Lithuania: National Branding vs. National Identity

History: Formation of Lithuanian National Identity

Throughout Lithuania’s timeline, the country has struggled in forming a national identity of their own to express and represent themselves to other countries. In the 13^th century, Mindaugas conquered neighboring lands and united the people of the Baltic tribes, which later established the first Lithuanian statehood. As Lithuania continued to expand its territory, further development of the statehood was formed because of the introduction of “…the Church Slavonic liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Christian religion, a written language (Chancery Slavonic)…and a system of laws,” (Bater, 2017). Years later, after gaining his title in 1377, Grand Duke Jogaila married to the Polish Queen Jadwiga, thus forming an alliance with the neighboring country. As a result, this alliance formed a new state known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which consisted of the hierarchy of both states and was ruled by Polish and Lithuanian nobility. As time went by, Polish influence was increasingly affecting all aspects of Lithuanian public life. However, their Slavonic language was still in use even after Lithuanian nobility became Polonized. This shows how Lithuanian national identity is being expressed by upholding the native language. As time progressed, untimely events caused the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was the result of the division among the statehood because of plagues, famine, and civil wars, thus losing a lot of territory and power, and ultimately falling under the rule of Imperial Russia (1795-1915), and later to German occupation (1915-1918).

Under Imperial Russian rule, Lithuanian language was banned throughout schools and public discourse, it was prohibited to be written or printed in literature, and the native language was not acknowledged as a prestigious language. Refusing to succumb to the Russian policy, a nationalist movement was formed to upkeep Lithuania’s national identity by establishing a Lithuanian state based on ethnic identity and language that would be independent of the Russian Empire, Poland, and the German Empire (Augustinas, 2016). Unfortunately, this restoration of the statehood was short-lived when World War II began.

Falling first under Russian occupation, then Nazi Germany, and again by Soviet Russia, Lithuania finally gained independence as of March 11, 1990; however, it was not recognized by Russia until September 1991. Wanting to formally escape from Soviet Union government and administration, in 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union (EU), “promoting greater social political, and economic harmony among nations of Western Europe,” (google.com), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), “a formal alliance between the territories of North American and Europe…to defend each other from the possibility of communist Soviet Union taking control of their nation,” (Lake, 2008). By this action alone, it shows how Lithuania is wanting to change their ideals and culture to be more Westernized – to adopt or be influenced by the cultural, economic, or political systems of the West – and moving away from Eastern European culture.

Lithuania: Eurovision Performances and Nation Branding

            What is Nation Branding? Nation Branding has several possible definitions; however, Paul Jordan defines nation branding as “the phenomenon by which governments engage in self-conscious activities aimed at producing a certain image of the nation state,” (Bolin and Stahlberg 2010, 82). It is a conscious effort of a country wanting to promote and highlight the significant aspects of said country in a particular way through “marketing, branding and business literature,” and an “increasing attention is being paid to the phenomenon in other fields such as cultural sociology, media studies, public relations, public administration, and political geography,” (Dinnie, 3). In relation to Eurovisionl, when songs are chosen, however a country selects their song – a national competition, popular vote, or a higher authority intervenes – one might think, “How might the country want to project themselves out into a bigger audience?” In Lithuania’s perspective, the country does not make a definite, conscious effort in expressing themselves in a certain light to make themselves different from the rest of the other European countries. However, from their recent performances in the last five years, Lithuania has been sending a message of not only the theme of love, but, in a subtle manner, been expressing their efforts in pushing away the Eastern European ideals towards the culture of those of Western Europe.

Before getting into Lithuania’s performances, let’s differentiate between Eastern and Western Europe. Eastern Europe was consisted of countries that once belonged to that of the Soviet Union, whereas Western Europe leaned towards the ideals of modernization and the individualistic lifestyles among its people (Pabriks, 2015). Now, looking at the performances, one would not be able to distinguish Lithuania’s intent at first glance. Besides performing songs about love and finding romance, taking a closer look behind the scenes of the songs, Eurovision entry artist Donny Montell performed songs created by Western European producers. Looking at Lithuania’s song choice, in 2012, “Love is Blind” is written and produced by German composers Brandon Stone and Jodie Rose (Eurovision.tv); and, in 2016, “I’ve Been Waiting for this Night” is written by Swedish composers Jonas Thander and Beatrice Robertsson (Eurovision.tv). Though Montell is the only singer to perform songs produced by Western European countries, this can be interpreted in a way that indistinctly integrates the ideas of Western culture and incorporating these notions into expressing Lithuania’s views in trying to move away from Eastern European culture. As for the other performances, the 2013 through 2015 entries were all written by Lithuanian composers (Eurovision.tv), and even one entry was written by the performer himself. Certainly, all the performers still follow the theme of love. This can be represented in a way that not only shows the significant continuation to be consistent with their message of love, but sheds a light to the transparencies of love, such as acceptance, happiness, and hope. This proves to show that Lithuania’s performances are leaning towards that of “gain[ing] a better understanding of the effects of transnational modernity on Lithuanian national identity at the present post-Soviet juncture of transitioning to the West,” (Lankauskas, 339), and is moving away from the Eastern European culture to embrace and express a modified culture of that of the Western European countries.

Lithuania’s Views of Eurovision and its Attitudes towards Nation Branding

            Taking into consideration of the recent Eurovision Song Contest entries, from interviews of that year’s post-Eurovision, the Lithuanian artists are, in general, truly proud and show pride in being able to represent their home country during Europe’s biggest, televised event. However, that is simply the surface meaning that any one person can see and understand what is being represented during their three minute performance. As explained previously, the performers representing Lithuania have been expressing the country’s efforts to branch out and move away from their past: turning away from Soviet Russia. Now, in current relations, Lithuania has indicated and exhibited negative attitudes toward communist Russia (Bater, 2016). To support this case, in 2014, Vilija Matačiūnaitė’s song, “Attention,” could possibly hint at the idea that Lithuania is going against the Russian legislation which, recently, has been leaning towards a patriarchal system or government similar to what the society was in the past. Overall, Lithuania’s views of Eurovision are to especially show their gratitude to be performing on the Eurovision stage, and how proud that these artists are able to represent their native country. As for nation branding, the only thing Lithuania is expressing in their performances at Eurovision is their national identity – solely based on the fact that they are Lithuanian – and that their culture is branching out and adopting more of a Western culture than compared to their past.

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Works Cited

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Eurovision and Lithuania: The Nation on Stage

What is Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual, international, televised song competition among the participating member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. For the purposes of rebuilding itself during the 1950’s, war-torn Europe wanted to find a way to bring together the countries of the European Broadcasting union through a form of entertainment that would be televised through the Eurovision Network to be broadcasted throughout the participating countries.

Lithuania in Eurovision

            Lithuania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since their debut in 1994 with Ovidijus Vyniauskas performing “Lopine Mylimai.” As a result of finishing in last place with zero points, Lithuania withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest until coming back in 1999. Throughout the years, Lithuania’s song choices have expressed different themes, but, ultimately, most of their performances surround the theme of love and the specific aspects of love. Altogether, within the last five years, Lithuania’s Eurovision performances have revolved around the theme of love, and incorporated the influences of Western pop culture and music to make the modern sound that is represented at Eurovision today. Here, we will look at Lithuania’s last, five performances starting from 2012 to 2016, and see how their sound has progressed throughout the years.

Lithuania’s Final Performances 2012-2016

In Eurovison 2012, Lithuania was represented by Donatas Montvydas, a native, singer-songwriter whose better-known by his stage name Donny Montell. With Montell’s 2012 Eurovision song, “Love is Blind,” he opens with a smooth jazz tune that slowly builds up to the chorus where he progressively tells a story about two people being in a relationship, completely in love with each other, to the point where love makes you blind, not to other people or parts of their life but to the person they love, because you do not know what you genuinely have until it is gone. During an interview, Montell explains the purpose behind wearing the blindfold, which symbolizes the time one has spent being with the one they love, but actually never “see” them because if you love someone, you love them because love does not discriminate (EurosongBe, 2012). Unfortunately, relationships are not perfect, and Montell sings the lyrics, “She didn’t mean a thing to me/What can I do to win back your heart/And make you stay/I can’t believe, can’t believe you’re gone/I can’t believe,” (Eurovision.tv) which shows one’s flaw in the relationship, and thus paying the consequences of your significant other leaving. It is only when the love of your life is gone, you can ultimately see how good your life was when the only one who holds your heart is standing right next to you by your side.

In Eurovision 2013, Lithuania was represented by Andrius Pojavis, a native singer-songwriter, who performed with the Eurovision entry song, “Something.” During Pojavis’ performance, he opens the song with a slow, smooth, rock tune – with a strong emphasis on the guitar, adding the beat of the drums moments later – that later progresses into a faster, upbeat, pop-rock melody. Furthermore, the lyrics portray the performer confessing their love for someone that they have been keeping to themselves for some time. However, Love is like a double-edged sword if it is unrequited – you are happy because you love someone, but it hurts when they do not know how much you love them, or if they do not love you back. In addition, the chorus of the lyrics say, “If you don’t know I’m in love with you / When summertime falls it becomes untrue / Because of my shoes I’m wearing today / One is called Love the other is Pain,” can be interpreted in a way that shows the illusion that the performer did confess their love, but, in reality, you get a sense that they actually never confessed their love. The emphasis of the word “shoes” signifies a metaphor for the performer’s twisted mind: one is confessing their feelings to the one they love, and the other represents his doubts and negative thoughts the moment they meet. It is as if the performer thought of confessing their love, and invented a scenario that is consequently relevant to the action. This theory is supported by a specific visual effect during Pojavis’ performance: the camera going out of focus – being blurred – for a single moment.

In Eurovision 2014, Lithuania was represented by the singer, songwriter, and actress Vilija Matačiūnaitė, who performed her song “Attention.” The style of “Attention” is that of a pop punk/electropop genre which Matačiūnaitė specializes in. The performance is bolder and more daring compared to the other Lithuanian performances with the style of the music, costume designs, and modern dance moves to catch the eye. In more detail, the lyrics of the song depicts a culture where men would assume to be dominant in a heterosexual relationship, and think women would be submissive under their advances. However, Matačiūnaitė wants to change this stigma of gender roles, and show that it is going to take more than a simple, blatant sign of attraction – also known as “sweet talk” –  to get the attention of a strong, empowered woman. Matačiūnaitė emphasizes the respect that comes with love, and how people must work for the person they are attracted to if they want them and want to be with them.

In Eurovision 2015, two Lithuanian artists, Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila, represented the country performing their song “This Time.” Compared to the previous year’s performance, “This Time” opens with the sound of an acoustic guitar and the soft voice of Monika Linkytė singing the first part of the first verse. Additionally, as a visual background, the backscreen shows rays of light varying from three different colors: red, orange, and yellow. However, when Vaidas Baumila sings the second half of the verse, the background transitions into three other colors from the spectrum: blue, dark blue, and white. Then, for a final transition, when the pair harmonize with each other for the final part of the verse, the color background turns into the combined colors in shades of pink and purple. This can be interpreted in a way how two people – or two hearts – can come together and unite to form a perfect blend – finding love. This component continues throughout the rest of the song. Overall, the song’s lyrics illustrates two people finding one another, having mutual feelings for each other, but do not fully understand this feeling. Furthermore, about halfway through the performance, when Linkytė and Baumila sing, “One kiss,” Linkytė and Baumila are not the only ones who share a kiss, but also their backup singers share a same-sex kiss, expressing the concept of same-gendered love and relationships. Here, they are sending a message of love and equality for the ones they do love, and that there should not be any discrimination for wanting to love who you love. In conclusion, at the end, they ask one another, “Is this how it goes?” (Liubianité, 2015), as in the realization that what they feel is love for one another, without any worry and judgment from others, and feeling accepted for who they love.

Finally, for the 2016 Eurovision entry, Donny Montell returns to the Eurovision stage for the second time and performs “I’ve Been Waiting for This Night.” With this song, there is not only the message of finding love after a period of loneliness and heartbreak, but another layer of meaning that represents Montell’s chance to go back and be able to perform again at Eurovision. His song, “I’ve Been Waiting for This Night,” portrays a story about a person who has been through pain, and is looking for a reason to find purpose again. Aimlessly going through life, they happen to stumble upon “the one” who gives them a reason to feel alive. Furthermore, there is another layer to the meaning of the song: Montell performing one more time on the Eurovision stage. From interviews post-Eurovision 2016, Montell describes his aspirations and goals in life to be the best there can be as a performing artist through commitment, dedication, hard-work, and rightfully representing the country of Lithuania. This shows Montell’s perseverance for his passion and in representing Lithuania at Eurovision 2016. Ultimately, the lyrics “I’ve been waiting for this night,” is given two meanings that not only symbolizes finding love, but also represents the opportunity Montell has to perform on the Eurovision stage once again.