Hello! My name is Dimitra and this is my guide to Thessaloniki.
While my friends and I were going to a picnic for a Greek holiday, Katheri Detera, or as some like to call it, Clean Monday, we came up with a great idea. Or more specifically, a great character called Dimitra, who would traverse Thessaloniki, Greece with her very singular personality, a personality that many have compared to a Female Borat.
But something happening. Something unexpected.
"Dimitra's Guide to Thessaloniki" became more than just a guide but an investigation on Greek identity.
"Dimitra's Guide to Thessaloniki" at first, was about showcasing the comedy that is Dimitra. However, soon after the first video, my friends and I saw something more important that needed to be explored. This something was the investigation of nationalism and identity in Greece.
Ali Cem Dogan, producer of the series, clearly states that the continuing reason for Dimitra's Guide (in addition to it being hilarious) is "to see how people react to this weird manifestation that is Dimitra."
Greece, for the past decade, has been down on its luck. The Financial Crisis that has been unfolding since 2009 has had devastating economic and political consequences and has put under question the sovereignty of Greece, as a nation, its connection to the European Union, and its prospects for the future.
The Greek financial crisis has been affecting how the Greek population and diaspora experience their national identity, particularly through social media. And although, Dimitra's Guide to Thessaloniki, is a comedic perspective on Greek identity, it does elicit many reactions which on a whole, speaks to how Greek people are experiencing their identity and connection to a nation, positively and negatively.
Somehow, a comedy became an investigation on identity. But in all, I think the take away of these videos, and this article, is for you, the reader to think about your own identity, nationalism, category and to question it a bit.
As the greeks say, Geia Sas.
More info: youtube.com