The small nation of Georgia is one of 52 countries that
participate in the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision.tv, 2018). The
Eurovision Song Contest is not only a yearly event that allows countries to
present an original song to the continent of Europe, but also a way to present
themselves through nation-branding. According to Paul Jordan’s The Modern Fairytale, nation-branding, “essentially
communicates a nation’s policies and culture to an international audience; the
public face of international diplomacy” (Jordan, 2014, pg. 22). In Eurovision, nations
are provided the chance to do so by presenting their national identity through their
yearly performances. As previously mentioned in my first blog post, there are
multiple national identities the country of Georgia identifies with including
religion, language, and their traditional polyphonic music style. In my second
blog post, I stated what messages the 2010-2012 Eurovision Georgian
performances were conveying to Europe. In this blog post, I will be deciphering
the alignments and misalignments between the two influencers of nation-branding:
national identity and the country’s performances.
Georgia is known to be a hospitable nation located in
Eastern Europe with a population of 4.9 million people (CIA Factbook, 2018). Politically,
Georgia is defined as a semi-presidential republic, which means the country has
both a president and a prime minister (Choudhry & Stacey, 2014). The
national religion of Georgia is Orthodox, and the national language of the
country is Georgian (CIA Factbook, 2018). Georgian is one of the only languages
in the world to have no Asian or European influence. The traditional polyphonic
music is also very prevalent in Georgia’s culture. Polyphonic music is defined
as, “in two or more parts each having a melody of its own; contrapuntal”
(Oxford Dictionary, 2018). These political, cultural, and social contexts of the
country give an insight into the nation-branding Georgia has done on stage.
In 2010, Sophia Nizharadze sang, “Shine” written by Swedish
and Italian writers Hanne Sorvaag, Harry Sommerdahl and Christian Leuzzi
(Eurovision.tv, 2010). The colors of red and white appear throughout the
performance, displaying in the performers’ costuming, the background drapery, and
the lighting on stage. The colors of red and white are seen on Georgia’s
national flag, therefore aligning with their national identity on stage. Adding
to the coloration seen throughout the performance, the symbol of crosses is
also an addition to the alignment of Georgia’s national identity. The symbol of
the cross is not only seen in the costuming and shape of the background silks,
but also in the final formation of all performers on stage. Aside from the
symbol of the cross on the national flag of Georgia, it is also a reoccurring
symbol in the Orthodox Church (OCA, 2018). Therefore, the national religion,
Orthodox, can be aligned with the Nizharadze’s performance as well. Although
the colors of red and white are constantly seen throughout the performance,
there is also some misalignment with Georgia’s national identity. The song was
sung in English, which is interfering with the nation’s unique language. Also,
the genre of the song is pop, which does not coincide from their traditional Georgian
polyphonic music style.
In the
2011 Georgian Eurovision performance, “One Day More” by Eldrine, written by
Georgia’s DJ Rock and Mikheil Chelidze, the band is heard singing a nu-metal
song (Eurovision.tv, 2011a). The traditional clothing worn by the band is an
immediate alignment seen in this performance (Eurovision.tv, 2011b). Another
alignment that can be seen in the 2011 entry is one with religion. In my
previous blog post 2, I stated how I interpreted the song as the thoughts of a
homosexual in a religious country. This interpretation suggests the country’s
lack of inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community because of the national religion of
Orthodoxy (BBC Monitoring, 2017). The views on homosexuality from the Orthodox
Church can be defined as, “Orthodox Christians say homosexuality should be
discouraged by society” (Pew Research Center, 2017). The performance is aligned
with this opinion on homosexuality by the chorus lyrics stating these feelings as,
“forbidden” (Eurovision.tv, 2011). By using such negative phrasing to describe
homosexuality, this subtly infers to the audience that Georgia is not open to
the LGBTQ+ community, therefore following the Orthodoxy’s stance on the
subject. The misalignments found in the performance were both the music genre
and language choice. The song was categorized in the nu-metal genre, therefore
not aligning with the traditional polyphonic music style (Eurovision.tv, 2011).
The song was also sung in English, hence contradicting their pride in their
unique, national language of Georgian.
In
2012, Georgia presented the extremely unconventional song, “I’m a Joker” sung
by Andri Jokhadze, written by local Georgian musician Bibi Kvachadze
(Eurovision.tv, 2012). The audience can directly see an alignment with national
identity from the instantaneous singing in Georgian. Although the starting slow
tempo, opera-style lines are being sung in Georgian, the song quickly changes
to an upbeat pop style being sung in English. Although at first seen as an
alignment, the almost immediate change from Georgian to English can be
interpreted as a misalignment and surrendering of their national language for
one that is relatively easier to understand. Another misalignment of this
performance is the lack of traditional music style. Although the beginning of
the song is sung in an opera style, this genre of music is not traditionally
from the country of Georgia. The music genre of opera originated in the countries
of Italy and France, therefore misaligning with the national identity of the
country (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016). The relationship between the song
and the religion of Orthodoxy can also be construed as a misalignment. This
performance can be categorized under an aesthetic known as “camp”. This word is
defined by the Oxford-English dictionary as, “(of a man or his manner)
ostentatiously and extravagantly effeminate” and “deliberately exaggerated and
theatrical in style” (Oxford Dictionary, 2018). This particular appearance of a
performance is also written about by Australia’s Jessica Carniel in her
research article, Skirting the issue:
finding queer and geopolitical belonging at the Eurovision Song Contest, “Eurovision’s
camp aesthetic, which remains a part of its appeal to its gay audience, has
become increasingly overt in recent years” (Carniel, 2015, pgs. 141-142). This
campy performance with extravagant costumes and flamboyant gestures suggest the
openness Georgia has with the LGBTQ+ community. This is definitely a change of
tone from the previous year of 2011. As I said in my second blog post, the
Orthodox Church is known for its disapproval of such behavior stating,
“homosexual behavior is a sin” (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). This performance suggests
its disagreement with the traditional statement of opinion. Although same-sex
marriage is still legally restricted in the country of Georgia, this
performance also suggests it is not as ruthless as its nearby countries such as
Iran who place the death penalty upon anyone who identifies with homosexuality
(Carroll and Itaborahy, 2015).
Throughout
the three performance years I have studied, I believe that Georgia is stating
their nation-branding through a philosophy known as, “cosmopolitanism”.
Cosmopolitanism, “functions as the latest in a series of terms through which
Europeans habitually have posited their own partial interests as universal…”
(Sieg, 2012, pg. 244). In more simpler terms, cosmopolitanism is the idea of a
country placing others’ needs equal to their own. This philosophy is clearly
seen using English as the language in all their songs. The choosing of the lingua franca, suggests the country
wants to be understood and heard by the Eurovision audience. In 2010, Georgia
also hired the outside composers Hanne Sorvaag, Harry Sommerdahl and Christian
Leuzzi from Sweden and Italy to write their entry (Eurovision.tv, 2010). Hiring
outside Swedish and Italian composers not only suggests their serious mindset
of the contest, but their desperation to connect with more Eurovision viewers.
Throughout
the alignments and misalignments, Georgia is visibly trying to reach a new
audience every year they participate. In 2010, Georgia reached for the ‘prideful-nation’
vote, in which people would vote because of the evident joy the performers have
for their country. In 2011, the country was trying to scope similar religions
along with some nu-metal fans, in which people would vote for their taste in
music or their similar religious practices. In 2012, the nation was trying to
reach the LGBTQ+ community, therefore receiving votes from the LGBTQ+ community
members throughout Europe. Throughout all the performances, not only was
Georgia potentially receiving votes, but most importantly receiving the
knowledge of their country. Being one of the most relatively unknown countries
in Europe, the nation of Georgia is rarely talked about. Regardless of the
stereotypical pop ballad sung in 2010, each of their performances were unusual and
unconventional. Through these unique performances shown, Georgia not only
wanted their song to be heard, but also the voice of their country.
I
believe Jordan is correct when describing nation-branding as, “both reactive
and proactive, it aims to draw attention away from a negative past while
emphasising the present opportunities that a country can offer the
international community into the future” (Jordan, 2014, pg. 45). Georgia’s nation-branding
suggests the country wants to be remembered through whatever means possible: a
pop ballad about pride in their country, a subtly religious song about the
confusion of homosexuality, or even a flamboyant camp number. Not only are
these performances trying to reach the larger audience of Europe with the
philosophy of cosmopolitanism, but also suggests their want of European inclusion.
Sieg agrees with this statement by saying, “For many post-socialist countries,
whose relation to Europeanness was ideologically, culturally or geographically
tenuous, the ESC has become a stage where they can perform their imagined
relationship to Europe as a ‘return home’ or demonstration of affinity” (Sieg,
2012, pgs. 245-246). This contest is not only a way for Georgia to nation-brand
their country, but to show the audience that they too belong in Europe.
Word Count: 1629
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(2017). BBC News. Retrieved from
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Carniel, Jessica. (2015). Skirting the issue: finding queer and
geopolitical belonging at
the Eurovision Song Contest.
Retrieved from http://unipub.uni-graz.at/download/pdf/457420?name=Carniel%20Jessica%20Skirting%20the%20issue%20finding%20queer%20and%20geopolitical%20belonging%20at%20t
Carroll, Aengus &
Itaborahy, P. Lucas. (2015). State
Sponsored Homophobia A World
Survey of Laws: criminalisation,
protection and recognition of same-sex love. Retrieved from http://ilga.org/sites/default/files/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2015.pdf
Choudhry, S. & Stacey, R.
(2014). SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT IN
THE
POST-AUTHORITARIAN CONTEXT.
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Retrieved from: https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-eastern-orthodox-church
Jordan, Paul. (2014). The Modern Fairy Tale: Nation Branding,
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Eurovision Song Contest in Estonia.
University of Tartu Press. Retrieved from http://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=474310
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Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.proxy.seattleu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1367549412450639
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