The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.8

A direction continuation of Part 7; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_22.html

There's Always One.

Or in this case one and a half.

The main theme of this year's contest was how the Song Contest and by extension NATO has managed to get its relationship with Russia just so horribly wrong. With a universal acceptance the relationship with Russia was wrong nations then explored the reasons why it had gone wrong.

There were though two exceptions to this consensus.

Lithuania: They were represented by the song; "When We're Old" by Ieva Zasimauskaite.

Within former Soviet Union nations such as Lithuania there is a clear generational split.

The generation that lived under Communism generally have fond memories of the Soviet Union and generally positive feelings towards Russia. The younger generation born after independence generally have a much more negative attitude towards Russia.

The video in support of the song highlighted this generational split. You had the 24 year old Ieva Zasimauskaite as a representative of the post-independence generation. She was shown in contrast with lots of examples of loving couples of the Soviet pensioner generation.

The message of the song is that Ieva Zasimauskaite's generation can't wait until they are old. It will mean that the Soviet pensioner generation will all be dead so there'll be nothing to hinder their hostility towards Russia.

Throughout the video there is a male suitor constantly looming over Ieva Zasimauskaite as she, for example, plays piano in an old people's home. In this post-Weinstein age it is not quite clear whether Ieva Zasimauskaite welcomes his attentions or not. That looming male figure is Russia.

The live performance in both the First Semi-Final and Grand Final ends with this male suitor coming on stage and proposing marriage. Ieva Zasimauskaite tearfully accepts in a scene so heartwarming it helped for Lithuania's hostility to be forgotten and the act to be propelled into the Grand Final.

So it is nice when a artist ends their act with an apology. For their act.

Estonia: They were represented by Elina Nechayeva with the song; "La Forza (The Force)."

Estonia's entry was heavily influenced by the ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics and and particularly Para-Olympics.

For example during the live performances Elina Nechayeva's big gimmick was that she worn a ballgown that raised up to a great height and onto which video images were projected.

Almost exactly like the ballgown worn by the ballet dancer in the "Balhae School" sequence of the Para-Olympic Closing Ceremony rose up to become a Lotus Blossom. However Estonia's version was smaller, cheaper and just not as good.

Throughout the ceremonies the South Koreans made frequent reference to the contrast between classical high culture and popular low culture. For example the Para-Olympic Opening Ceremony ended with a duet between Hwang Su-mi, the South Korean Opera star who featured in the Olympic Opening Ceremony and Yang So-hee, an up-and-coming K-Pop star with the band Elris.

This was done really as an expression of South Korean interest in the Eurovision Song Contest. In past years Classical music has been used to represent Russian high culture while pop music has been used to represent American low culture.

So if you wish to indicate support for Russia your song would be in the classical style. If you wish to indicate support for America your song would be in the pop style. 

Elina Nechayeva is a graduate of classical singing from the Estonian Academy of Music and an aspiring Opera singer. She cites as her main musical influences two classical composers. The German Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Russian Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

The song is performed in Italian. In a very classical operatic style.

So following the convention that classical high culture is supportive of Russia it would be easy to assume that Estonia is being supportive of Russia. Particularly as Elina Nechayeva who was born in 1991 touts her Russian heritage.

However once you learn that Elina Nechayeva has ethnically Turkish heritage or if you speak Italian as Italians are prone to do you quickly realise that Estonia are attempting to subvert that convention.

Within the 28 nations of the European Union (EU) Italy is probably the most supportive of Russia. Every time the EU moves to renew its sanctions on Russia Italy objects and threatens to veto.

Italy is currently in the process of trying to establish a coalition government between Lega Nord (Northern League) and the 5Star Movement. The one thing these far-right and far-left parties can really agree on is the need to end sanctions on Russia.

The flag of the EU is a circular constellation of 28 stars against a blue background. Estonia's song is all about how they have to power of the stars. It attempts to bully Italy into submission by claiming that Estonia has the full weight of the EU behind it in its hostility towards Russia. So Italy had best fall in line.

During the Grand Final of the Song Contest there was a terror attack in Paris, France. A 21 year old Muslim from the Russian region of Chechnya launched a knife attack in the Opera district of the city. He killed one person and wounded four others before being shot dead by police.

ISIL have since claimed this attack. However I'm not sure they would want to. Displaying particular ineptitude they seem to have launched an attack against the only nation in the Song Contest that continues to support them.

Italy's entry this year dealt with a number of important issues. This meant that they were far to busy to respond to Estonia. So San Marino stepped in to defend Italy's honour.

San Marino: They were represented by the song; "Who We Are" by Jessika featuring Jennifer Brening.

Also inspired by the 2018 Winter Olympics and Para-Olympics their gimmick was that they used small, commercially available robots as backing dancers. 

On the small stage in the performance video in support of the song I think these actually worked quite well. However during the performance in the First Semi-Final they were predictably dwarfed by the much larger stage making the whole attempt to copying advanced South Korean technology seem rather embarrassing.

The lyrics of the song are literally about being bullied and standing up tall in the face of the storm. It also featured a rap verse by white, female, German rapper Jennifer Brening using the stage name; "Jenny B."

Although I'm still not sure if she realised that's why she got the gig this example of "German, White-Girl Rap" was every bit as terrible as you would expect.

Sending the message to Estonia that the trashy low-culture of former US President Obama's "Black Music" really does not work for Europe.  

And with that, 8 parts and 10 days later I think I have finally finished with the main theme.

16:25 on 23/5/18 (UK date).