not know how to learn from nature, that we do not know how to listen to it, and that, above all, we do not know how to respect it. It is enough to look in front of our buildings, how many used masks are thrown on the street, that are so difficult for us to put on and wear. Then comes a dog or a cat, stretches the mask a little over the floor, then someone touches it again, picks it up and throws it in the trash... It all speaks about us. If we took a look at what our own backyard looks like, then we could talk about something more serious. Nature has shown us that there is no playing with it, that it does not recognize any miracles, that the world can be destroyed only by people, and that the nature itself never will. It seems to me that during this time of pandemic, the people were searching for a model to turn to themselves. Those who had a family, someone close, spent time with them, drank coffee on the balcony, for which they did not have time before because in this crazy time of success, everyone is constantly rushing somewhere. Some got depressed, and some, unfortunately, did not manage to overcome it... I tried to make my day different every day, to make my terrace more beautiful, not to serve as a place for used tires and old pots, for empty bottles that we didn’t throw away, but to be beautiful and to feast the eyes. When I had Covid-19 infection, I wrote something down every day, and maybe it was a good way to console myself, but that's how I somehow won over the time, with good series, books, movies... And it passes, a person gets used to the new conditions, while waiting for the old ones to return. It's like with a person on heroin: they get addicted, and then they come off, and continue to live on. I don't know if we have learned anything. I'm not sure. I travel a lot, I stop at various gas stations and I rarely see anyone wearing a mask, no matter - a foreigner or a local. There are also people who believe that the Covid-19 cannot do absolutely anything to them. I don't know what to think about that, I'm vaccinated and I follow the advice of health professionals, I listen to them. I believed that it would pass, that it would soon be over, but we can see that the gods continue to warn us ", Markovic stated.
Marko Markovic, photo: private archive
In his opinion, actors, like all other artists, must speak up even when everyone else is silent, and they must say the way the things really are.
"How did Ceca Bojkovic come out in front of the excavator and asked - where are you going? And of course he will stop, because an institution stood in front of him, a woman, a mother, an actress, a lady, a smart and educated person. She says – you can’t go further, and really there is no going further. It is the duty of the actors. Something cannot pass just for the sake of interest and cheap points, or fun" Markovic said.
*The entire interview (in Serbian) can be found on this link.
*Cover photo: Semper idem, National Theatre Sombor (Nađa Repman)
(SEEcult.org)
Funded by the International Relief Fund for Organisations in Culture and Education 2021 of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut and other partners, goethe.de/relieffund
