Censorship cultures: the search for authenticity - the case of A Serbian Film

This paper engages in an analysis of horror fans’ online discussions of A Serbian Film, and it will seek to show that while many government and industry reports on film downloading and/or filesharing discuss the practices of participants in terms of piracy and illegal activity, within the context of horror fan community the meaning and function of downloading differs significantly from this economically motivated interpretation. Indeed, this paper will argue within the context of worldwide regulatory practices that have sought to both cut and ban A Serbian Film, these activities can be considered as a means, perhaps the only means, to gain access to the ‘definitive’ or ‘authentic' version of the film.