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The Nation On-Stage

     The Eurovision song contest has brought many countries together through song and performance since 1956 (Eurovision, 2019). This contest has not only been a key experience for Europe to come together as one construct, but the contest has been a large stepping stone for individual national identities. With the performances from the Czech Republic in 2017 and 2018, several identities and themes have been presented in unique and individualistic ways. Some of the aspects of the Czech performances have posed some controversy in terms of content, be it suggestive lyrics or even strange background images within a live performance, the Czech Republic has shown unique and dazzling performances. Within the performances there are even some questions into the clothing of the performer(s) representing cultures from neighboring countries such as Germany.      The song “Lie to Me” by Mikolas Josef (2018, The Czech Republic) was released in 2017 by Sony...
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National Identity

Alex Russell Dr. Green UCOR 1400 24 January 2019 Blog Post 1: National Identity      Oxford’s dictionary defines National Identity as “a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language” (Oxford, 2019). While this may be true on a very large and quite broad spectrum, there are many more components involved in describing a nation’s identity as well the ideas and cultures that surround said nation. While items such as traditions, culture, and language are essential to say the least in describing a nation’s identity, we as students can go so much more in depth at describing and analyzing how a nation can stand to show its true colors and individuality to other nations, even if similar culture is shared.      To begin cutting up and diving into the complex idea of what a nation is made up of, we first need to look at where a nation came from verses who they are as a nation now...
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Welcome to The Czech Republic Hello! Or as the Czech say, Dobrý den! My name is Alex Russell and I am a Freshman at Seattle University. I am currently studying Film and I am enrolled in a class now called “Eurovision: Three Minute Europe”. We are currently learning about the different countries involved each year in the contest and I am representing the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has been involved with Eurovision Song Contest since 2007 and in 2018 The Czech made it quite far into the contest. So much so that singer Mikolas Josef made it through the first Semi-Final and all the way to the Grand Finale. Unfortunately, Mikolas and his talented team of dancers did not take home the first-place prize, but they did do exceptionally well! Their performance of “Lie to Me” was an incredibly upbeat, entertaining, and above all, full of fantastic dance moves and a great wardrobe. This blog and all the posts associated with it will be about the Czech Republic, not only in terms of...
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