Popkultur som ideologiskfrontlinje : En kvalitativ innehålls- och diskursanalys av politiskauttryck och budskap från vinnande bidrag i EurovisionSong Contest

Sammanfattning

This study examines how political and ideological expressions are manifested in winning entries of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) and how these expressions are represented and discussed within Swedish and Russian media coverage. Through a qualitative content analysis of the entries Rise Like a Phoenix (2014), Toy (2018), and Stefania (2022), the thesis reveals how multimodal resources such as artist persona, costume, scenography, and musical choices are employed to communicate messages related to LGBTQ+ rights, feminism, and national sovereignty. The study is complemented by a discourse analysis of news articles from prominent tabloids in Sweden (Aftonbladet) and Russia (Komsomolskaya Pravda) to highlight differences in media framing between the two countries. The analysis uncovers a significant discursive divide: while Swedish media tends to normalize the entries as progressive victories for human rights and diversity, Russian media often problematizes them as tools for Western propaganda, moral decline, or political manipulation. The results indicate that political messages in certain songs are seldom expressed explicitly in lyrics but are instead coded indirectly through symbolism and aesthetics. The study concludes that the ESC serves as a central pop-cultural arena where political and ideological values are constantly renegotiated through the intersection of artistic expression, socio-political context, and national media discourses.