Inhabiting Culture on the Frontiers of Socialism (Gorna Džumaja, 1944-1948)*

This article examines the cultural shaping (through film and theater) of urban identities in Gorna Džhumaja, a border city located in Pirin Macedonia, at the dawn of Socialism. In a region that was at the center of Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Greek national conflict, thus rendering its future unpredictable, the establishment of Socialism between 1944-1948 coincided with intense social and national engineering. Developments in the domains of cinema and theater offer a heuristic lens through which to view these processes, notably because of the educational and political role they were attributed. Exploring changes in the cultural environment, designated toponyms, and everyday life of cultural institutions offers new insight into the complex interplay between the pre-Socialist and Socialist periods. It also provides an oblique view of how the Socialist city was fashioned through theatrical tours and ambulant cinema. Socialism thus emerges, beyond sovietization, as a product of transnational circulation.