Hungary on Stage

Joci Pápai (2017, Hungary) and Gábor Alfréd Fehérvári (2016, Hungary) performed at Eurovision is 2017 and 2016 respectively. Their performances delivered messages of hope. Pápai’s “Origo” (2017, Hungary) was effectively presented, persuasive, and heartfelt, communicating the pain and hope of the Romani people. Fehérvári’s “Pioneer” (2106, Hungary), however, lacked a powerful message and presentation, failing to create the hope that Pápai artfully achieved.   

Joci Pápai blended authentic Romani music from his Romani background with modern pop to create “Origo” (2017, Hungary) as his Eurovision entry (Jordan, 2017). In doing so, he reshaped his musical style. According to an interview on the official website of the Eurovision song contest, this song is the story of his life and hardships. However, Pápai sees the song as a positive message, even though the song does seem complex. His positive message "No matter where you come from you can achieve success. I am the living example of celebrating diversity," illustrates his vision for the reception of his song (“Origo,” 2017, Hungary). The rap element of the song is a prayer that he hopes will be answered (Jordan, 2017) He references himself as a John Doe because he knows that even though he has achieved success, there still exists racial discrimination—if not for himself, for the other John Does. For the Romani people, being seen as nobodies, especially in their home of Hungary, is common. Pápai’s weapon to support his Romani people is his music as evidenced by his lyrics: “My strings attack” and “A million scars and endless road near and far Tears of thousands streaming down my guitar” and “You hear the tunes, you know I got this!” (“Origo,” 2017, Hungary). The song was meant to tell the story of the persecution of the Romani people in Hungary. The Romani people, especially during World War II, were looked down upon and seen as less than people. Many of the Romani were killed in concentration camps along with the Jews (Gheorghe, 1991). Still, Pápai’s strong faith gives the music a joyful and hopeful feeling.

When Pápai wrote the song, he kept a vision of what it would look like on stage. Working with Pápai was a Hungarian representative who designed the stage concept in conjunction with Pápai’s choreography (Jordan, 2017.  The colors of the stage transition from orange, yellow, and gold hues to bluish and silver hues that highlight lighted images of birds and organic floral patterns. The lyrics sync with the staging: “There’s no defense, it’s like venom and it’s set to fire” (“Origo,” 2017, Hungary) as fire shoots out of the floor through the use of pyrotechnics.

On a circular stage nearby, there is a woman playing the violin as accompaniment. Traditional Romani dancing by a woman dressed in white consistently permeates the performance. Throughout the performance, the camera moves and hovers around each of the performers. The movement and height of the camera give the song a grand and energetic effect.

In Joci Pápai’s song, it appears that all people on stage are of Romani descent, presenting an intentionally homogeneous stage setup. While Pápai does not dance throughout the performance, he does have one dancer, dancing in a traditional Romani style that ties together the theme of their act. Hence, the identities on stage are Romani who are described as being a “hiding ethnic group,” performing for one of the most homogenous countries in Europe in the 20th century (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015, p. 75). However, this “homogenization has been disappearing primarily due to the intense population growth of gypsies as a result of which every tenth Hungarian citizen will be gypsy within a few years” (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015, p. 75). It is difficult to get an accurate census on the number of Romani. In fact, the count in 2011 could be off by 50%, with only half declaring their ethnic status (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015). The ability of a country to diversify can be evaluated by the integration of others into the country. If Hungary is examined through a lens focusing on what blocks integration, its tendency to segregate, discriminate, and marginalize the Romani would be evident (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015). In the case of the Romani, “One of the most significant hindering factors of gypsy integration is that they live in geographical peripheries in small villages near the state borders or in urban ghettos” (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015, p. 87). They face discrimination and the inability to access opportunities as they are described as “pauperized, particularly deprived, extremely peripheral,” fitting the definition for marginalizing (Suli-Zakar, Paloczi, & Koti, 2015, p. 87). Ultimately, Papai’s 2017 entry can be described as hopeful in a country not known for diversity nor acceptance of the minority.

Gábor Alfréd Fehérvári, known by his stage name Freddie, also delivers a message of hope. Freddie intended his song “Pioneer” (2106, Hungary) to be about the struggles of life and the solutions within each person. “Pioneer” represents the strength each person has to surpass his or her struggles. In the lyrics, Freddie sings, “No right time, no right place to meet your inner grace approval is found within…”. Freddie is communicating that the solutions to all of a person's inner struggles are within themselves. Throughout the song, Freddie emphasizes a person’s power to overcome adversity: “When you need to run away/ From what other people say/Your enemy might be your own mind” (“Pioneer,” 2016, Hungary). Singing the message of the song to all human beings, Freddie attempts to encourage people to forge on by finding strength from within.  Though there may be a message, there is hardly a story. The English lyrics of “Pioneer” do not qualify for any lyrical acumen. There are no metaphors, little imagery, except for perhaps, “A smile, a hug, a bit of praise You haven’t received for days” (“Pioneer”) no metaphors and the story is repetitive. The meter is inconsistent with an erratic rhyme scheme.  

Throughout the performance, Freddie is surrounded by three backup singers and one person playing a drum. While the backup singers are underwhelming, the drummer is impressive with his complex dancing and movement synchronized with the beating of the large drum. This element of the performance is important because Freddie himself is not an active entertainer. He continually performs dramatic hand gestures and stomps his feet, but he does not dance or provide a visual appeal. Thus, the distraction of the drummer is a welcome one that gives the performance some life. Still, the stage consists of a homogeneous group of white males who, with the exception of the drummer, do not add to the performance with instruments or dance.

The absence of choreography challenges the staging. The usage of lights throughout the performance is not very creative and is repetitive. Thus, it does little to enhance the song’s message. The floor is mainly red with a cracked ground visual with white or orange light emerging from it. It is likely designed to look like a ground of lava or a perhaps ground broken by water streaming through it. The background lighting is simple, using dark reds and purples punctuated by lighter whites that perhaps are designed to look like lightning striking at times during the performance. This basic use of lighting does little to enhance a performance that is dominated by Freddie standing center stage surrounded by backup singers and drummers. The performance is barely saved by the camera.

The camera remains close to Freddie throughout the performance, which makes the song feel powerful and intimate. Singing the heartbreaking song is the performance, and he does deliver a heartfelt experience.  At the song’s end, the camera scans outward, creating a powerful feeling at the end of the song’s magnitude.

Freddie and his backup are all from Hungary. Freddie appears to mainly, if not only, use Hungarian people in their performances. This homogenous performance does nothing to address any facet of diversity. In fact, it seems almost challenging to have a performance that barely recognizes an instrument, relies only on one voice with anemic backup singers, includes no dancing except for the drummer’s undulations, features no women, no color. This performance may be reflective of Hungary’s approach to diversity. A study from researchers at Yale, Grinnell College, and the European Union for Progressive Judaism revealed that Holocaust revisionism is rampant in Central and Eastern Europe with Hungary as one of the worst offenders. The study accuses the country of rewriting history to diminish its own guilt, and suffering in education and commemoration of the Holocaust (Kakissis, 2019). While it is possible that this is too extreme an application for analysis of Freddie’s song, the song unquestionably leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of a progressive, diverse, or actually inspiring message.

Joci Pápai and Gábor Alfréd Fehérvári’s performances demonstrate the need for hope in Hungary. Focused on the persecution of the Romani’s and the power to overcome one’s struggles, respectively, the songs suggest that the Hungarian people are attracted to songs with positive messages that express personal and cultural struggles. However, “Pioneer” is unimpressive in its delivery of a diluted message of hope within the individual with its “million hearts and million people” repetition. In contrast, Pápai is the personification of hope in his bright and buoyant delivery of a real message for his own real Romani people: a spiritual faith in something better for a marginalized minority.

Citations

Freddie. (2016). Pioneer (Hungary). Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Stockholm [DVD]. Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group.

Gheorghe, Nicolae. (1991). Roma-Gypsy Ethnicity in Eastern Europe. Social Research,

58(4), 829-844. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40970676

Jordan, Paul. (2017). Hungary's Joci: "Hopefully my prayer will be answered". Retrieved from https://eurovision.tv/story/hungary-2017-joci-papai-first-rehearsal

Kakissis, J. (2019). Hungary's New Holocaust Museum Isn't Open Yet, But It's Already Causing Concern. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/02/08/690647054/hungarys-new-holocaust-museum-isn-t-open-yet-but-it-s-already-causing-worry

Pápai, J. (2017). Origo (Hungary). Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Kyiv [DVD]. Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group.

Suli-Zakar, I., Paloczi, Á., & Koti, T. (2015). Majorities and Minorities: Case Study of Hungary’s Romani Population. Annals of University of Oradea, Series: International Relations & European Studies, (7), 75–94. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s4720966&db=a9h&AN=113854288&site=ehost-live