The Eurovision Song Contest as a Cultural Phenomenon: From Concert Halls to the Halls of Academia (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies)

Drawing from the wealth of academic literature about the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) written over the last two decades, this book consolidates and recognizes the ESC's relevance in academia by analysing its contribution to different fields of study. The book brings together leading ESC scholars from across disciplines and from across the globe to reflect on the intersection between their academic fields of study and the ESC by answering the question: what has the ESC contributed to academia? The book also draws from fields rarely associated with the ESC, such as Law, Business and Research Methodologies, to demonstrate the contest's broad utility in research, pedagogy and in practice. Given its interdisciplinary approach, this volume will be of interest to scholars and students working in cultural, media, and music studies, as well as those interested in the intersections between these areas and politics, law, education, pedagogy, and history. The Eurovision Song Contest as a Cultural Phenomenon Cover -1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Editors 9 Contributors 10 Foreword 13 Part I: From Lugano to the Classroom: the Eurovision Song Contest and Academia 16 1. The Grand Tour: the Origins of the Eurovision Song Contest as a Cultural Phenomenon 18 From Sanremo, Rome and Venice to Lugano...: Italy as the Inspiration for the ESC 19 ...To Florence, Vienna and Prague: Teaching the World's First University Course on the ESC 25 Our Tour: Where We Take You in This Book 28 Notes 30 References 31 2. The Eurovision Song Contest: An Academic Phenomenon 33 The ESC as a contest 34 The ESC as Euro(vision) 36 The ESC as a Song Contest 37 The ESC as a TV programme 37 The ESC as a festival 38 Conclusion 39 References 40 Media and cultural studies 40 Politics and Euro(vision) 43 EurovisionAnalytics 48 3. A Human Rights-Based Analysis of the Eurovision Song Contest and the European Broadcasting Union 51 A Human Rights Response to State Violations Linked to the ESC: Urban Transformation and Forced Evictions in Azerbaijan 52 The EBU as a Soft Power Regional Mechanism: Leveraging Public Service Media (PSM) for Human Rights Protection 57 I PSM As a Human Right 57 II The EBús Soft Power to Leverage Human Rights Protection 59 Pop Culture as a Medium for Studying Human Rights 65 Note 66 Bibliography 66 Part II: From Past to Present: History, Politics and Society 70 4. The Mythology of Song Contests 72 Bibliography 81 5. Teaching European History and Memory through the Eurovision Song Contest during the COVID-19 Pandemic 83 Introduction 83 Teaching History and Memory Pre-Pandemic 84 Teaching History and Memory Online 90 Case Study: The Soviet Union and Russia 91 Conclusion 94 Note 95 References 95 6. A March for Power: The Variety of Political Programmes on the Eurovision Song Contest Stage 98 Backstage 98 The Apolitical Stance of the EBU 99 The ESC as a Cultural Seismograph 100 The Politics of Hegemonic Control 102 Israel and Europe: The Politics of Suspicion 103 Wars of Song: Politics of Conflict 105 Discussion 107 Notes 109 References 109 7. The Molitva Factor: The Eurovision Song Contest and 'Performing' National Identity in World Politics 111 Performing National Identity at the ESC 112 The ESC and the Litmus Test of 'Europeanness' 113 'Molitva' and the Politics of LGBTQ Visibility in Europe 116 Europeanisation, LGBTQ Visibility and Embodied Performances of National Identity: the Molitva Factor 119 Notes 122 References 123 8. A Critical Pedagogical Eurovision Euphoria: The Potential of the Eurovision Song Contest to Promote Values Propagated by the European Union within Formal Learning Contexts 126 Introduction 126 From the Initial to the Critical Use of ESC-Related Texts 128 Fit for Purpose and Tailor-Made ESC Roots 129 Data Collected From the Learning through the Eurovision Research Project 131 Reinforcement Activity 1 132 Reinforcement Activity 2 132 Reinforcement Activity 3 133 Homework Assignment 133 Lesson Conclusion 134 Insights Obtained From the Research Venture 134 Conclusion 140 Note 140 References 141 9. Sharing Values in the Eurovision Song Contest and the OTI Festival: The Moral Fourth Person in the Lyrics of the Winning Songs 144 Introduction 144 The ESC 145 Explicit versus Implicit Message 146 The Role of Discourse Functions 146 The Concept of a Musical Person 147 Exploring the Nature of the Musical Person 148 Step One: semantic and Pragmatic Types 148 Step Two: positive and Negative Features 150 Step Three: from the Musical Person to the Moral Person 152 The Moral Fourth Person in the ESC 152 A Comparative Perspective between the ESC and the OTI Song Festival 154 Conclusion 156 References 157 10. Eurovision in the Boardroom: What Does Voting Order Tell Us about Decision-Making? 159 Introduction 159 Subject Matter and Methodology 161 Data 161 Procedure 162 The Period from 1998 to 2008 162 The Period from 2009 to 2012 163 The Period from 2014 to 2019 163 Results 164 Discussion 166 Notes 170 References 170 Part III: From Stage to Screen: Film, Media, and Music 176 11. High, Low and Participatory: The Eurovision Song Contest and Cultural Studies 178 Introduction 178 A Tale of Two Contests: a Contrast in Aesthetics and Audience 179 Eurovision, Television, and the Rise of Cultural Studies in the Post-War Era 181 Beyond (the) Birmingham (School): the Rise of Eurovision as Participatory Mega-Event 184 Notes 188 References 188 12. Queer Camp against Franco: Iván Zulueta's Eurovision Song Contest Parody Un Dos Tres 190 Biography 192 Un dos tres and Camp 194 Gender, Homosexuality and Politics 196 Walter Benjamin and Mass Culture 198 Conclusion 200 Note 201 References 201 13. The Eurovision Song Contest and European Television History: Continuity, Adaptation, Experimentation 203 The ESC as a Media Event 203 The ESC and European Television History: Adaptation and Experimentation 205 The ESC and Mediated Temporality: Continuity and Change 209 The Value of Media Studies for ESC Research 212 Notes 213 References 214 14. From Trouble to Bubble? The Ambiguous Relationship between Professional Journalists and Fan Media in the Eurovision Song Contest 216 A Music Show outside the Focus of Music Journalism 217 The First Fan Media Present at the ESC 217 From Fan to Journalist 218 "Meriting" Accreditation 221 Accreditation as a Bottleneck 222 Assessment and Abuse 223 Fan Careers 223 The Position of an EBU Representative 225 Changing Media Landscapes 227 Conflict Potentials 229 Conclusions 230 Notes 231 References 232 15. Domesticity, Mass Media and Moving-Image Aesthetics: The Visual Identity of the Eurovision Song Contest as a Hospitable Platform 234 Introduction 234 State of the Question and Methodology 235 The Visual Identity of the Eurovision Song Contest 236 Flowers for a Europe in its Prime 236 The Importance of Skylines as Frames of Reference 238 The Aquatic Metaphor for an Emerging Europe 240 Animals on Stage 241 The Architectural Turn: bringing Local History to a Global Stage 243 Objects and Symbols from the Cultural Heritage of the Host Country 244 Conclusion 246 References 249 16. Armchair Researchers: Modes of Ethnographic Research for Understanding and Experiencing the Eurovision Song Contest 252 Aca-Fan Researchers: Positionality and Responsibility 253 The Places and Spaces of Eurovision Research 257 Conclusion 260 References 262 17. Between Concepts and Behaviours: The Eurovision Song Contest and Ethnomusicology 264 Ethnomusicology and the ESC: the state of the art 265 Sound, concepts and behaviour in "Amar pelos dois" a paragraph Lisbon, 13/05/2017 268 Lisbon, 13/05/2017 274 Lisbon, 14/05/2017 275 A final reflection 278 Notes 278 References 279 Index 281 Eurovision,Song,Contest;,Eurovision,2022;,Eurovision,Song,Contest,2022;,Eurovision;,Modern,European,History;,International,Relations;,Human,Rights;,Non-State,Actor,Liability;,Big,Data;,Mythology;,Theatre,Scenery;,Susan,Sontag;,Walter,Benjamin;,Eurovision,European,Identity;,European,Values;,European,Pop,Culture;,Multidisciplinary,Studies;,European,Pop,Culture,Eurovision;,Eurovision,European,Values;,Eurovision,Contest;,European,Broadcasting,Union,Eurovision;,EBU,Eurovision;,EU,Eurovision;,European,Union,Eurovision;,ESC;,ESC,2022;,European,History,Memory,Eurovision;,European,History,Eurovision;,European,Memory,Eurovision;,Political,Programs,Eurovision;,Politics,Eurovision;,European,Politics,Eurovision;,National,Identity,Eurovision;,Eurovision,Cultural,Studies;,Eurovision,European,Culture;,European,Television,History,Eurovision;,European,Television,Eurovision;,Fan,Media,Eurovision;,Fan,Media,ESC;,Fan,Culture,Eurovision;,Eurovision,Ethnomusicology; Eurovision Song Contest,Eurovision 2022,Eurovision Song Contest 2022,Eurovision,Modern European History,International Relations,Human Rights,Non-State Actor Liability,Big Data,Mythology,Theatre Scenery,Susan Sontag,Walter Benjamin,Eurovision European Identity,European Values,European Pop Culture,Multidisciplinary Studies,European Pop Culture Eurovision,Eurovision European Values,Eurovision Contest,European Broadcasting Union Eurovision,EBU Eurovision,EU Eurovision,European Union Eurovision,ESC,ESC 2022,European History Memory Eurovision,European History Eurovision,European Memory Eurovision,Political Programs Eurovision,Politics Eurovision,European Politics Eurovision,National Identity Eurovision,Eurovision Cultural Studies,Eurovision European Culture,European Television History Eurovision,European Television Eurovision,Fan Media Eurovision,Fan Media ESC,Fan Culture Eurovision,Eurovision Ethnomusicology "Drawing from the wealth of academic literature about Eurovision written over the last two decades, this book consolidates and recognizes Eurovision's relevance in academia by analysing its contribution to different fields of study. The book brings together leading Eurovision scholars from across disciplines and from across the globe to reflect on the intersection between their academic fields of study and the Eurovision Song Contest by answering the question: What has Eurovision contributed to academia? The book also draws from fields rarely associated with Eurovision, such as Law, Business and Research Methodologies, to demonstrate the song contest's broad utility in research, pedagogy and in practice. Given its interdisciplinary approach, this volume will be of interest to scholars and students working in cultural, media, and communication studies, as well as those interested in the intersections of culture, media, nationalism, education, pedagogy, and history"-- Provided by publisher.