The Nation on Stage

Over the course of five Eurovision Song Contest entries, Ukraine put forth performances that featured a diverse array of musical genres and stage presences. However, the continuity between each performance was the center stage presence of a female vocalist and constant references to archetypal and traditional Christian views of the female persona/gender role. In addition, Gaitana’s “Be my Guest” (2012) and Jamala’s “1944” (2016) both portrayed Ukraine’s paradigm use of exoticized ethnicism, complex views of diversity, and blatant affirmation of their belonging in “multicultural” or a “cosmopolitan” Europe.

The first performance, “Angel” (2011) by the dynamic vocal stylist, Mika Newton, contains many components that reference to an archetypal and traditional, Christian worldview of women. The performance was optimized to present multiple visual and literary elements indicative of purity and, just as the title suggested, an angelic persona. Newton was clad in a conservative, pure white, chiffon gown adorned with light, angelic feathers on the shoulder. The delicate featured and fair-skinned vocalist supported pale, platinum blond hair, styled in soft curls and pulled into a loose braid. The staging of the soft ballad featured a fog machine, creating a fairy tale like presence, and a white, heavenly spotlight placed directly upon Newton for the entirety of the performance. The famous sand artist, Kseniya Simonova, standing behind Newton was dressed in a “witch-like”, deep purple, cutout dress and wore a black stoned choker to purposefully juxtapose and emphasize Newton’s “eve-like” or pure persona. In addition, Simonova frantically illustrated the sand into a story about a young, innocent girl navigating her way through a conflicted world.  Lyrically, “Angel” narrated the story of an unbreakable love by characters described as “we are angels, we are in danger, we are crystal white”. The song also contained the constant instrumentation of a delicate, youthful xylophone melody that persisted throughout. All three components of this performance allude to an emphasis upon an angelically pure and virgin persona. “Christopher Witcombe (2000) states that literary and visual representations of females as biblically pure and eve-like personas is indicative of a traditional, patriarchal perception of women. In addition, Oksana (2007) suggests Ukrainian women are presented a patriarchal view of femininity and gender roles influenced by pagan constellations, Christian ideas, and popular folk motifs in Ukrainian literature.

The next performance, “Gravity” (2013) by Zlata Ognevich alludes to a similar archetypal persona Ukrainians hold of women. Ognevich’s performance closely follows the patriarchal influenced Christian motif of traditional gender roles and purity. In the beginning of the performance there was a heavy misogynistic undertone, when Ognevich was carried onto stage by a strong Viking figure (his strength being indicated by visual and auditory thunder effects on stage) and placed onto a pedestal for which she remained upon for the entirety of the performance. Zlata, widely recognized as one of Ukraine’s most beautiful women, was clad in a simple, pure white evening gown that complemented her slim, hourglass figure. The staging of the performance consisted of a LED background featuring a mystical forest, a fog machine, and four background vocalists placed in the dark behind Zlata, heavenly illuminated by a bold white spotlight. The camera exclusively panned over to capture either Zlata’s delicate face, the docile, movements of her arm as she presented the camera with the view of her butterfly ring, or her predominantly stationary body on the constricting pedestal. Lyrically, the song was constructed by song writer Karen Kavaleryan exclusively for a Eurovision win, but featured the repetitive lines “I’m like a butterfly”, which added to the countless other elements of the performance alluding to the Christian motif of femininity as delicate and pure. The instrumentation and composition of the song was “Disney like”, featuring heavy use of an orchestra and dramatic crescendo throughout the performance, which added to the fairy tale aesthetic of the Eurovision entry. Ognevich’s performance relentlessly alluded to Oksana’s (2007) suggestion that traditional ideas of biblical purity, docile character, and submission to masculine strength comprise Ukrainian femininity. 

The third performance “Tick-Tock” (2013) by Mariya Yaremchuck referenced the patriarchal and biblically influenced archetype of Lilith. The persona of Lilith and Eve are easily understood as two sides of the same coin, Eve being a pure, virgin figure and Lilith being a bewitching seductress/succubus character (Witcombe, 2000). The transfiguring of these bibilical archetypes upon women in art, degrade and simplify women into two types of sex symbols (Wicombe, 2000). Yaremchuck’s performance went through drastic aesthetic metamorphosis into the dark and sensual as it progressed from the national selection to the finals. The Eurovision entry on the final stage featured a LED background comprised of the dark cosmos, a man suited in dark clothing on a “hamster wheel”, countless, rapid moving stage lights and Mariya Yaremchuck presented center stage. Yaremchuck was clad in a deep blue and black dress that tightly conformed to her upper body, emphasizing her cleavage, and draped out leaving her toned legs bare. Mariya’s choreography contained many instances where she suggestively touched both her chest and hips, which were followed by moments where she sensuously swayed her figure down as the camera panned towards her body. In addition to her erotic stage presence, behind Mariya was a man tirelessly running on a “hamster wheel”, only acknowledged for an instant by Yaremchuck, and promptly ordered back onto the wheel. The presence and role of the man on the wheel further signifies metaphorical allusion to Yaremchuck’s bewitching persona as a succubus/enchantress. Lyrically, Yaremchuck’s “Tick-Tock” is a typical Eurovision pop entry that utilized repetitive lines and the concept of love, but lines like “don’t stop, kiss me, kiss me till I drop” have a more suggestive feel than a typical, plutonic love song. Upon closer analysis, Oksana’s (2007) idea that Ukrainian femininity is influenced by biblical motifs is reflected in Mariya Yaremchuck’s “Tick- Tock” performance, in which she portrayed an archetypal Lilith/seductress figure emphasized through both her sensual attire and stage presence. 

The next performance, “Be my Guest” (2012) by Gaitana demonstrates Ukraine’s paradigm use of exoticized ethnicism and their complex relations to the concept of diversity. Gaitana is a jazz/folk singer-songwriter of Congolese descent, which created intense controversy amongst Ukrainian right-wing political elite to comment that she was “not an organic representative of Ukrainian culture”, yet Ukrainians still want to sell the concept of the same multi-culturalism present in “developed” or Western European countries. (Jordan, 2015). Gaitana’s performance consisted of the classic trope used by eastern European countries of exoticized ethnicism, which entails taking an aspect of Ukrainian culture and presenting it to an excessive extreme (Jordan, 2015). Ukraine’s practice of exoticized ethnicism traces back to Ruslana’s use of the Eastern Ukrainian, Carpathian culture in the Eurovision winner “Wild Dances” (Jordan, 2015). The staging of “Be my Guest” parallels the same ethnic portrayal of “Wild Dances”, in which Gaitana supports a traditional Ukrainian headdress, the vinok, while behind her are three “stiff-jacketed” Cossack men playing the traditional/folk Surma horn (Adam, 2012). In addition, Gaitana’s use of powerful R&B vocals, presence of nearly every color imaginable in the staging of the performance, and the lyrics “People be my guest, welcome, people, be my guest, welcome, stay with me, be my friend” allude to a “welcoming” and rather positive outlook on acceptance of diversity, which adds more complexity to Ukraine’s contradictive relationship with multiculturalism and diversity.

Lastly, Jamala’s powerful “1944” (2016) performance demonstrates Ukraine’s portrayal of multiculturalism and its use in justifying the nations standing with other “developed” or western European nations (Bilaniuk, 2016). Ukraine always had an “inferiority complex” to western Europe, which prompted them to emphasize multiculturalism as an aspect of Ukrainism and prove their standing in “cosmopolitan” Europe (Bilaniuk, 2016). Jamala’s performance artistically portrays the deportation of Crimean Tatars under Joseph Stalin and provides Ukrainian identity a strong narrative of multiculturalism and another Eurovision win to boost self-esteem. The staging of Jamala’s performance consisted of a dark figure walking across the stage as she sang “strangers are coming”, synchronized movements/gestures with the LED sprouting tree, and pulsing blood red backdrop as she sang about the about the killings of her ancestors. Jamala was clad in a deep blue, conservative jumpsuit that draped to her left side and swayed as she used a combination of gracious and frantic gestures to convey the beautiful yet gruesome message of her performance. In addition, Jamala utilized a traditionally Armenian folk instrument, the Duduk, played by Aram Kostanyan and accompanied by her spine tingling, (Azerbaijani originated) Mughum vocal style. Jamala is the first performer the use Crimean Turkish in the Eurovision Song Contest, and its use with her Mugham vocal style and synchronized long note to the sprouting LED tree visual behind her create one of the most masterful performances in ESC history.

Ukraine used the ESC to portray ideas of Ukrainian femininity and female gender roles as byproduct patriarchal Christian motifs of Eve and Lilith. Ideas of Ukraine’s predominantly Orthodox Christian beliefs are present in Mika Newton’s “Angel” and Mariya Yaremchuck’s “Tick-Tock”, which allude to the binary nature of female sex symbols as a virgin “Eve-like” character or “Lilith-like” seductress. In addition, Gaitana’s presence as half Congolese in “Be my Guest” demonstrates the contradictive nature of Ukraine’s acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism. Lastly, Jamala’s powerful “1944” performance provides Ukraine the ability to boast multiculturalism and affirm its position in a “cosmopolitan” Europe.

References:

Adams, William Lee. "Ukraine’s Eurovision Selection Marred by Right-Wing Racism." Time Magazine., 05 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://world.time.com/2012/03/05/ukraines-eurovision-selection-marred-by-right-wing-racism/>.

Bilaniuk, Laada. "Race, Media, and Postcoloniality: Ukraine Between Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism." City & Society 28.3 (2016): 341-64. Web. 09 Feb. 2017. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ciso.12096/full>.

Gaitana. “Be My Guest,” music and lyrics by Gaitana and KIWI project. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsTn_li5d8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jamala. “1944,” music and lyrics by Jamala. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jordan, Paul. "From Ruslana to Gaitana: Performing “Ukrainianness” in the Eurovision Song Contest." Contemporary Southeastern Europe 2 (2015): 110-35. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://www.suedosteuropa.uni-graz.at/cse/en/jordan>.

Kis, Oksana. "“Beauty Will Save The World!”: Feminine Strategies in Ukrainian Politics and the Case of Yulia Tymoshenko." Spaces of Identity, 2007. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/38755381/Kis_Beauty_Tymoshenko.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1487095013&Signature=JdpcS%2FWVtcZ37LZNSM9Bw%2Fiy7jA=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B filename=Beauty_Will_<htt

Newton, Mika. “Angel,” music and lyrics by Maryna Skomorohova and Ruslan Kvinta. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_xRmEkR6KE Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Ognevich, Zlata. “Gravity,” music and lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nikrisov. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxpv8naRd8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Witcombe, Chritopher. "Eve and the Identity of Women." N.p., 2000. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/3eveidentity.html>.

Yaremchuk, Mariya. “Tick- Tock” music and lyrics by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHboKF9PIQ  Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.

Performances: 

Gaitana. “Be My Guest,” music and lyrics by Gaitana and KIWI project. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsTn_li5d8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jamala. “1944,” music and lyrics by Jamala. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY Accessed 10 Feb. 2017. 

Newton, Mika. “Angel,” music and lyrics by Maryna Skomorohova and Ruslan Kvinta. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_xRmEkR6KE Accessed 10 Feb. 2017. 

Ognevich, Zlata. “Gravity,” music and lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nikrisov. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxpv8naRd8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Yaremchuk, Mariya. “Tick- Tock” music and lyrics by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHboKF9PIQ  Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.