Paris Demetriades
I can’t tell whether the negative reactions precipitated by the explosive, double-meaning song we’re sending to Eurovision this year are more funny or more serious. I think they’re definitely funny, but they’re also serious, because they exposed a whole list of issues that are absolutely worth pointing out. After all, the idea that an entertainment institution on Eurovision’s scale, one that has held the attention of millions of people around the world for decades and that, for better or worse, is often politicized, is somehow insignificant or not worth commenting on, sounds just as moralizing and out of touch as the clumsy arguments made by most of those who were scandalized and demanded the withdrawal of Cyprus’s entry this year, which in my opinion is excellent.
Even though aesthetics is often contrasted with morality, taste is, of course, personal. That’s why the first thing worth noting is the unfortunate and painfully awkward reaction of around forty public figures “from the world of letters and culture” who, through a letter to RIK, demanded the song and its music video be deleted and withdrawn. These are people who, for the most part, are respected in their fields and who have long presented themselves as open-minded. So why did they respond in such a petty and graceless way, in a manner that strongly echoed both the attempt to silence the painter Gavriil and the withdrawal of the Biennale book? Is only the art that reflects us and pleases us allowed to exist?
Since when did these shocking double standards take root even among people “of letters and the arts”? Wasn’t the narrow-mindedness of far-right groups enough, who were always going to react negatively to a music video that shows Middle Eastern Cyprus as it actually is, and not as they fantasize it to be in their paranoia? Now we also have to deal with another kind of prudish, puritan fantasy, this time coming from bourgeois living rooms? Maybe. If that’s true, it’s disappointing.
On the other hand, I think the real triumph of the upbeat, dance-driven “Jalla,” which I consider an ideal choice for Eurovision, is that through its use of the Cypriot dialect, its tsifteteli vibe, and the fresh, modern direction of its music video, it strips away the shame surrounding the Middle Eastern side of our identity. Whether we like it or not, that identity is real and it is central. And why shouldn’t we like it? Are there really “superior” and “inferior” cultures?
Especially when it comes to Cyprus’s long-suffering identity, which judging by the furious reactions to “Jalla” will probably continue to haunt us for quite a while, what could be more accurate than to say it is a remarkably rich, complex, and deeply seductive identity, shaped by the many different civilizations that over centuries have passed through, influenced, and interacted with us? When will we finally understand that this is one of the island’s greatest strengths? Apparently not anytime soon, based on what we’re seeing.
Still, it’s worth taking a quick tour through the thousands of enthusiastic, glowing comments “Jalla” has received online in just a few days, both as a song and as a music video. Most of them are excited by the fact that Cyprus is finally sending something authentic to the contest, something that actually feels like it belongs to us. And most of those comments come from non-Cypriot Eurovision fans.
Even though winning Eurovision is rarely completely fair, since so many factors, mostly political, tend to shape the final outcome, it will be fascinating to see whether the very likeable Antigoni, with “Jalla,” can bring the trophy to Cyprus. With her positive energy as a performer and a song that gets people moving, it’s not impossible. It might even happen.
Read this opinion in its original Greek.
