Most of the time, a Eurovision performance has some sort
of story to tell or message to get across to the audience like love or peace. The
way that these themes are expressed vary, including costuming, lighting, props,
the language the song is performed in, who is on the stage, and so forth. These
literary and visual devices, and the message of the performance, can hint at
what the country being represented is like and how it views certain issues or people.
In this essay, I will analyze themes presented by literary and visual devices
in Dutch Eurovision performances from 2010 to 2014 and what these themes say
about the Netherlands and its view towards diversity.
The two clearest themes present in the performances from
2010 to 2014 are love and hope versus despair. First, I will focus on the songs
that focus on the first theme. Sieneke’s “Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie)” (2010) is
very bright and cheerful with a sort of fair or carnival aesthetic. Behind
Sieneke is a fancy Dutch street organ with two dolls/mimes, all three of which
are covered in tulips, a national symbol of the Netherlands (Dahlander 2010). The
lights in the background are in playful colors of blue, yellow, and red-orange and
flash in a rotating pattern much like the lights on fair rides and games. All
that, combined with the connotations of innocence brought forth by Sieneke’s
white and flowery costume, paint the picture of a first date and young love. The
lyrics further embellish on the theme of love pretty blatantly. “Ik ben verliefd”
is Dutch for “I’m in love” and is repeated throughout the song no less than six
times ("English Lyrics |
Sieneke - Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie)."). The song also talks about two
people listening to a song and trying to remember where they heard it. The team
from the Netherlands explained that the two people from the song are represented
by the mimes on stage (Dahlander 2010).
As the song progresses, the mimes move forward until they are standing next to
Sieneke, right as she sings “Shalalie shalala, yes, I remember it now!” (“Enlgish
Lyrics…”). One could claim that, with all of the references to Dutch culture,
the love in the song is from the singer, a citizen, to the nation. This is
supported by the fact that the whole song is in Dutch, which implies that the
song was strictly directed towards a Dutch audience. If the two mimes represent
a Dutch couple, then the song that they are trying to remember as they travel
to other countries (Russia, Germany, and France, among others are referenced) could
be representative of their Dutch culture and homeland. Thus, the love portrayed
in this performance is between two lovers and between the lovers and their
country. The focus on patriotic love and not much else suggests national pride,
rather than diversity, was what the Dutch wanted to express that year. Love, as a theme, does not have to be a
patriotic love. It could also be romantic or platonic love, too.
Joan Franka’s “You and Me” (2012)
had a theme of love that was a bit more romantic than patriotic. Opening to
Joan Franka in a long, flowy blue dress, and, shockingly, a large feathered headdress,
strumming on an acoustic guitar, you can hear her softly singing about two
children playing in the street and growing up together. The story behind the
song is fairly obvious when you look at the lyrics, but just in case you were
wondering if Joan Franka had a deeper or additional meaning, she stated in an
interview that the song focused on memories of her “first childhood love” and
how memories are something that you always carry with you (Lee Williams 2012).
The lighting in the background is what seems to get this point across the most,
with what looks like clocks inside of clocks spinning on the screen and what I
can only guess might be a sort of vortex pulling at the colored banners to
represent looking back on memories. The costuming and props, such as the headdress
and fire pits, seem to be more surface level, referring to Joan Franka’s
childhood memories of playing cowboys and Indians (Lee Williams 2012). As
expected, the headdress stirred up a little controversy, but Joan Franka stated
that it was never her intention to offend anyone (Lee Williams 2012). This lack
of realization that wearing traditional Native American clothing might be
offensive suggests a lack of diversity in the Netherlands, or at least, a lack
of understanding of what people may consider being racist or culturally
insensitive. Joan Franka also mentions in that interview that she is half
Turkish (Lee Williams 2012). Perhaps diversity in European countries is pictured
differently than how we picture it in the United States and “diverse” countries
are made up of people from other areas of Europe, making Joan Franka contribute
to diversity in the Netherlands, but I have no basis for comparison. Joan
Franka’s performance focused on fond memories of a first childhood love, but
the third sort of love seen as a theme in recent Dutch entries is troubled
love, seen in struggling relationships.
The Common Linnets’ “Calm After The
Storm” (2014) emphasizes a sort of conflicted love that one would often see in
relationships in turmoil. Just like Joan Franka’s song, the lyrics a fairly straightforward,
using words like “heartache”, “tears”, and “goodbye” as imagery to tug at the
listener’s heartstrings and paint the picture of someone debating whether or
not to end a relationship (2014). The staging and lighting are mostly simple,
starting with the broken lane line of the highway referenced in the lyrics and
later showing a large tree in a field. The tree starts out surrounded by a
storm and lacking in detail, but after the second to last stanza, where the
lyrics shift to a more hopeful outlook on the relationship, the storm clears
and the tree becomes detailed with texture and even a blatantly metaphorical
heart-shaped notch. The camera work is particularly interesting because it
mainly consists of tightly circling around the two singers, whose microphones
are twisted together in a way that forces them to do almost all of the
performance only making eye contact with each other. This emphasizes how
sincere, emotionally raw, and personal this song is supposed to be, making it
feel like a sit-down confrontation of problems in the relationship. The camera
work and eye contact give off the feeling that the people in the relationship
still very much love and care about each other, regardless of their
relationship difficulties, and that they both still hope for the relationship to
work out in the end. It should be noted that several of the songwriters are
American, suggesting a bit of Dutch diversity through ties with the United
States. The ending note of hope brings us to the next theme of recent Dutch
Eurovision entries: hope versus despair.
While a bit flat and generic, the
3JS’ “Never Alone” (2011) has an abundance of lyrics and visual devices that drive
home the theme of “hope”. The lyrics address someone clearly despairing, mentioning
their “cold and hurtin’ soul”, and attempt to reach out and comfort that person
by telling them to “feel the risin’ hope…take my hand…have faith” (2011). All
of the allusions in the song to “golden gardens”, light, and the sky in the
lyrics almost make give the song a biblical feeling, as if it is from the point
of view of a divine being. The costuming and lighting also lending to this
feeling by using a lot of white clothing and lighting, to the point where the
performance is almost blinding in a sort of heavenly way. All of the performers
wear black and white, though the main band (especially the lead singer) mainly
wear white, and the lighting, including the many spotlights, is all white, too.
As far as implications of diversity go, the song was written and performed by
three white Dutch men with only one person of color, a black backup singer, on
stage. The backup singers might not be Dutch, so this performance implies that
expressing the diversity of the Netherlands was not a large concern that year.
Finally, Anouk’s “Birds” (2013) is
harder to pin down, but the performance seems to tell the story of someone broken
and struggling with hopelessness. There is an odd disconnect from the lyrics
and the visual aspects of the performance, and sometimes the music as well. The
lyrics seem to be an allegory for someone who has been hurt, as symbolized by
birds with broken wings falling from rooftops. Anouk also uses words that have
negative or sad connotations, like “clouds”, “isolated”, and “hope turned into
fear”, to create a dismal tone (2013). At the end on the song, it is hinted
that the singer is trying to forget a lost love. In contrast, the visuals and
music seem more positive. The lighting is blue and gold, birds soar in the
background, Anouk is constantly smiling, and the music has an uplifting crescendo
at every chorus. Once again, the performer is white and Dutch, but all of the
backup singers were people of color. After seeing so many white performers, it
seems intentional to have all the backup singers be people of color. Perhaps the
broken singer is supposed to represent minorities and their struggles. If so,
that suggests a positive view towards diversity in the Netherlands.
Through their literary devices and visual
cues, most of the Dutch Eurovision entries from 2010-2014 imply that the
Netherlands appreciates diversity, but is not passionate about it, does not
prioritize expressing it during the Eurovision Song Contest, and does not have a
full grasp of how to be culturally sensitive, which, in turn, suggests a lack
of diversity in the nation.
Works
Cited
Anouk.
“Birds,” music and lyrics by Anouk Teeuwe, Tore Johansson, and Martin Gjerstad.
The Netherlands, Eurovision Song Contest,
2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5iazXvMw5o.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2017.
Dahlander, Gustav. "Sieneke's Voice Is Back
for the Netherlands," Eurovision Song Contest, 22 May 2010. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=sienekes_voice_is_back_for_the_netherlands.
Accessed 04 Feb. 2017.
"English Lyrics | Sieneke - Ik Ben Verliefd
(Sha-la-lie)." Eurovision Song Contest, n.d. https://www.eurovision.tv/event/lyrics?event=1513&song=25183&type=English.
Accessed 07 Feb. 2017.
Franka, Joan. “You and Me,” music and lyrics by
Joan Franka and Jessica Hoogenboom. The Netherlands, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCc0Iiu3DiU.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2017.
Lee Williams, Adam. “Q&A: Joan Franka on the
Indian Headdress and Her Turkish Roots,” Wiwibloggs,
14 March 2012. http://wiwibloggs.com/2012/03/14/qa-joan-franka-on-the-indian-headdress-and-her-turkish-roots/15300/.
Accessed 04 Feb. 2017.
Sieneke. “Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie),” music
and lyrics by Pierre Kartner. The Netherlands, Eurovision Song Contest, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdA2SsM3BLI . Accessed 27 Jan.
2017.
The
Common Linnets. “Calm After The Storm,” music and lyrics by Ilse DeLange, JB
Meijers, Rob Crosby, Matthew Crosby, and Jake Etheridge. The Netherlands, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ggBPAm5XLA.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2017.
3JS.
“Never Alone,” music and lyrics by Jaap Kwakman, Jan Dulles, and Jaap de Witte.
The Netherlands, Eurovision Song Contest,
2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ6T43D82KY.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2017.
Word Count: 1650 (Counting
title)
