ABSTRACT

This chapter analyzes popular understandings of Finnish Eurovision failure in terms of the structures of feeling they incorporate. It focuses on negative affective responses that are common in Finnish media coverage of the contest, and offers an alternative understanding of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) that differs from the prevalent way of approaching the competition as a piece of fun "Eurotrash". The negative affective relationship between the television spectator, the nation, and Eurovision constitutes itself in two ways: national shame and the melodrama of repeated disappointment. In the case of Eurovision, where contestants are seen as representatives of their country, nationality functions as the uniting factor that spreads shame from the performer to others. By expressing shame, people also express identification with the nation and an interest in the image of the country. The conventionality of the melodramatic Eurovision disappointment makes it potential material for ironic and humorous readings.