Iceland is a complex country. It prides itself on being complex. People refer to it as the “Land of Ice and Fire” because of its volcanoes and glaciers, but also because of its internal contrasts. Something I did not mention about Iceland in my first blog post is that, like other nordic countries, it prides itself on being cultured and progressive. It was Iceland who elected the first female president in 1980 and the first openly gay Prime Minister in 2009. Moreover, a 2017 study by the World Economic Forum suggests Iceland is the country with the most gender equality (2017). This equality contrasts not only with the country’s viking forefathers, but also the fact that these vikings, remembered as violent pilagers, are canonized and celebrated in Icelandic society today (Ernest, 2013, p.69). Iceland boasts of the beauty of its natural resources, such as the previously mentioned volcanoes and glaciers. However, large parts remain untouched since most of the population is urbanized, with half the people living in the capital Reykjavik (Central Intelligence Agency, 2018). Iceland is an open country that relies heavily on tourism. Despite this, they proved themselves territorial when they participated in the Cod Wars with Britain over fishing rights in certain areas. Icelanders are bilingual and are able to switch from Icelandic to English during a conversation. However, they preserve their national language by preventing foreign words from entering their vocabulary (Gunnarsdottir, n.p.). These contradictions do not diminish Iceland’s national identity, but rather enhances it. The complexity of its nature and culture is what separates it from other European countries, which is why there is so much potential for its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
When analyzing Iceland’s entries in the Eurovision Song Contest, I will be analyzing the three performances discussed in my second blog post as representatives. They are “Is it True?” (2009, Iceland) by Yohannah, “Je Ne Sais Quoi” (2010, Iceland) by Hera Björk, and “Coming Home” (2011, Iceland) by Sjonni’s friends. The songs are a love ballad, an electro-dance song, and a five piece folk song respectively. While the genres of the entries are different, all three are love songs with no direct reference to any aspect of Icelandic culture. This is extremely surprising as the unique culture and history of Iceland provide numerous opportunities for inventive, eye-catching performances. The background screen could have shown aerial footage of Icelandic coastlines and mountains, the pyrotechnics could have represented volcanoes, the singers could have stood on props shapes like glaciers, and yet none of these opportunities were taken. “Is it True?” used its background screen to show a cloudy night sky, while “Coming Home” showed spinning yellow and black circles. The stages in all the performances were barren, with only the minimal amount of people allowed onstage as per Eurovision’s rules.
The mildness of Iceland’s performances in Eurovision is in contrast with the country’s strong legacy as an exporter of music. Something else I did not mention in my first blog post was how music plays a large part in Icelandic culture disproportionate to its small population. It is the center of an independent music scene that fuels the economy and initiates the rise of up and coming artists (Prior, 2014, pg. 81). These artists grow and have a tremendous effect on the well being and identity of their home country. Iceland has produced acts such as Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Ros, and most notably, Björk (no relation to Hera Björk).
Internationally recognized Icelanders are significant to the country’s identity because for hundreds of years it had none. As a colony of Norway, then Denmark, and it wasn’t until 1944 that they received their independence. Like with many European post World War 2 countries, Iceland’s people feel enormous gratification when their singers are recognised internationally. Icelandic author Hallgrimur Helgason said in an interview, “My generation was brought up feeling that we were out of place, a nation of losers; too small and provincial ... But now everything has changed. All thanks to Björk, I guess. We’ve gained our self-esteem and our self-respect, a generation has grown up that is more internationally thinking” (Jackson, 2004). This self esteem comes from famous acts who embody the national identity of Iceland.
Björk is probably the most well known Icelandic artist, if not the most well known Icelandic person, in the world. The travel site “The Guide to Iceland” claims she is a “national treasure” and that “[Her] fierce attitude, inspiring madness and incomparable drive have made her name synonymous with Iceland” (Chapman). Alex Ross from The New Yorker says, “Björk is probably the most famous Icelander since Leif Erikson” (2004). She was listed on Rolling Stone’s Greatest 100 singers of all time (Rolling Stone, 2010), has been nominated for 14 Grammys, her performance in “Dancer in the Dark” won her the Cannes Best Actress award and an Academy Award nomination.
Björk’s popularity is significant because, in direct contrast to Eurovision, she employs nation branding. Paul Jordan wrote, “The logic behind nation branding is that every nation is a brand and as such it can be strategically marketed in order to attract inward investment and improve the overall image of a country” (Jordan, 2014, pg. 22). Björk follows this logic by using her music videos to associate the nation of Iceland with the concept of nature. The music video for “Hunter” (1997) is her slowly turning into a polar bear, “Human Behavior” (1993) shows her wandering through woods pursued by a giant teddy bear, and “Jóga” (1997) is a montage of aerial photography of Icelandic landscapes. Björk has embodies nature in her private life as well, advocating for environmental issues in Iceland (Barton, 2015) and wearing her infamous swan dress to the Academy Awards. The claim is not that her environmentalism and patriotism are insincere, but that the branding of Iceland with nature is beneficial to the country, not only by attracting potential tourists, but by uniting the country. Nicola Dibben writes, “By embodying nature and land and thereby expressing the idea of nationhood as a 'natural' unity of people and land, Bjork's audio-visual output enacts the idea of patriotism and belonging” (2009, pg. 137). People of Iceland are able to identify with the same thing: nature, and become part of a larger whole. Both Iceland’s participation in Eurovision and Björk’s career started in the mid 1980’s, and in that time Björk has done more to help her country’s nation branding.
The existence of artists like Björk could be why Iceland’s performances in Eurovision have been rather un-Icelandic. Iceland already has Björk, there is already someone to represent their country and invite international attention. Icelanders don’t need to rely on Eurovision to announce who they are to the world as lesser known countries like Cyprus, Romania, or Latvia might. People know what Iceland is and where it is on a map. With this in mind, Iceland’s rather safe performances can be attributed to the fact that Iceland has not won Eurovision once. They reached 2nd place in 2009 with “Is it True?”, a familiar ballad about a romantic relationship. The two songs that followed, “Je Ne Sais Quoi” and “Coming Home”, are similar in that they are uncontroversial. They are in English, there are no references to anything Icelandic, there is nothing bizzare or eye-grabbing about their staging, and there is nothing that might alienate foreign voters. The songs are not bad or lack identity, but they fall into a range that is to be expected of Iceland’s entries in Eurovision. This is despite Iceland’s national identity, which is dependent upon its people having pride in their distinct land and heritage. There is nothing particularly Icelandic about any of the songs mentioned; They could easily be performed by any other country.
The mildness of Iceland’s performances in Eurovision is in contrast with the country’s strong legacy as an exporter of music. Something else I did not mention in my first blog post was how music plays a large part in Icelandic culture disproportionate to its small population. It is the center of an independent music scene that fuels the economy and initiates the rise of up and coming artists (Prior, 2014, pg. 81). These artists grow and have a tremendous effect on the well being and identity of their home country. Iceland has produced acts such as Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Ros, and most notably, Björk (no relation to Hera Björk).
Internationally recognized Icelanders are significant to the country’s identity because for hundreds of years it had none. As a colony of Norway, then Denmark, and it wasn’t until 1944 that they received their independence. Like with many European post World War 2 countries, Iceland’s people feel enormous gratification when their singers are recognised internationally. Icelandic author Hallgrimur Helgason said in an interview, “My generation was brought up feeling that we were out of place, a nation of losers; too small and provincial ... But now everything has changed. All thanks to Björk, I guess. We’ve gained our self-esteem and our self-respect, a generation has grown up that is more internationally thinking” (Jackson, 2004). This self esteem comes from famous acts who embody the national identity of Iceland.
Björk is probably the most well known Icelandic artist, if not the most well known Icelandic person, in the world. The travel site “The Guide to Iceland” claims she is a “national treasure” and that “[Her] fierce attitude, inspiring madness and incomparable drive have made her name synonymous with Iceland” (Chapman). Alex Ross from The New Yorker says, “Björk is probably the most famous Icelander since Leif Erikson” (2004). She was listed on Rolling Stone’s Greatest 100 singers of all time (Rolling Stone, 2010), has been nominated for 14 Grammys, her performance in “Dancer in the Dark” won her the Cannes Best Actress award and an Academy Award nomination.
Björk’s popularity is significant because, in direct contrast to Eurovision, she employs nation branding. Paul Jordan wrote, “The logic behind nation branding is that every nation is a brand and as such it can be strategically marketed in order to attract inward investment and improve the overall image of a country” (Jordan, 2014, pg. 22). Björk follows this logic by using her music videos to associate the nation of Iceland with the concept of nature. The music video for “Hunter” (1997) is her slowly turning into a polar bear, “Human Behavior” (1993) shows her wandering through woods pursued by a giant teddy bear, and “Jóga” (1997) is a montage of aerial photography of Icelandic landscapes. Björk has embodies nature in her private life as well, advocating for environmental issues in Iceland (Barton, 2015) and wearing her infamous swan dress to the Academy Awards. The claim is not that her environmentalism and patriotism are insincere, but that the branding of Iceland with nature is beneficial to the country, not only by attracting potential tourists, but by uniting the country. Nicola Dibben writes, “By embodying nature and land and thereby expressing the idea of nationhood as a 'natural' unity of people and land, Bjork's audio-visual output enacts the idea of patriotism and belonging” (2009, pg. 137). People of Iceland are able to identify with the same thing: nature, and become part of a larger whole. Both Iceland’s participation in Eurovision and Björk’s career started in the mid 1980’s, and in that time Björk has done more to help her country’s nation branding.
The existence of artists like Björk could be why Iceland’s performances in Eurovision have been rather un-Icelandic. Iceland already has Björk, there is already someone to represent their country and invite international attention. Icelanders don’t need to rely on Eurovision to announce who they are to the world as lesser known countries like Cyprus, Romania, or Latvia might. People know what Iceland is and where it is on a map. With this in mind, Iceland’s rather safe performances can be attributed to the fact that Iceland has not won Eurovision once. They reached 2nd place in 2009 with “Is it True?”, a familiar ballad about a romantic relationship. The two songs that followed, “Je Ne Sais Quoi” and “Coming Home”, are similar in that they are uncontroversial. They are in English, there are no references to anything Icelandic, there is nothing bizzare or eye-grabbing about their staging, and there is nothing that might alienate foreign voters. The songs are not bad or lack identity, but they fall into a range that is to be expected of Iceland’s entries in Eurovision. This is despite Iceland’s national identity, which is dependent upon its people having pride in their distinct land and heritage. There is nothing particularly Icelandic about any of the songs mentioned; They could easily be performed by any other country.
It is not uncommon for Icelanders to integrate themselves to a larger, international society. As previously mentioned, Icelanders are bilingual and open to tourism. People from Iceland are not against accommodating to English speaking visitors, and the fact that most Icelanders speak English means they can adjust to a larger audience when performing internationally. Icelandic singers in Eurovision have far better pronunciation and clarity than singers from other non-English speaking countries. Iceland also has an economy that relies on tourism, so winning Eurovision and hosting the following year would be incredibly beneficial from an economic perspective. This adds context to why Iceland might stray away from controversial songs in order to increase their chances of winning Eurovision. Iceland’s national identity relies on the country’s distinctive historical figures and landscapes to project independence, and their performances at Eurovision directly contradict this by being neutral.
Word Count: 1439
References:
Chapman, M. (n.d.). The Björk Saga. Retrieved from https://guidetoiceland.is/music-of-iceland/best-of-bjork
Earnest, S. (n.d.). Gerpla and the struggle for national identity in Iceland. Retrieved from https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.seattleu.edu/article/535982
Gondry M. (1993). Human Behavior. Iceland: Universal Music Publishing Lmt.
Gondry M. (1997). JógaI. Iceland: Universal Music Publishing Lmt.
Gunnarsdóttir, N. (2013, April 25). What is an Icelander? | Identity and Stereotype. Retrieved from https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/what-is-an-icelander
Jackson, R (2004, June 10). Hallgrimur Helgason. The Reykjavik Grapevine Retrieved from https://grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/2004_issue1_2004.pdf
Prior, N. (2014). ‘It’s a Social Thing, Not a Nature Thing’. British Sociological Association http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975514534219
Rolling Stone (2010, December 2). 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/bj-ouml-rk-20101202
Ross, A. (2004, August 23). Björk’s Saga. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/08/23/bjorks-saga
The World Factbook: ICELAND. (2018, January 10). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html
White P. (1997) Hunter. Iceland: Universal Music Publishing Lmt.
World Economic Forum. (2017) Global Gender Gap Report 2017. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2017/
The World Factbook: ICELAND. (2018, January 10). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html
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