Michael Do
Blog 3: Nation Branding
This blog explores the different ideas of nation branding within a country, and how it is tied within the national identity of the country I am writing about (France). This includes the Eurovision Song Contest analyzation of performances from the previous blog and if they truly do relate to the nation brand that the country is attempting to convey. I believe France’s nation branding is misaligned with their national identity, which is represented through their ESC performances and how outsiders view their country compared to the actual national identity itself.
Blog 1 was focused on establishing the national identity of France. Aspects such as the inner workings of France were taken into consideration (law's, government actions, treatment of the ‘other’, social standing within the community, etc). Reasons of why the national identity was formed to what it is today is due to history of the country or politician statements. Blog 2 focused on France’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest and what implications the performances gave in regards to France’s national branding to other countries along with hidden signs of national identity in the country if there were any. Having knowledge of nation branding is important for this blog along with the definition.
The definition for nation branding is stated as “Nation branding, the phenomenon by which governments engage in self conscious activities aimed at producing a certain image of the nation state” (Jordan 16). France promoting themes of romance and peace to other countries through events can be seen as nation branding. Nation branding is a bit different than national identity, which was defined in blog post one as “national identity is conceptualized as sameness” (Blog 1). Sameness in regards to how an individual has a sense of belonging or identity associated with a country. The difference is that while the government tries to portray and identify the country with one aspect (nation branding), the country's history and citizens may have an entirely different image that goes against the nation branding.
France’s national identity differs from their national branding. The majority of France can be seen as elitist due to how they treat the ‘others’, as identified in blog post 1. The working class are treated poorly, while the upper class has much more opportunity in terms of jobs and education opportunities such as getting into better colleges due to their social status. Immigrants are also treated worse by the majority and have similar treatment to the lower class. One of the statistics from blog 1 states “Youth unemployment of 32% for French-born citizens whose parents arrived from Africa, including sub-Saharan countries and those of the Maghreb, is twice as high as for those with no immigrant background” (Blog 1). This differs heavily from the nation branding France promotes to other countries, which appears as romance and peace. Politicians have also outright said immigrants are a problem in France, with their president stating that “I think there are too many arrivals, of immigration that shouldn't be there” (Blog 1). The inner workings of France differ heavily from what they display to other countries.
France promotes its nation branding through their emphasis on romanticism, something their country’s history is known for. Their focus on feelings and romance are represented through the Eurovision Song Contest performances from 2000-2004. Each song from this stretch of years focuses on romanticism due to how the performances are portrayed on stage and through the songs lyrics. All of the performances are slow paced songs and minimalistic to focus on emotion, along with a heavy emphasis on love and romance through the lyrics.
For example, the 2000 performance from France at ESC was very romanticized- esque because the singer was heavily focused on while having a minimal background, which made the song’s lyrics more noticeable because there was nothing else on stage to focus on other than the background singers, guitarist and drummer . Some of the lyrics from this particular performance also directly relate to love and emotion, qualities that are attributes of romanticism, “ A little bit like angels, wings, we're flying away, you and I” (Blog 2). Lyrics like this along with the stage performance gives a representation to the casual viewer of what they want France to be seen and known as internationally.
This promotes France’s international branding of their image to other countries on the surface. People who do not research the country thoroughly will be lead to believe that France is about romance and peace due to Eurovision performances, monuments in the country such as the Eiffel tower or even other websites calling Paris “The most romantic city in the world. A place where starry-eyed lovers stroll” (Kinkade), but in reality there is a misalignment due to the national identity within the country not being the same as the national branding France makes out the country to be. As stated earlier, the majority have a negative outlook on the ethnic minorities of France, which is the opposite of the love and emotion that is depicted through the different types of nation branding that France does.
France’s views on it Eurovision seems to be in line with what is represented in the national branding. Irving Wolther created the article Seven Dimensions of the Eurovision Song Contest. One of the dimensions he mentions is the media part of Eurovision. He states ESC can be defined as “an event staged by the media only for the purpose of further media coverage” and “Broadcasters wish to influence their national selection and, in some cases the stage performance of their representative, is above all aimed at avoiding any reputational risks that may arise from ‘inappropriate’ acts” (Wolther 166). The stretch of performances from 2000-2004 can be seen as safe and adhering to the national brand that France is trying to promote due to the safe performances from their singers where the lyrics are all about romance, the stage is minimal, and all of the performances have nothing that could be seen as controversial to the France national brand. This implies that France is supportive of ESC because the performers fit what they’re trying to show to the vast audience that ESC brings, romanticism and a sense of peacefulness between all the performances.
Wolther also discusses a national-cultural dimension. He mentions “Great emphasis is placed on presenting something special that sets the national entry apart from other countries’ songs, reflecting and constructing national-cultural identity at the same time” (Wolther 169). France’s niche in the ESC is romantic love songs, which sets the tone and brand for their country to viewers of other countries. The construction can be seen in the consecutive performances from France in 2000-2004, establishing the national cultural identity that others on the outside know about France. There may be pressure on singers or bands to adhere to the country's brand/reputation so that no controversy can be formed.
France’s view on national branding also fits the peace that is presented in their ESC performances. The government attempts to promote unity with acts such as creating a Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development to promote national identity within the country. This can be seen from an outsider as the government attempting to aid the problem of harsh treatment towards the lower class. Even though the government does this, it can be interpreted as subtle nation branding because France attempts to make it look like there will be change, but the issues are still in tact. The mistreatment and rift of national identity is still present due to politicians making statements that disregard immigrants or mistreatment based on France’s past because of the country’s rich history.
Overall, France as a country has a misalignment between the national identity and national branding. France gives off the romance and peace vibe from their different Eurovision performances and also through the city of Paris itself. They even have the government making new organizations to promote national identity. But the overall national identity in France is still in shambles due to what politicians have said in the past regarding minor ethnic groups and the mistreatment from the higher class to the lower class. There are still core issues within France that making laws or organizations, or presenting something differently to the world will not fix unless there is a fix from top to bottom.
