He
looked like Archie and gave advice like Dr. Drew. For decades, the children of the
former Yugoslavia and independent Croatia looked to the fictional advice
columnist to guide them through the grossness of puberty and the challenges of
growing up. Irena Škorić documents the lasting influence of the iconic teenage
counselor in Dear Lastan (trailer here), an opening night
selection of the 2015 Bosnian Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York.
Modra Lasta (“Blue Swallow” in
English) was like Yugoslavia’s version of The
Weekly Reader, but somehow it was hipper, despite being part of the state
media apparatus. In 1969, they created “Lastan,” hoping kids would open up to a
cooler older brother figure. It worked, as mailbag after mailbag quickly
proved. Several writers assumed the Lastan persona, but only a few of their
identities have been recently revealed. Many of Škorić’s interview subjects argue
Lastan was the best kept secret in publishing history—and they are probably
right. After all, Lastan predated Woodward & Bernstein’s “Deep Throat” and
remained shrouded in mystery well after Mark Felt outed himself. Yet, that is
really the least of the Lastan story.
Even
if you are a Yankee who never read Modra
Lasta, listening former readers’ affectionate reminiscences will bring on
waves of nostalgia. Some of the letters are a quite funny, reflecting teenagers’
peculiar predilection for melodramatic self-importance, while Lastan’s often
curt responses are wickedly droll. However, readers also wrote in with real
problems that received thoughtful answers.
It
is fascinating to see how the Lastan column evolved to reflect the tenor of the
times. Although it never rocked the boat politically during the Communist era,
it was one of the few outlets that provided teens frank sexual advice. As one
would subsequently expect, there was often tragic subtext to the early 1990s
wartime-era correspondence. In fact, many soldiers and homefront survivors kept
reading and writing Lastan well into their twenties to maintain a sense of
stability.
Škorić
interviews dozens of grown Lastan fans, whose stories range from the
eccentrically goofy to the surprisingly profound. She immediately taps into the
universal essence of the Lastan phenomenon, so non-Balkan viewers will quickly
feel like they too are well acquainted with his columns.
