{"id":1189,"date":"2014-10-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/17-10-2014-stereotypes-rroma-and-the-prostitutes-patch-in-zurich-victoria-a-tale-of-grace-and-greed\/"},"modified":"2022-07-26T15:40:18","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T14:40:18","slug":"17-10-2014-stereotypes-rroma-and-the-prostitutes-patch-in-zurich-victoria-a-tale-of-grace-and-greed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/17-10-2014-stereotypes-rroma-and-the-prostitutes-patch-in-zurich-victoria-a-tale-of-grace-and-greed\/","title":{"rendered":"17.10.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and the prostitutes\u2019 patch in Zurich \u2013 \u201cVictoria \u2013 A Tale of Grace and Greed\u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Holtz (2014) discusses \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe feature film \u201cVictoria – A Tale of Greed and Grace\u201d by Swiss director Men \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLareida. It discusses the fate of a Hungarian Rromni prostitute on the former prostitutes\u2019 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpatch on the Sihlquai in Zurich. Lareida and his wife, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twho regularly commute between Switzerland and Hungary, became aware of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttopic during their train trips between Zurich and Budapest, when they started \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconversations with the prostitutes. The film is not a moral discussion of prostitution, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbut tries to show the fate and the motives of the protagonist: \u201cEmphatically and subjective but nonetheless \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsoberly and realistically, \u201eViktori\u00e1 \u2013 A Tale of Grace and Greed\u201c tells the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstory of the young Hungarian Roma girl Viktoria, who leaves her hometown of Budapest \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin the hope of earning a lot of money as soon as possible, to work in Zurich as \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ta prostitute. Here, night after night, she stands at the side of the road, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tunder pale lamplight, waiting for the next punter, whom she satisfies in his \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcar on some dark parking lot. What keeps Viktoria alive, are the thoughts of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thome and the opportunities that the money will bring to her. Thus, among the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tworld of the fast sex, characterized by violence, disgust and humiliation, she \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\talso finds love and friendship \u2013 and herself. […] Actually, Lareida does not \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twant to accuse. \u201cViktoria \u2013 A tale of Grace and Greed\u201d does not want to caution \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe viewers or be an instructive parable about the dangers of the sex trade, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbut shows the things as they are. The director is not in favour of criminalising \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe sex industry, because: \u201cYou have at least to consider that prostitution is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ta possibility for these women.\u201d However, he asks to increase the security for \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe sex workers and to offer alternatives to prostitution to the women, also in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe countries of origin.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0<\/p>\n

It seems that the film is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnot critically addressing the Rroma origin of the protagonist. Is the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprotagonist just Rroma by change, or is this discussed as a specific feature? Are \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe stereotypes associated with Rroma, as notions of strong-hierarchical clans, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpatriarchal family structures etc., discussed? Are they critically commented on? \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis does not become evident in Holtz\u2019s article. Therefore, it is important to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpoint out that not only Hungarian Rromnja are affected by poverty, and thus \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfind their way into prostitution, but that this also affects ethnic Hungarians. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFurthermore, Rroma should not be equated to an underclass, as they belong to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tall social strata. Moreover, only a few Rromnja are effectively working as \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprostitutes, a fact distorted by the strong media attention. Therefore, the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfilm indirectly reproduces stereotypes about Rroma, even if it wants to give a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvoice to those affected and address social misery. <\/p>\n