The nation on Stage:

Eurovision performance’s tend to be considered as very over-the-top or dramatic, but when you actually look deeper into the lyrics, staging or lighting, it can provide you with a very clear message as to what the country is trying to portray or represent. We are going to be analyzing Serbia and more specifically its performances in 2010 and 2011.

In 2010, Serbia continued from previous years, with the fun, upbeat theme and sent Milan Stankovic, entering a song called ‘Ovo Je Balkan’(This is the Balkans). From the title you could make predictions that the song is going to be about the Balkan states. A former Yugoslav musician named Goran Bregović who is commonly known as the Balkans’ most celebrated composer, wrote the music and lyrics of this song, making the song stand out in the field of pop ballads and Eurodance tracks. Bregović is also the first man to imbue Serbian music with elements of gipsy folk, rebranding what is thought of as ‘traditional’. This song received a lot of publicly stating that it was very traditional yet stylish ("This is the Balkans – traditional yet stylish, 2019).

Digging deeper into the lyrics of the song it seems that ‘Milan Stankovic is begging his girlfriend to get physical. This can be identified from the lines “Oh, Ljubica, Ljubica, You make me want you so much Oh, squeeze-me, kiss-me, Ljubica, hold me close to your chest”(Eurovision Song Contest 2010). Milan connects sex with culture and he says it’s within the Balkan D.N.A.. He seems to say the word ‘Ljubica’ which in English means ‘sweetheart’, referencing it in terms of love, however, there are two women on the stage, making the message a lot more confusing. Throughout the performance, you see three main distinct colours of, blue, white and red, which are the national colours of Serbia. This could indicate and send a message that this is Serbia and we are proud of who we are, but also these colours are the Pan-Slav colours that represent freedom and revolutionary ideas. The line ‘Not once, not twice, but three times Belgrade’ clearly represents the fact that when Serbian’s introduce themselves to people they kiss three times which is a unique thing that only Serbia does (Eurovision Song Contest 2010).

The song overall cleverly plays on the Balkan identity, and Milan the singer due to his recognizable voice, appearance and attitude became a very highly popular and loved star ("This is the Balkans – traditional yet stylish, 2019).  In my opinion, the two men and women who are behind him, are being controlled in the rotating pedestals as you can see them doing a robotic dance like a music box doll or puppet which could relate to how Serbia was said to be in control of the Balkans. This also reminds me of the song “Doll on a box” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where truly is disguised as a wind up music box doll, metaphorically and actually on a pedestal. Truly sings about herself and her rigid nature, all behind the mask of the ‘doll’ she is portraying. This could relate to how all backing singers are trying to portray something they aren’t and are being controlled.

However, Speaking to Serbians friends it is clear that the song is about Serbian girl beauty and how nothing can compare to her. Also, how there is no need to change who you are to satisfy the man, as everyone favours the Serbian girl. The perfect girl is a Serbian girl. This indicates a sexist, controlling narrative from an androgynous man which means the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Having the physical features of both sexes. It can be identified when talking about gender identity, sexual identity or sexual lifestyle which is why it relates well to this particular song as Milan has very feminine like features however referenced as a male.

In 2011, Serbia entered a retro, cutesy theme song called “Čaroban” by nina (2011,Serbia), sung in Serbian which translates as ‘magical’.

            Looking at the lyrics it is clear that Nina is talking about ‘the perfect man’, coming home from a rough day to your lover and being good enough just the way you are and not having to change to please someone else. When she says ‘goodbye sorrow, hello smile’, this could indicate a lot of things for example, she had a bad day at work, that she came out of an abusive relationship or she just got left feeling as if she wasn’t good enough for anyone , however, this man has come into her life and put the smile back on her face (Eurovision Song Contest 2011).

It is evidently a love song, the line ‘their love is contagious’ could represent them trying to spread love not only around Serbia but around the world (Eurovision Song Contest 2011). The song is called magical which could mean that what she’s feeling doesn’t feel real because he makes her feel ‘beautiful’ and as ‘strong as a rock’ which she’s not used to (Eurovision song contest 2011). It’s not real in her eyes. In my opinion, the overall message that this song is trying to put across is the perfect man in everyone’s eyes is magical being a metaphor for it is not true or real. The staging helps portray this message as it feels like you’re in a fantasy watching it, a lot of bright colors and the backing singers reactions looked very fake and unrealistic. The whole setting makes you feel like your in a dream which is exactly what the message of the song is, the ideal man is an illusory. Also all the lighting on the back screen is moving very quick which makes me feel like is not real life.

On stage, singer Nina wears a white dress which is considered the colour of perfection and innocence, and three other backing singer who are all wearing much more extravagant colours; orange, green and pink. There are a lot of spirals circles being projected on the back screen which could represent she’s lost in a tunnel however it’s in bright colours which could show she sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nina is wearing target like ear-rings which symbolise the fact that she is the main target, and everyone is after Serbia. The target ear-rings could be relating it to the 2010 performance ‘Ovo Je Balkan’ where a Serbian girl is the perfect girl and the men are after her because they are sexist and controlling. Also what I find interesting is how all the backing singers right at the end turn and look at the singer, which could indicate that there’s a world much brighter than having the perfect man, for example, having three best friends.

To conclude, I feel like This is Balkans says a lot more about Serbia’s attitude as they performed that song looking for votes from the Balkan countries. The fact that Serbia believes the song is about Serbian beauty and that nothing can compare to a Serbian girl, suggests there confidence and arrogance as a country, which helps the statement they are known as a ‘dominant’ country. I feel ‘Čaroban’ is more of a generic and broad topic rather than being related solely to Serbia, it's more just around the perfect man isn’t real or true it's more of a magical feeling or thought.

I believe ‘This is Balkans’ can be related back to Serbia’s location and history, when they were a part of Yugoslavia and then took over Kosovo, as the song is very dominant emphasizing Belgrade and no other Balkan country symbolising their potential hierarchy to the other countries. However, I do not believe they are trying to insult or speak poorly of the other Balkan countries as this song was intended to get the majority of its votes from them. Both songs are touching on gender expectations and relationships which could symbolise Serbia are a very gender orientated country who put a lot of time into relationships and finding there ‘ideal man’. Ovo Je Balkan’s upbeat song about a love story set in Belgrade qualified for the final and finished 13th place. Nina in 2011 with her 60’s inspired song, qualified for the final and achieved 14th place. The fact that Serbia has finished in the top 15 in both years suggests that they are a country willing to fight and do well which relates back to their competitive behavior.

References:

Stankovic, M (2010). This is the Balkans (Ovo Je Balkan). (Serbia). Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Oslo. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=29&v=4pVEII2pmso

Nina (2011). Magical (Čaroban). (Serbia). Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Dusseldorf.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=111&v=-CWvXKxjCs8

Milan Stankovic (2010). Eurovision song contest. Retrieved from https://eurovision.tv/participant/milan-stankovic

Nina (2011). Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved from

https://eurovision.tv/participant/nina-1

Nina (2011). Magical (Čaroban) preview video. (Serbia). Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Dusseldorf.

Retrieved from

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8hu_9lonw

Stankovic, M (2010). This is the Balkans (Ovo Je Balkan) preview video. (Serbia). Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Oslo. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=54&v=4xKeYFkB9Pw

Trading economics (2019) Serbia Competitivness Index Retrieved from       

https://tradingeconomics.com/serbia/competitiveness-index

This is the Balkans – traditional yet stylish: Serbia's Milan Stanković | ESC Radio - Eurovision Song Contest Eurosong Webradio. (2019). Retrieved from

             http://www.escradio.com/2010/05/ovo-je-balkan-traditional-yet-stylish-serbia’s-milan-stankovic/

 National Identity:

National identity is a complicated and multifaceted subject with a definition that is not deemed established or confirmed. It is more of a sense of belonging to a nation and how the population feels like they belong to the country. National identity can be sectioned down into certain segments like culture, religion, and language (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p. 595). However, many countries speak the same language etc, so here we are going to dig deeper into uniqueness and how they separate themselves from the countries predominantly surrounding them.

This blog post will attempt to attach national identity to the country known as Serbia. Most of the county’s past has affected its position now. The break-up of Yugoslavia, Kosovo declaration and that Serbia is defined as an ‘unfinished or undefined nation’ (Ristić, 2007, p. 185). It is true to state that Serbia shares its identity in many different ways with it sharing an almost identical language with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Croatia, and a main orthodox religion with these Slavic nations. It would be accurate to describe Serbia’s overall national identity as something that is not established or well-known. This is due to the fact that when Serbian’s try to distinguish their identity it leads to two completely different understandings, which is the reason why there is not one reliable answer or conclusion. Ristic (2007, p. 190) argues these two identities are

            1.     ‘Serbia as a western European country, respectively a country that belongs to the western culture.

2. ‘Serbia as a traditional state that geographically belongs to Europe but does not necessarily share all values considered as European.

Serbia shares many portions of its national identity with its surrounding countries, but the combination is unique to itself. For example, Macedonia is closely related to Serbia, with the Serbian language being almost identical to the Macedonian apart from a couple of differences in pronunciation (Britannica, 2016). Also, Orthodox is the most common religion in Macedonian along with Serbia. However the biggest difference comes from the history of origin in both countries, Serbia was dominant and in control during the Yugoslavia stage, whereas many other countries declared independence like Macedonia did in 1991 (Allcock & Lampe, 2018).

The Kosovo catastrophe brought an episode in the Serbians decade of post-Yugoslavia decay. Questions were raised like ‘how was it possible that the Serbs who had only recently represented a democratic force against a dictatorship, now stood by their regime and ferociously clung to a nationalist vision of Kosovo?’ (Jansen, 2000, P. 396). Kosovo in Serbians eyes is of little relevance as a physical place with most Serbians would not dreaming of visiting due to the country being ‘poor, backward region run by competing mafias'(Jansen, 2000, P. 396). Kosovo can be interpreted as a traumatic knot in Serbian nationalism.

According to Volcic ( 2005, p. 156), the national identity and sense of belonging which is what we highlighted to be a key factor of national identity in the introduction, is constantly being reworked, reinvented and reimagined. Serbia has a very complicated and contradictory relationship to the west, due to the emotions towards the west being described as a combination of ‘uncanny fascination with feelings of love and hate’ (Volcic 2005, p. 156), the main question being does Serbia belong to the west or east. Serbia has a lack of stable democratic political leadership and a weak economy. The subjective positioning of Serbia is the most complex and undefined characteristic of the country, the themes of belonging to the west, draw on post-Yugoslav memories and a specific sense of cultural and social superiority to the west.

The Balkans were and currently still are seen as the dark side of Europe, representing the darkness within. Volcic (2005 P. 159)recognizess that the Balkans are identified and seen as the region with an image of danger, instability, violence and eternal conflict.

Up until  27 April 1992 Serbia was part of the kingdom of Yugoslavia. The capital city of Yugoslaviains Belgrade which is in fact in Serbia, which in some respects you should claim that Serbia is dominant and a leader in this aspect. Yugoslavia first formed as a kingdom in 1918 and then recreated as a socialist state in 1945 after the Axis powers were defeated in the World War II. Slovenia and then Croatia were the first to break away, due to conflict with Serbia.

The Ottoman Empire′s Principality of Serbia and the Russian Empire established official relations in 1838. Serbia has an embassy in Moscow and Russia has an embassy in Belgrade. Russia backed Serbia through all the allegations of Kosovo describing it as a terrible precedent which breaks up the entire system of international relations that have taken centuries to evolve. There is a group of Serbs living in Russia, also known as Russian Serbs which includes Russian citizens of ethnic Serb descent or Serbian-born people residing in the country.

Othering:

Significant others don't have to be a stronger or larger nation, it just poses a threat to the existence of a nation orblursr the distinctiveness of the group (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p. 600). According to Triandafyllidou’s article ‘National identity and the ‘other'' she explains significant others to be separated into three distinct groups;an  internal majority, internal minority, and external.

Serbia identifies themselves as more irrational, proud, crazy, passionate, loving and even backward, destructive and melancholic, than western Europeans.

The three main strategies of othering within Serbia include, essentializing and stereotyping the west, the process of internal Serbian othering which refers to the negative Balkan stereotypes for those even further down in the imaginary hierarchy and thereby the mobilization of these differences as a form of internal differentiation, and finally the internalisation of western stereotypes (volcic, 2005, p. 162). Serbia is not as different as the western capitalist culture as young elites think.

Internal othering:

The former Yugoslavia region internal distinctions are remapped onto the dichotomy that opposes the Europeans to the Balkans. The urban and rural divide within Serbia is seen as a crucial internal distinction. ‘Today in Serbia, you are still either a peasant, a primitive, barbaric, nationalistic person; or you are a “gradjan”, a civil and well-behaved, tolerant, cosmopolitan citizen.’. it is said that many interviewees are quick to mention that many poor Serbians now live in their cities, therefore they feel the capital city called Belgrade has been ‘invaded, colonized and occupied by refugees from rural regions, and therefore ‘Belgrade has changed and lost its authentic character'  (Vujovic, 1997).

                                                    

Word Count: 1077

References:

Ristic, I. (2007). Serbian identity and the concept of Europeanness. Panoeconomicus, 54(2), 185-195.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.430.7728&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the “other”. Ethnic and racial studies, 21(4), 593-612

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/014198798329784

 Volcic, Z. (2005). The notion of ‘the West’ in the Serbian national imaginary. European Journal Of Cultural Studies, 8(2), 155-175.

https://journals-sagepub-com.proxy.seattleu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1367549405051842

 Vujacic, V. (2003). Reexamining the "Serbian exceptionalism" thesis. Filozofija I Drustvo, (21), 205-246.

http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2003/0353-57380321205V.pdf

 Jansen, S. (2000). Victims, Underdogs and Rebels. Critique Of Anthropology, 20(4), 393-419.

            https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0308275X0002000401?casa_token=c0bPAz5YsnMAAAAA:bYfmzC4sBONZtMeOkfuEyNOl3nDv5LGnaPdF6sXl2WnPiSMVdUlWpd40OVSU19eLCatg91QBZc-E

Allcock, J. B., & Lampe, J. R. (2018 ). Yugoslavia | History, Map, Breakup, & Facts. (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/place/Yugoslavia-former-federated-nation-1929-2003