Eurovision 2019: ASIE: The App Pt.2

A direct continuation of Part 1; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2019/05/eurovision-2019-asie-app.html

In that post I looked at how the Eurovision Song Contest is the gala event of the European Broadcast Union (EBU). A professional association of TV and radio broadcasters established in 1950 further technological advancement in the field of Information Communications Technology (ICT).

As a result the Song Contest is accompanied by lots of discussion about changes and trends within the field of broadcasting. Particularly technological innovations.

Finland: This year they were represented by Darude featuring Sebastian Rejam. With the song; "Look Away."

Real name Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen Darude is probably the most successful Finnish musical artist ever. A World famous House/Trance dance music DJ he had a massive hit in 1999 with; "Sandstorm."

This song sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and pretty much dominated radio airplay through the summer of 2000. It was one of the first ever Internet only hits, becoming famous after being posted in the file sharing site MP3.com.

Sandstorm is also the name of a fictional domestic terror group. Featured in the US TV show; "Blindspot."

That TV show provides something of a talking point about the changing role of women within the TV industry.

The premise of the show is that a woman is discovered suffering from amnesia. She then joins forces with the FBI team investigating her case to solve other crimes.

In many ways Blindspot is very different from other US police procedurals. Such as; "NCIS: Los Angeles." Featuring 2018 Song Contest host Daniela Ruah.

For example it features character and story arcs running through each season. Meaning you have to watch all episodes in order rather than having the seasons chopped up for syndication.

However it is very much centred around good guys with guns chasing bad guys with guns. In a series of gun fights, explosions, fight scenes and other action sequences.

Most TV shows, particularly in this genre, tend to be made from a slightly male perspective. Not being a woman I can't fully comment on how that affects women's enjoyment of the shows. However I'm only talking about an ever so slight bias that most people wouldn't even notice.

What is interesting about Blindspot is that it seems to be made from a slightly female perspective. This is so slight that, as a man, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the show.

While only slight that female perspective does seem particularly important given the show.

The woman with amnesia is actually found fully nude. Covered head-to-toe with elaborate, full body tattoos. These tattoos are clues to the crimes the woman and the FBI team go on to solve.

It does somewhat remind me of; "Sesame Street." Which goes; "This episode is brought to you by the letter A."

Blindspot tends to go; "This episode is brought to you by her right buttock." Or; "This episode is brought to you by her left inner thigh."

In the wrong hands that is the sort of thing that could get very creepy very quickly. "Blindspot, produced by Harvey Weinstein" seems a particularly terrifying proposition.

The lead actress, Jaimie Alexander, not only has to put up with her nude body being a major feature of each episode. She also has to put up with it being part of the opening titles and publicity campaign.

Even in an age where productions are increasingly hiring so-called; "Intimacy Coordinators" to deal with nudity and sex scenes on set that seems to ask a lot from an actress.

This shift of the role of women in TV, as both viewers and as program makers, has been slowly happening for a while now. Another interesting artifact in the discussion is the US TV show; "The Unit."

The Unit is about a special, secret Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit within the US military.

This type of program has traditionally fitted in a genre I like to call; "Boys TV." With a lot more action than plot it has long been made by men, for men. Women are not expected and, seemingly, not welcome to watch or enjoy.

The exact SOF branch featured in The Unit is never mentioned. However it is based on a book written by someone who served in the US Army Delta Force.

I think the most famous Movie/TV show about Delta Force is the 1986 Chuck Norris movie; "The Delta Force."

That is Boys TV at its most ridiculous. Even as a man who has some experience of war I find it too stupidly macho to be enjoyed as anything other than a satire of the genre.

Featuring as it does dirt bikes with machine guns on the front and rocket launchers on the back. A world where not only does no-one's gun ever run out of ammunition no-one even has to bother carry supplies of ammunition.

I don't think a lot of people realise that The Delta Force is actually an Israeli movie. Made by the production company "The Cannon Group." Founded by Israeli Jewish cousins Menahem Golan and Yorum Globus.

Meaning that The Delta Force isn't just an example of Boys TV at its absolute worst. It's also a ridiculous piece of pro-Zionist, anti-Iranian propaganda.

So all the good guys use Israeli-made mini-Uzi submachineguns. The Palestinian terrorists are compared to the Nazis. Jews and Christians unite to battle and defeat the evil Muslim enemy. All amongst copious shots of portraits of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini.

In real life Menahem Golan and Yorum Globus were also every negative stereotype about pushy, in-your-face Israelis. Even the American Jews who supposedly control Hollywood thought they were too much.

There is an interesting 2014 documentary about them called; "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films." It says a lot about the company that the surviving cousin, Menahem Golan rushed out his own, low budget, version of the documentary to beat the release date of the unofficial one.

From its start The Unit sets out to be very different from that type of macho nonsense. It's conceived to be not just about the men of the SOF unit. But also about their wives, girlfriends and families.

So in each episode there is the main plot. About the men and the SOF mission. However there is also a significant sub-plot. Featuring their wives and families. How these two plots connect and interact create much more rounded characters with significantly more emotional depth.

It shows how much TV has shifted that watching The Unit ten years on it doesn't seem particularly innovative. What it did which was so clever is now considered normal and really the barest minimum expected.

The baton of The Unit has really been picked up by a current US TV show called; "SEAL Team." Which is about US Navy SEAL SOF's. Along with their wives and families.

In a nod to this SEAL Team has actually cast the actor Michael Irby in a small role. Micheal Irby played one of the main characters in The Unit. The big finale of the show was his wedding.

In SEAL Team Michael Irby plays a training officer. There to teach the new guys how it's done.

Which is the sort of little in joke which makes me smile.

At around 18:25 on 28/5/19 (UK date) I'll pick this up tomorrow.

Edited at around 17:00 on 29/5/19 (UK date) to copy & paste from another window;

Being familiar with the darker side of technology I was very hesitant to get into Internet TV. To the point that I left my Roku sitting in a box, unopened for a year.

When you are watching traditional television it is a very one-sided relationship.

You receive the information that is being broadcast through an aerial or satellite dish. The broadcaster has no idea what program you are watching, or even if you are watching any program at all.

Internet TV is much more of a two-way conversation.

While your Internet enabled device is receiving information for the broadcaster it is also sharing a lot of information with the broadcaster about what you are watching.

In short Smart TV's watch you as much as you are watching them.

When I did finally decide to activate this Roku box I decided to run it in with short, uncontroversial programs.

I think the first show I watched was; "The Orville." A parody of Sci-Fi shows like "Star Trek" made by the team behind; "Family Guy." I can't help but wonder if that's the reason the second season seems to have completely lost its sense of humour.

Once I'd become used to the technology Blindspot was the first long season show I watched. Simply as a way to wind down and relax at the end of the day.

That idea really did not go to plan. The reason I became aware of the show in the first place should have been a bit of a warning.

On the Fourth of July weekend 2016 there was a small explosion in Central Park in New York City, US. Specifically on July 3rd (3/7/19). This occurred in the run up to the November 2016 US Presidential Election.

It also occurred when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were at their most potent in terms of attacks on foreign soil. Less than a month after the June 3rd 2016 (3/6/16) attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida, US and less than two weeks before the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France on July 14th 2016 (14/7/16). 

So as soon as news of this Central Park explosion broke I was all over it. Using social media to try and piece together what had happened. Initially all I could find out was that Jaimie Alexander, from the TV Show Blindspot had been seen working out in Central Park at around the time of the explosion.

This sent me into a bit of a frantic rush trying to find out who Jaimie Alexander is and what the TV show Blindspot was about. To determine if it was relevant to any potential message that was being sent by the explosion.

As it turns out the explosion was neither terrorism nor politics related. It seemed to be someone just messing about with homemade explosives on what is America's national festival of trying to blow things up.

When I eventually started streaming Blindspot I got disturbed in almost every episode by a message alert on Twitter.

Normally a bot account liking a Tweet in a way that seemed pointedly similar to the episode I was watching. At one point I was even approached by an account claiming to be the mother of the young man who lost part of his leg in the Central Park explosion.

I was doing all this in the aftermath of the poisonings of the Skripals and others in March and June of 2018.

That story of Russian spies using a Novichok like contact poison against the Skripals in Salisbury already sounded a bit suspicious. Due to the Season 7 of US TV show; "Homeland" which was being broadcast in the UK at the time.

The main plot of that season of Homeland revolved around Russian spies using a Novichok like contact poison to attack people. One of the main Russian spies in the story was played by Sandrine Holt. An actress so British I think I know some people who went to school with her.

Homeland is of course a remake of the Israeli TV show; "Prisoners of War." In a little nod to that it features a recurring Russian spy character played by Israeli actor Mark Ivanir. Before becoming an actor Mark Ivanir did his compulsory military service with a signals intelligence unit of the Israeli Army.

So the Russian spy in Homeland is actually a real life Israeli spy.

Blindspot also features a number of storylines which seem remarkably similar to the Skripal poisoning story.

One episode revolves around a Russian spy ring. Which is attempting to assassinate people with a Novichok like contact poison.

Another episode revolves around the government conducting illegal medical experiments on unsuspecting members of the public. Using a Novichok like chemical warfare agent. One of the victims of these experiments even shares the first name of Charlie Rowley. One of the victims of the June 2018 Novichok poisonings.

A third episode features a Novichok like nerve agent being stolen. A central character in that story line is also played by British actress Sandrine Holt.

It would be reassuring to think of spies as these suave, sophisticated James Bond like characters. The reality though is probably closer to the British TV show; "Killing Eve." Sandra Oh sitting there in her cheap plastic anorak. Copying things she'd seen on TV.

One of the main story arcs running through Blindspot is the woman trying to find out who gave her amnesia and covered her body in tattoos.

In one of the episodes featuring a Novichok like poisons she discovers a video she made of herself, for herself. It reveals that she gave herself amnesia and covered her own body with tattoos. She was the mastermind behind the plot all along.

The memorable, and often repeated quote is; "Remember. You did this to yourself."

After those coincidences things just started to spiral. With every passing episode of Blindspot seeming to get more and more stressful to watch.

For example it's revealed that one of the main characters is originally from South Africa. A South African Rand coin becoming an important icon within the story. I discovered this on the eve of British Prime Minister Theresa May travelling to South Africa. Her first overseas trip since the Skripal poisonings.

As I've said much of the show centres around a domestic terror group called; "Sandstorm." The big attack they're planning, what it is, when it will be and if the FBI team can stop it.

I was watching these episodes as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were undertaking their first, failed attempt to liberate the Hajin Pocket area from ISIL. They were hampered by real-life sandstorms blowing in allowing ISIL to mount counter-attacks.

So much like the characters on Blindspot I was very much frustrated by the terrorist damage being wrought by Sandstorm.

The fictional Sandstorm's big plot centred around a Russian Soyuz rocket. It was the big finale of season 2.

The day before I was due to stream that episode the launch of the real-life Soyuz MS-10 rocket had to be aborted on October 11th 2018 (11/10/18). Following the failure of a piece of equipment which looks remarkably similar to the injector kits which featured so heavily in the Blindspot, Homeland and Skripal poisoning storylines.

That struck me as taking TV spoilers into a whole new price bracket.

In its staging Finland's entry was very much like a dance club. Darude was in his DJ booth. There was a female podium dancer and giant video screens put on a visual display.

The video screens were showing lots of images of ice sheets, glaciers, the sea and water. The podium dancer was dressed in green. As such it would be easy to interpret Finland's entry as a protest against Climate Change. Melting ice sheets and rising sea levels.

That interpretation was intended to provoke discussion about Eurovision's No Overt Politics rule. It would be tempting to mark Finland down for appearing to break that rule.

Although Finland would probably argue that Climate Change is such a severe threat to all people it shouldn't be considered a political issue. In much the same way it's not considered a political issue to state that the Earth is round, rather than flat, and exists in a solar system orbiting around the Sun.

However the main message of Finland's entry was not a protest against Climate Change.

The green of the podium dancer was not the green of environmental activism. Instead it was the green of the Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights.

That is not to be confused with the; "Aurora Boreanaz." Which guided the Stewie and Brian the dog characters as they made their way to the North Pole in an episode of Family Guy. A role admirably played by SEAL Team actor David Boreanaz.

Alongside the ice caps and glaciers the Aurora Borealis were intended to highlight Finland's role as an Arctic Nation.

Just before the start of the 2019 Song Contest US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended a Foreign Ministers summit for the Arctic Council. Held in Helsinki, Finland on May 7th (7/5/19).

Secretary Pompeo used it as an opportunity to announce an increase in the US military presence in the Arctic and urged other members of the Arctic Council to follow suit. In order to guard against the threat of Russia.

The recurring chorus of Finland's entry was; "Is it in my head? // Am I the only one? // Is it in my head? // Where the war has just begun?"

It was the host of the Arctic Council mocking anti-Russian paranoia. Particularly in the context of Britain blaming Russia for the Skripal poisonings.

Finland of course were knocked out at the First Semi-Final. There's probably a host of reasons for this.

Firstly I have to take a moment to point out just how extremely competitive the Song Contest was this year.

There were 41 entries competing for 26 slots in the Grand-Finale.

Of those slots 6 automatically went to the so-called Big Six. The five nations that pay a premium for an automatic pass to the the Grand-Finale. Along with the host country.

Every year there are also a couple of nations which get waved through to the Grand-Finale because they represent one of the main political themes. I think this year both Albania and North Macedonia could have entered three minutes of complete silence and still made it through.

So in reality there were 33 nations competing for just 18 Grand-Finale slots. That meant that 1 in 2 nations were going to fail to make it through.

Also the message of Finland's entry was intentionally confusing. I think a lot of, particularly professional juries, would have got bogged down in whether Climate Change is considered a political issue. Without even noticing the ,message about anti-Russian paranoia.

Finally Darude is a huge global star. Much like with Saara Alto and Finland's 2018 entry this can make it look like they're trying too hard to win. Which can be a turn off for some people.

A particular problem if there isn't an overlap between the artists fanbase and Song Contest fans. Something which seems to be true in Darude's case.


Part Three to Follow.

17:25 on 29/5/19 (UK date).