Eurovision performances are generally over-the-top and dramatic, but looking more deeply into the messages can provide insight into the country’s position on diversity. The most recent submissions from Poland tell a story of a country with open minded views on gender equality and handicapped people, but present very little racial diversity.
In 2009, Poland entered a song of freedom and independence entitled “I Don’t Wanna Leave,” sung by Lidia Kopiana. She is Polish, but the song is in English, a more wide-reaching language and common choice for many European countries. The song was co-written by a German man named Alex Geringas, so the song is not completely of Polish background (Eurovision Song Contest). Both Lidia and the dancers on stage are swathed in white, not only brinigng focus to the movements and words of the performers, but also symbolizing purity and cleanliness, which the song promotes through the story of shedding a relationship to be free again (Smith). The lyrics tell the story of someone who is in a relationship and must face the reality that she must leave her lover because she is “incomplete” and needs to follow her “destiny,” even though it is difficult for her. She repeats, “I don’t wanna leave,” giving insight to the torment and sadness she feels for doing what she must do (Eurovision Song Contest).
Lidia begins singing about feeling incomplete and how she doesn’t want to face the reality of her situation, which is played out visually by a male and female pair of dancers. The couple dances together, constantly in contact; as the song progresses, the male wraps the woman in a white ribbon and they dance a distance apart, connected by this ribbon as the male restrains and controls and female. This symbolizes the strain the comes into the relationship and the shift in power the woman feels. When Lidia Kopiana belts her final chorus, the female dancer springs free and dances on her own with a red ribbon, with the man offstage entirely. The music swells, and Lidia’s voice gains yet more power with the camera sweeping more quickly and from grander perspectives. This shows the freedom and joy the woman has gained from leaving her relationship, finally bringing color back into her life. Red is a color of energy and enthusiasm, a stark contrast to previously “dreaming in the dark.”
This is a song of empowerment and freedom, embracing individuality and making difficult choices to find ultimate happiness.
The next year, Marcin Mroziński sang “Legenda,” translating to mean ‘legend,’ rooted in Polish identity and violence on women. Marcin was an already known Polish singer and actor (Eurovision Song Contest). The composer of the music, Marcin Nierubiec, is also Polish, and the lyrics switch between English and Polish equally throughout, with Polish during the folk parts of the song and English during the pop. Marcin is also surrounded by five women in traditional Polish folk costumes to add to the air of history and Polish culture (Eurovision Song Contest). Marcin himself is dressed in a modern suit and tie, which sets him apart from the women twirling around him, giving an air of superiority. Both the clothing and mix of languages could speak to the incorporation of tradition with modern times, reflecting the festivals and events where Poles will wear folk clothing today.
The performance opens with all the women taking a bite of an apple, which Marcin explains to symbolize Adam and Eve, but could also be a nod to the trope of a poisoned apple to indicate death (Dahlander). Marcin sings about a “lovely princess” he is here to save (Eurovision Song Contest). The message of the song may be chivalrous, but the staging says otherwise when coupled with the repeated “being together even no matter, you didn’t want me by your side” (Eurovision Song Contest). During the finale of the song, Marcin grabs one of the women in the crook of his arm by her neck and she proceeds to sag against him and eventually to the ground where the others on stage mourn her as the song ends. The message is disrespectful towards a woman’s right to herself and suggests violent acts upon the “princess.”
The 2011 Polish Eurovision song is titled “Jestem,” meaning ‘I am’, sung by Magdalena Tul, who composed and wrote the song herself (Eurovision Song Contest). She is Polish and the all the lyrics are in the Polish language. The style of the song and performance can only be described as electronic dance, which does not match up with the message of the lyrics in any fashion. The words are those of love and torment, describing someone always there to help her when she needs it, but she is consumed with the fear that this person will someday leave her. Magdalena stresses the loyalty that they “would jump into the fire if [she] wanted” that transforms into being “overwhelmed by fear” of losing what they have in the second half of “Jestem” (Eurovision Song Contest). The staging, however, comes in with a flash of lasers and the reveal of five beautiful women in tight and revealing outfits. Before the final chorus, there is a dance break to techno beats while the lights flash ever more intensely. The story is one of internal struggle against the acceptance of goodness, but the performance catered to creating a flashy, accessible Eurovision experience that flattened the effect of Magdalena’s words.
After a brief hiatus, Poland reentered the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 with the song “My Słowanie – We Are Slavic” sung and lyrically written by Joanna Klepko, who goes by the stage name of ‘Cleo’ (Eurovision Song Contest). Witold Czamara, referred to as ‘Donatan’, produced the song. Both are Polish and the first two thirds of the song are sung in that language. “My Słowanie” has national pride and culture in every element of the performance, singing “we are Slavic” and “no better than our Slavic girls” with the backup dancers wearing traditional Polish folk dresses and braided hairstyles (Eurovision Song Contest). The lyrics and performance of the song are sensual and boast the beauty and sexuality of Polish women, “girls grown up on country cream” (Eurovision Song Contest). While Cleo sings and three women spin around her, one of the dancers comes front stage and undresses to a revealing tank top and begins to wash clothes and churn butter as sensually as those actions can be. Even the stage is doused in red, a color symbolizing passion and seduction (Smith). The overtones of sexuality come from the female perspective, so it does not give the quality of objectifying women as much as empowerment of them. Cleo sings from the female perspective and boasts of knowing how to use her body. Although the song is sensual and controversial because of it, the message has a strength of women that is not immediately noticeable.
In 2015, Poland entered the song “In The Name Of Love,” sung and lyrically written in English by Monika Kuszyńska and composed Kuba Raczyński, both Polish. The song sends a message of hope and strength as explained by Monika Kuszyńska when she said in an interview that the song is for “all of you who don’t believe in yourselves, who feel weak, or not good enough” (Eurovision Song Contest). She sings, “I wanna tell you it’s gonna be better; you’ve got the greatness within you,” a powerful statement about the goodness and strength in each person. This is reinforced and given more meaning considering Monika was in a tragic car accident in 2006, partially paralyzing her and ending her music career that began five years prior. The dream of performing again was fulfilled at Eurovision where Monika took the stage in a wheelchair and exquisite flowing white gown. The brightness of her look was only amplified by the bright white light pouring down on her, symbolizing newness and possibility (Smith). The performance gives a nod to her career as a singer before the accident with black and white video of her on stage played on the outsides of the Eurovision stage performance. Poland presented possibility and overcoming obstacles through Monika’s empowering piece.
Although Poland showcases acceptance and diversity in terms of gender and in 2015 with “In The Name Of Love” with the song’s message of empowerment and handicapped performer, the general level of diversity is quite low in terms of race across all performances and the sexism in Mroziński’s “Legenda.” Most of the performers are White-passing, although the population of Poland is nearly ninety-seven percent Polish among other predominantly white ethnicities (Central Intelligence Agency). Because Poland’s Eurovision presence is so strongly rooted in Polish culture and history, as displayed most through Mroziński and Donatan and Cleo’s performances, all performers and music writers are Polish. There is a very small pool of minorities within the actual country to pull from; even religion throughout the country is overwhelmingly Catholic at eighty-seven percent. Because the country has little racial and religious diversity within the country, any representation in Eurovision is less likely.
On the positive side, four of these five songs have been performed by women which speaks towards Poland’s positive views on gender equality and female empowerment. Especially in the case of “I Don’t Wanna Leave” and “In The Name Of Love,” women show strength against oppressive relationships and obstacles in life. Marcin Mroziński’s song, however, tells a different story of sexualizing women and violence towards them. It could be argued that the message was one of awareness, not support, but watching a man take a woman by the neck while she falls to her death at his feet is disconcerting and hard to see as feminist.
The diversity of Poland’s Eurovision performances sends a general message of acceptance and empowerment of differences among people, but without much representation – in part due to the lack of diversity within the country.
Works Cited
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