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Critiquing the National Brand

Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-nine times since its first appearance in 1974. The Eurovision Song Contest is a platform for the country or artist because the competition not only presents the opportunity for showcasing an original song, but nation-branding as well. According to Paul Jordan’s  The Modern Fairytale,  nation-branding is “the phenomenon by which governments engage in self-conscious activities aimed at producing a certain image of the nation state” (Jordan, 16). Through Eurovision, nations have the chance to show off their national identity in these annual performances, because it broadcasts a particular image to outsiders. Previously mentioned in my first blog post, Greece identifies with multiple national identities such as religion, historical culture, and language. In my second blog post, I analyzed two Eurovision performances from 2011 and 2012 to understand what exactly Greece was trying to convey to Europe. In this final b...
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The Nation on Stage

Since 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is broadcasted annually across Europe and other countries belonging to the European Broadcasting Union (Eurovision Song Contest, 2019). With only three minutes to perform on stage, countries showcase themselves through costuming, lighting, staging, genre, and language to enhance the performance. However, while the visual aspect of a performance can contribute to the meaning of the song, there are often messages within the lyrics that capture the artist or country. In a span of two years, Greece submitted different styles of songs in terms of lyrical message, but similarities between the two include mythological and traditional religious references and music style. These performances share Greek cultural references that contribute to the country’s attitudes toward diversity in their own identity. The first performance, “Watch My Dance,” was performed by the duo Loucas Yiorkas and Stereo Mike in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. The song is ...
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National Identity

Defining National Identity in Greece What are the components that make up national identity? Following the arguments of Anthony Smith, national identity is defined as “a named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members” (Smith, 1991, p. 14). National identity can be analyzed through “nationalism [which] is defined as the ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy, unity and identity on behalf of a population deemed by some of its members to constitute an actual or potential nation” (Smith 1991, p. 73). National identity is essentially built around the contrast between other nations and identifying these differences that bring out the uniqueness and sense of pride within a nation. I will be discussing the elements that define Greece’s national identity. Greece, a country in Southern Europe, is home to a group of people who id...
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Welcome/καλωσόρισμα

Hello/γεια σας Welcome to my blog! I will be focusing on the country Greece. In last year’s 2018 Eurovision Song Competition, Greece participated in the first semi-finals where they performed fourteenth. Unfortunately, Greece was not one of the ten countries to qualify for the grand final. Hopefully, the 2019 Eurovision Song Competition will be Greece’s year to make it into the finals! Pedro Szekely from Los Angeles, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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