23WQEurovisionPoland

Why is Eurovision so important? When I first heard of the Eurovision Song Contest, I saw it as a yearly contest broadcast on television that was merely done to celebrate music composed all throughout Europe. But after spending time exploring the contest and the influence that winning the contest can hold, I now understand that the results of this singing competition hold political consequences for many countries involved. In this blog post, I will be analyzing Poland’s performance in Eurovision in 2016 called “Color of Your Life” written and performed by Michał Szpak, and seeing if there are connections to Poland’s national identity.  Poland’s National Identity  Before I get into Michał Szpak’s performance, I want to quickly clarify what the national identity of Poland is first. Through my own research, I have determined that there are three different parts to the country’s national identity. The first part is the strong ideals of solidarity manifested through adopted national...

Blog Post #1 What is National Identity? National identity plays a massive role in how we perceive ourselves as well as others, whether we recognize it or not. However, there is no single correct way that someone can express their national identity, as it is a concept that manifests itself in almost every action we carry out, like the way we talk to the people around us or wearing your country’s colors during the Olympics. Since there is no clear, single image of national identity, the definition is also muddied. It is a concept that many historical authors have debated for decades. In my interpretation, national identity is made of many different components consisting of; historical context, political ideals, and a strong psychological sense of pride shared with others, for the country that you call home (Triandafyllidou, 2000, pg 595). Using this definition, national identity and pride can come in any shape or form and has no limitations since it is an idea that changes from person to...