All across the
world, millions of people tune in to watch the Eurovision Song Competition. To
many viewers, Eurovision is the only exposure to cultures outside their own,
and thus what is shown on stage can impact how a country is viewed by millions.
Thus, Eurovision serves as not only a singing competition, but as a way for
countries to construct an identity to market themselves to the rest of Europe.
While nation branding has benefits, many countries end up essentializing
themselves, and creating a simulated version of its’ national identity. In the
following blog post, I will be looking at Finland, examining what is shown on
stage and if it aligns or does not align with their national identity, as well
as how Finland utilizes Eurovision as a way to nation brand.
When
discussing nation branding and national identity, a clear concept of what these
words mean is crucial. National identity, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary,
is “A sense of
a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions,
culture, and language” (Oxford Dictionary). In a brief definition as
stated by Bolin and Stalburg, national branding is “the phenomenon by which
governments engage in self-conscious activities aimed at producing a certain
image of the nation state” (qtd. In Jordan, 283). As previously stated in the
first blog post, Finland’s national identity is constructed through their
Nordic heritage and Viking culture, their homogeneous society, their strive for
gender equality, and their social welfare policies. In my second blog post, I
examined Finland’s Eurovision entries from 2006-2010, and looked at the
diversity on stage. Overall, Finland chooses unique genres that are uncommon in
the contest, showing their willingness to bring something new to Eurovision
while staying true to what is currently popular in their country. However,
Finland is less open to showing cultural diversity by choosing almost all
Finnish performers. By looking at the cross section of national identity and
diversity on stage; one can identify the alignments or misalignments with what
is on stage and a country's national identity as well as their views on nation
branding.
When examining
Finland’s national identity and alignment or misalignment with its’ national
brand on the Eurovision stage, Finland’s Nordic roots align well with the
national brand. In the performances from 2006 to 2010, three out of five genres
are heavy metal or hard rock. This genre is not only popular amongst Finns, but
holds cultural significance as well. Finnish heavy metal is heavily influenced
by Finnish culture, more specifically the Kalevala, “the basis of the epic folk poems...collected in
Finland and Karelia” (Finnish Literature Society) and considered a “‘lost
national epic’ of Finland” (Ethnomusicology Review). This epic deeply
inspired Finnish heavy metal and the country’s love of heavy metal music. As
Lucas states in the Ethnomusicology Review, “Finnish metal bands similarly
began to take an interest in turning to their past, particularly the Kalevala - Finland’s national epic.
Incorporating both sounds and words from the Kalevala tradition, they gradually built a robust metal sub-genre
that has achieved remarkable success abroad” (Ethnomusicology Review). Finland
subtly showcases Nordic culture by picking a musical genre that is not only
popular in Finland, but holds significance to Finnish culture. The country also
chose to enter a song that held cultural musical significance to the country in
2010, Kuunkuiskaajat’s “Työlki
Ellää”. This performance and the lyrics heavily reference Finland’s Karelian
influence, and the Karelian people who have deep connections to Finland as
stated in Post Magazine, “THE KALEVALA,
PUBLISHED IN 1835, is a huge volume of poetry based on Finnish and Karelian
oral folklore and mythology, and was the catalyst for creating a sense of
national identity that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia”
(Post Magazine). Finland’s Nordic and Viking history is an important part of
its’ national identity; showcasing genres that nod to Finland’s history and
culture suggest that its’ nation brand aligns well with the national identity.
Finland’s national
identity is mostly well aligned with their nation brand due to their accurate
representation on stage, however there is a little misalignment with the
underrepresentation of minority groups. Out of all of Finland’s entries from
2006-2010, all but one of the performers were Finnish, with Susan Aho from Kuunkuiskaajat claiming to
have “some Romany blood” (Eurovision TV). The representation on stage is
relatively representative of the demographics of Finland, with almost all
performers being Finnish. However, Finland has a population of “Swede 5.6%,
Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)” (Central Intelligence
Agency) which are significantly under represented on the Eurovision stage.
While the lack of representation on stage might be well aligned with Finland’s
overall demographic, no representation of minority groups still presents a
problem. Finland sacrifices appearing diverse and progressive by being
exclusive, and unintentionally branding itself as closed minded. However,
Finland still remains authentic to their own demographics, and does not try to
simulate a more diverse country in hopes of appearing diverse and progressive.
When examining
gender representation on stage, Finland’s national identity does not align
quite as well to their nation brand. Female representation on stage is a little
uneven, with two out of five main performers being female. For a country that
prides itself on gender equality, one might expect Finland to showcase more
female performers in strong roles. However, the two main women performers are
represented in such a way that does align with Finland’s national identity.
Specifically Hanna Pakarinen’s performance in 2007, “Leave Me Alone”. In this
performance, Hanna is center stage and one of the main focal points. The lyrics
tell a story of a woman regaining her power by choosing to distance herself
from a bad relationship and putting her own needs above the relationship. The
other female performers, Susan
Aho and Johanna Virtanen from Kuunkuiskaajat are also shown in strong
roles. Like in “Leave Me Alone”, Susan Aho and Johanna Virtanen are the main
focal points of the performance with the male backup dancers dancing around
them and pining for them, giving them the power on stage.
Finland may seem
as though it is trying to nation brand, but it is clear that is not its’ main
focus. Although Finland unintentionally participates in nation branding, they
do not essentialize themselves and do not have an identity to push onto the
rest of the Europe. Overall Finland’s attitude towards Eurovision seems to be rather
casual, demonstrating their comfortability with their national identity.
Finland chooses to
not essentialize themselves by not overtly pushing a simplified version of
Finnish culture. All displays of Finnish culture are subtle and tasteful. For
example, Vikings is a sense of pride for Finland, yet only one of their entries
in Eurovision from 2006-2010 references Viking culture, Teräsbetoni’s “Missä
Miehet Ratsastaa”. Missä Miehet Ratsastaa was sung in Finnish, even though the
majority of viewers do not speak Finnish, with the first official languages in
the European Union being Dutch, French, German, and
Italian (European Commission).
Thus, not a wide population of people will understand the lyrics which
heavily reference Viking culture and the pride that is associated with Vikings.
The staging is also quite subtle with no outlandish, or obvious references to
Vikings. The only nods to their culture are the image of shipyard in the
background of the performance in the very beginning. By not being overt about
their Nordic history, Finland is not attempting to essentialize that part of
their identity for the masses to consume. The other entry that incorporates
Finnish cultural into their performance, but does not essentialize it,
is“Työlki Ellää” by Kuunkuiskaajat.
The song is spoken in a Karelian dialect from the Karelian people, who heavily
influenced Finnish folk music. This performance is subtle as well, by having
the lyrics being spoken not only in Finnish, but in a Finnish dialect that is
not even widely spoken in Finland, with “the estimated number [of people who
speak Karelian] 5,000” (Institute for the Languages of Finland). The
performance also showcases Pelimanni and Finnish folk culture subtly. All the
references to Pelimanni folk culture are aspects that the masses will not
understand, mainly the use of the accordion, violin and group dancing that is
important to Pelimanni music as Austerlitz states (Austerlitz, 192). By
referencing different aspects of Finnish culture in a way that many people will
not understand demonstrates that they are comfortable with their national
identity and are not interested in Eurovision as a marketing platform.
Word Count: 1413
Works Cited
Allen, Daniel. “Russian Karelia Looks to the
Past and Future.” South China Morning
Post, 28 Feb. 2015, http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1723716/russian-karelia-looks-past-and-future. Accessed 16 March 2017.
Austerlitz,
Paul. “Birch-Bark Horns and Jazz in the National Imagination: The Finnish Folk
Music Vogue in Historical Perspective.” Ethnomusicology,
vol. 44, no. 2, 2000, pp. 183–213. http://www.jstor.org/stable/852529.
“Definition
of National Identity in English.” Oxford
Dictionary,
"The World
Factbook: FINLAND." Central
Intelligence Agency, 12 Jan. 2017,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html.
Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
Jordan, Paul.
“Nation Branding: A Tool for Nationalism?” Journal of Baltic Studies, vol. 45,
no. 3, 2014, pp. 283– 303.
Kuunkuiskaajat.
“Työlki Ellää,” music and lyrics by Timo Kiiskinen. Norway, Eurovision
Song Contest, 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oicT3jWtsc4
Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
“Kuunkuiskaajat - Työlki Ellää (Finland 2010).” Eurovision.tv, www.eurovision.tv/page/history/year/participant-profile/?song=24943.
Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
“Languages of Finland - Institute for the
Languages of Finland.” Kotimaisten
Kielten Keskus, 14 Dec. 2016,
http://www.kotus.fi/en/on_language/languages_of_finland.
Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
Lordi. “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” music and lyrics by Mr.Lordi. Azerbaijan, Eurovision Song Contest, 2006.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAh9NRGNhUU
Accessed 16. Mar. 2017
Lucas, Olivia. “A Finnish Medley: Forging
Folk Metal.” Ethnomusicology Review, vol.
18, no. 2, 2013,
http://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/finnish-medley-forging-folk-metal. Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
“Official
Languages of the EU.” Education and
Training, Europa,
Pakarinen,
Hanna. “Leave me Alone,” music and lyrics by Martti Vuorinen, Miikka Huttunen,
and Hanna Pakarinen. Finland, Eurovision Song Contest, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ibC5pps0dA Accessed 16. Mar.
2017
“Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura: KALEVALA.”
Finnish Literature Society,
http://neba.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=154&l=2.
Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.
Teräsbetoni.
“Missä Miehet Ratsastaa,” music and lyrics by Jarkko Ahola. Serbia, Eurovision Song Contest, 2008.
