Two years following its annexation
from Yugoslavia in 1991, the small nation of Slovenia joins the 42 countries
that participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The global event occurs
annually as not only a way of displaying the latest technology in the entertainment
world, it is also an opportunity for countries to present an original song and act
as a representative of their country, and thus, promote nation-branding. Nation
branding can be defined as a way for countries to establish an outlook
informing of their policies and culture to an international audience. Eurovision
is a great example of that, as it allows a multitude of nations to promote nation
branding yearly, and in a fashion that appeals to an audience of a wide age
range. In my first blog post, I discussed the national identity of Slovenia,
especially regarding language given that there are many different ethnic minorities
living in Slovenia. In my second blog post, I examined two of Slovenia’s
performances from 2017-2018 and the kinds of messages they conveyed to Europe. So,
in my third blog post, I will deduce the extent of how Slovenia engages in nation
branding and how aligned or misaligned their performances are to their national
identity.
Slovenia
resides in the central part of Europe, alongside many other notable countries
such as Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy (CIA Factbook, 2019). This
would explain the overflowing ethnic minority population currently residing in Slovenia.
Ethnic minorities include Hungarians, Serbs, Italians, and so forth. As I elaborated
in my first blog post, the diversity of different ethnicities may typically be
a positive characteristic for a country to have, however, it has been a topic
of debate for Slovenia as they continue to struggle in establishing a “Slovenian
national identity”. Slovenian nationalism included being able to distinguish
itself between a “true Slovenian” versus those who associate themselves with
Slovenia’s “Other” or “any foreigner arriving from the south or east of
Slovenia” (Bajt, V. 2016). And since language seems to be a defining and
crucial factor to Slovenian identity, it is central to its “nation-branding” or,
in this case, lack thereof. The presumptions for why is because Slovenia is a relatively
young country after having spent much of its time being a part of Yugoslavia.
Due to its freshness, it is not expected that it would suddenly become like
that of The Big Five. Therefore, Slovenia has thus dedicated much of its newfound
independency curating its policies, morals, and culture. However, with the debacle
of the ethnic minorities, as well as ties and thus unspoken dependency to the
ever present Other (Serbia and Croatia). It is factors like these that prevent Slovenia
from being able to formally present itself to an international audience.
When examining
the 2017 entry for Eurovision, Omar Naber attempts to tug at the heartstrings
of the audience by singing a Broadway-esque ballad titled, “On My Way”, which
he happened to have wrote himself. Naber wrote this song with the intention
that it would transmit a universal message; where “[people] can easily identify
with the lyrics” (Omar Naber, 2017). Naber achieves a lot in terms of conveying
this message: donning in a sparkly suit, the lyrics, which allude to a very
climatic journey of hope for the singer, combined with Naber’s impressive use
of the mobile light structure, which not only successfully cascaded the stage and
audience with bright white light, it ascended in alignment with the climax of
the song. While Naber was able to make use of the mobility of the light fixtures,
as well as singing in English as a potential way of adding more “universality”
to his performance, it is difficult what it means in terms of nation-branding
for Slovenia. There is some misalignment between Naber’s performance and the
Slovenian national identity. Naber did not only choose to not sing in his
native tongue, he chose not to sing in any of the other languages of the ethnic
minorities in Slovenia – which might have the potential of making some sort of
statement about Slovenia. He chose to only sing in white light, which is one
third of Slovenia’s national colors, the others being red and blue (CIA Factbook,
2019). Naber could have easily included those colors, but it may have interfered
with the atmosphere he desired to establish in alignment to his song. So, in the case of Naber’s “Disney-esque”
ballad, as enchanting as it was, poses no real obvious promotion of Slovenia.
Then we
have last year’s performance with Lea Sirk’s “Hvala, ne!”, which arguably has a
more distinct intention or message about Slovenian nationalism, compared to
Naber. The title of the song translates to “No thanks!” in Sirk’s native
tongue, Slovenian, which also happens to be the language she sings in for her performance.
Singing in the native language aligns with the Slovenian national identity,
staying true to the native tongue establishes the “true Slovenian” quota that
Slovenia wishes to enact to the world. The song itself can easily be applied to
the fight against many social issues surrounding discrimination of a populace,
but the lyrics, combined with the staging, and appearance of the singer, has
very radical and feminist ideals. Sirk dons in an all-black mesh outfit matched
by her backup dancers who also happen to be all female. The most prominent feature
about the singer is her loud pink hair, a very defiant and distinguished look compared
to other female performers at Eurovision. Much of Sirk’s appearance alone is a
defiance of standards held against women. Then when delving into the lyrics of
the song, which is an upbeat pop song, combined with the contemporary hip hop
moves, only support the extremity of her performance. When questioned about the
meaning behind the song, Sirk responded that much of it relates to her “own
personal journey” (Lea Sirk, 2018). It is important to note that Sirk is a mother
of two daughters, so it is only appropriate that this song may also be
dedicated to them, as young females, about the struggle women face daily, but
the importance not to back down and to stay true to oneself. About nation branding,
Sirk sings in the native language, however, not much can be known of Slovenia’s
social standing towards women; whether they have laws limiting them or are all
for them. Since this song is very radical in presentation and context, that can
be applied to some of Slovenia’s ideals, considering it, alongside many other
countries, worked ferociously to annex itself from Yugoslavia. And now,
Slovenia is hoping to authenticate itself as an independent country worthy of
making decisions and stand as a major influencer. Even if this isn’t the
message that Slovenia wishes to communicate, it is a message that has deep impact.
If there is
one thing these two performances have in common, it is their potential in
appealing to minority group: the LGBT+ community. Particularly to the “camp
aesthetic” of either performance, which Jessica Carniel discusses in her
article, “Skirting the Issue: Finding Queer and Geopolitical Belonging at the
Eurovision Song Contest”. Carniel is quoted to state that “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). Though there are no flamboyant costumes
or suggestive gestures, both performances have an appeal that dares to be
different from the societal norm of heterosexuality. In the case of Naber’s performance,
he dons in a suit that sparkles as well as singing a ballad with musical theatre
vibes, both factors being stereotypes prominent for gay men. And in the case of
Sirk’s performance, she dons bright pink hair and has a side of her head
shaved, both factors being very unusual in the female gender norms, but an appeal
to the lesbian community. Roman Kuhar and Alenka Svab speak of Slovenia’s
current social standing with the LGBT community best in their article, “The
Only Gay in the Village? Everyday Life of Gays and Lesbians in Rural Slovenia”.
Stating, that despite Slovenia being home to the “oldest gay and lesbian
movement in former Yugoslavia as well as in Eastern Europe” (Kuhar, R. and
Svab, A., 2014), they are still at a stalemate in fully welcoming the community
within its borders. So, though these performances may suggest the singer’s own
beliefs of the political situation, it is arguable to state that these
performances or subtly “camp” as Carniel states, because they contradict gender
norms of their appropriate sex. Their efforts are seen and acknowledged, but considering
the limits held by the Slovenian government, it is difficult to truly go
extravagant given the stakes of the contest.
I believe that though Slovenia
does not have entrenched brand to advocate for, it is serious in its efforts in
trying to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Slovenia’s current nation brand
suggests that it is open to new things; singing a ballad one year, then singing
a Slovenian pop song next. These performances obviously have appealed to a wide
ranged audience and screams the dedication Slovenia has put into their journey
of being a part of the “Europeanness” that allures to foreigners. The contest is
more than its entertainment factor, it is a step toward being recognized for
Slovenia’s case.
Word Count: 1645
Works Cited
Bajt, V. (2016). Who "Belongs"? Migration, Nationalism
and National Identity in Slovenia. Razprave in Gradivo : Revija Za
Narodnostna Vprasanja, (76), 66,89. Retrieved from http://login.proxy.seattleu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.seattleu.edu/docview/1866457399?accountid=28598
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
Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). Slovenia. The
World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/si.html
Kuhar, R., & Švab, A. (2014). The Only Gay in the Village? Everyday
Life of Gays and Lesbians in Rural Slovenia. Journal of Homosexuality, 61(8),
1091–1116. Retrieved from https://doi-org.proxy.seattleu.edu/10.1080/00918369.2014.872492
“Lea Sirk” (2018). Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved from https://eurovision.tv/participant/lea-sirk
“Omar Naber” (2017). Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved from https://eurovision.tv/participant/omar-naber-1
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