OGAPS Thesis Marianna Tanska-Revisions
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THE VOICE OF UKRAINE: MEDIATING NATIONALISM AND COSMOPOLITANISM A Thesis by MARIANNA TANSKA Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Chair of Committee, Leonardo Cardoso Committee Members, David Donkor Martin Regan Patrick Burkart Head of Department, Martin Regan May 2019 Major Subject: Performance Studies Copyright 2019 Marianna Tanska ABSTRACT Popular culture and content of TV broadcasts are strongly related to national identity, and local audiences expectations and tastes. Franchised TV talent shows, such as The Voice, are a significant part of the global TV culture, and when adapted to the local context reflect local viewers’ perception of the self. The Voice in Ukraine attracts the audience with an appealing combination of skilled vocalists as contestants, tasteful musical content masterfully framed in a technically advanced stage set, and commentaries from the most popular celebrities in Ukraine. Additionally, the complex internal relationships within Ukraine, the relations with West (Europe and the US) and East (Russia and other post-Soviet states) create a unique discourse around the contestants of the show. This Thesis investigates how the show, in mediating nationalism and cosmopolitanism, represents the Ukrainian national identity. The study is pertinent because, in Ukraine, the recent tragic events of the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, the Annexation of Crimea, and the continuing conflict in the eastern part of the country all have stimulated a contested ground for national identity debates. I argue that, for commercial purposes, the show is able to touch on different perspectives about Ukrainian identity by employing symbolism as an appeal to different parts of a multifaceted Ukrainian society. By doing so, The Voice Ukraine mediates nationalism and cosmopolitanism. ii My study of The Voice Ukraine consisted of two interrelated components: media analysis of roughly 70 episodes of the show between 2014 and 2018 and reception analysis of the audience’s comments on the show’s official YouTube account, where all the performances are made available after the TV broadcast. The timeframe of my analysis – seasons four (2014) to eighth (2018) – encompasses significant changes in Ukraine’s social and political life. The Voice Ukraine is a liminal space for the contestants, who compete to become a celebrity. It is also a space for the performance of Ukrainian popular culture and national identity. This thesis opens perspectives for future study on national identity performance in popular culture, offering a fruitful ground for race, gender, and queer studies. iii DEDICATION This Thesis is dedicated to my husband Dr. Oleksandr Tanskyi, who was an inspiration for me to begin my studies in the US and provided constant support in the challenges of combining studies and life far from home. This study is my very personal confession of my constant love to the best country in the world, to my Ukraine. Слава Україні! iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my committee chair, Dr. Leonardo Cardoso, for his wise guidance, support, and mentorship throughout the course of this research. Also, I appreciate the help I got from the member of my committee Dr. David Donkor with deriving the area of my study. I would like to thank the members of my committee Dr. Martin Regan and Dr. Patrick Burkart for contributing to my scholarly development and subsequently to my Thesis. Additionally, I would like to thank Amanda Shumate, who restlessly edited my Thesis in a very limited time. Thanks also to Sarah Franke for her encouragement and support, and the department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. Finally, I thank my mom, dad, and brother, who nurtured me and my personality up to this point of my development. v CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This work was supervised by a thesis committee consisting of Dr. Leonardo Cardoso and Dr. David Donkor, Dr. Martin Regan of the Department of Performance Studies and Dr. Patrick Burkart of the Department of Communication. All other work conducted for the thesis was completed by the student independently. Funding Sources Graduate study was supported by the 2018 MA Thesis Enhancement Award from the Department of Performance Studies, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................v CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES ......................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 Methodology ..............................................................................................................5 Thesis structure ..........................................................................................................9 CHAPTER II NATIONALISTIC AND COSMOPOLITAN TRENDS IN UKRAINE ................................................................................................................... 12 Nationalism in Ukraine ............................................................................................. 15 Cosmopolitan inclinations in Ukraine ....................................................................... 46 CHAPTER III HOLOS KRAÏNY ................................................................................. 53 Performance of nationalism in Holos Kraïny ............................................................ 75 Performing cosmopolitanism in Holos Kraïny .......................................................... 89 How The Voice Ukraine mediates nationalism and cosmopolitanism ...................... 100 CHAPTER IV CELEBRITY CONSTRUCTION IN HOLOS KRAÏNY AND RECEPTION ANALYSIS .......................................................................................... 109 Perception of nationalism performed in The Voice Ukraine among YouTube viewers ................................................................................................................... 121 YouTube viewers’ reaction to cosmopolitanism represented in The Voice Ukraine 133 The juxtaposition of the paradigms in perception of the Holos Kraïny’s viewers in YouTube ................................................................................................................ 140 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 149 vii REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 156 APPENDIX A THE WINNING CONTESTANT, COACHES AND HOSTS OF THE SEASONS ......................................................................................................... 165 APPENDIX B RATIO OF SONGS BY LANGUAGE AND STYLE ......................... 166 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. The Voice of Ukraine ......................................................................................6 Figure 2. National flag of Ukraine ................................................................................ 29 Figure 3. Ukrainian traditional clothing ........................................................................ 34 Figure 4. Ratio of songs by language in each season ..................................................... 70 Figure 5. Sbrui Sargsyan with the label “Armenian” ................................................... 117 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In a highly politicized and globalized world, mass media and popular culture in a particular country is a medium that balances the contemporary international cultural trends and the development of a local culture. Popular culture and content of TV broadcasts are strongly related to national identity, and the local audience’s expectations and tastes. Franchised TV talent shows, such as The Voice, are a significant part of the global TV culture, and when adapted to the local context become a reflection of local viewers’ perception of the self. This study focuses on the representation of the Ukrainian national identity in The Voice of Ukraine. The Voice’s format being the combination of a talent show that creates new celebrities from ordinary people, and a reality show that reveals contestant’s personal life, contributes to its global popularity. The Voice in Ukraine attracts the audience with an appealing combination of contestants being skilled vocalists, tasteful musical content that is masterfully framed in a technically advanced stage set followed by commentaries from the most popular celebrities in Ukraine. Additionally, the show’s creators seeking bigger ratings employ the symbolism appealing to both the “person” of the media personality that the audience can relate to and the “collective” that this celebrity should represent in terms of affiliation to the Ukrainian nation or Ukrainian country. 1 Holos Kraїny1 proposes