Jag hade egentligen inte tänkt skriva så mycket mer om Eurovision nu på ett tag, och det har jag inte gjort heller. Men för några veckor sedan skrev jag faktiskt en något annorlunda text i ämnet, och den lägger jag nu ut, för att eventuellt kanske få lite feedback på om den går att skicka till högre ort.
Det rör sig om en ”framställning”, petition som det heter på engelska – och jag har också skrivit den på engelska.
Saken är den att jag är ju, som en del kanske vet, av den mycket bestämda uppfattningen att det inte är bra när det är en massa ”svenskbidrag” i ESC, och över huvud taget när länder i hög grad tar hjälp av s.k. musikerproffs från andra länder istället för att försöka själva och lita på sin egen musikbransch. Det där är ett ämne som jag ofta återkommer till.
Nu fick jag för mig att skriva en framställning om den saken, som jag funderar på att skicka till någon på EBU.
Jag har inspirerats lite grann av de framställningar som vanligt folk brukar skriva till EU (och som jag översätter ibland på jobbet). Jag tänkte att om man kan skicka sådana framställningar till EU-myndigheterna, så borde det vara fullt rimligt, tillåtet och genomförbart att även göra det till en organisation som EBU och få sin fråga vederbörligen behandlad och besvarad.
Därför har jag skrivit nedanstående, och nu undrar jag alltså om detta är något jag kan skicka till Eurovisions högsta ort. Synpunkter mottages mycket gärna!
(Trots att jag är översättare från engelska är det inte bara möjligt utan fullt troligt att min engelska inte alltid är fullt korrekt, för är man svensk så är man. Men jag försökte ändå uttrycka mig så formellt och snyggt jag kunde.)
To whom it may concern at the EBU,
I would like to know the view of the EBU and/or the ESC Reference Group (or any other party concerned) on the increasing foreign involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest entries of several countries.
I have been a keen Eurovision Song Contest fan for many years, and I really love this colourful, multinational, unifying, enjoyable spectacle of a contest. However, what somehow disturbs the wonderful experience of watching and engaging in the Contest is the fact that so many countries every year are represented by artists, songwriters and other creative workers who are not citizens or even residents of that particular country. This causes the sad impression that the music in the Contest is getting less personal, less country-specific, and less representative of the European countries.
This is nothing new; already in ”the old times” in the 20th century, countries like Luxembourg used to participate in the Contest without any native whatsoever involved in their entries. This has not changed in later years however; rather it has been increasing, albeit in a somewhat different form. Nowadays, many Eurovision participant countries tend to consult ”professional” music business people from abroad – songwriters, producers, choreographers, dancers and sometimes artists as well – to improve their Eurovision entries and performances and make them contemporary and fit for a so called Eurovision purpose. One country in particular is often consulted, namely my own native Sweden. From here, music professionals (backed by their record companies) seem to go on a kind of yearly ”mission” to help the other countries to achieve good songs – as if these countries were not able to make music themselves.
Some might think that this trend is positive for the Contest, since this activity could help countries with smaller resources to achieve good results. It could also be argued that there is nothing wrong about musicians helping other countries in Eurovision, because after all, the whole Contest is about cross-border contacts.
Still, to me the trend is problematic, not only for the peculiarity of seeing (for example) Cyprus represented by a non-Cypriot who sings a song written by all non-Cypriots. In my opinion, one of the main purposes of the Contest, as well as a charming quality about it, is that the participating countries can have a rewarding musical and cultural exchange and learn something about each other’s musical life. Ideally, the Contest should be a forum where the countries can show each other what their popular music is like – and this does not mean that the entries should by necessarily ”typically ethnic” or in any way nationalist; of course there are many sub-cultures in a country (including immigrant cultures and minority communities) and they could all very well be showcased. However, tragically enough, when so many countries are heavily influenced by other countries like Sweden and their powerful music industry, no special culture is showcased at all; the good purpose of diversity is almost completely wiped out. Instead, in my view, there is an increasing danger that the Swedish way of making popular music will become standard; this will make the music of the Contest boringly uniform (professional and contemporary, maybe, but still uninteresting) and it could even give rise to a kind of inferiority complex among European countries as well as racist-like views. Sweden is best, they know everything about popular music, no one else can handle it, so then let the Swedish experts take care of everything! Of course this is alarmingly wrong; still I am convinced that this is what it all leads to.
Therefore, I would like to ask the following questions to the EBU and the Eurovision management, and I hope for an informative reply.
1. Does the EBU believe, like me, that foreign involvement in Eurovision entries means a risk of uniformity, vapidity and decreased authenticity?
2. If so, is there anything that the EBU would wish to do about it?
3. What would the EBU think about introducing new Contest rules to decrease foreign involvement?
My own suggestion is that some kind of rule be established, maybe not yet prohibiting completely, but at least greatly restricting, the involvement of non-native artists, songwriters and other contributors in the ESC entry of a country. In my opinion, this ”requirement of relation” would not at all be a sign of xenophobia; rather the opposite, because it would counteract the incorrect notion that certain countries are better music-makers than others. It would also ensure that competitors have at least some connection to the country they are representing, and finally, it could inspire the music professionals in European countries to trust their own domestic pool of musical abilities. I am convinced that all European countries – even the smallest – have plenty of musical talent and skill to use, and great possibilities to enjoy success in the Eurovision Song Contest, without any need of help from songwriters and producers from Sweden and other external parties.
I am looking forward to your reply.
Best wishes,
Carl-Henrik Hammarlund
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar