The Eurovision Song Festival

Some days ago the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lisbon, Portugal. As usual in recent years, the spectacularity and care about the visual aspect of the show contrasted heavily with the bad quality of the songs (and lack of taste, I guess). For that reason, and since I can't really ignore the music and it seems dumb to see the festival with a muted TV, I simply skipped that show as usual.

However, the mediatic effect of last year's winning song was very interesting to me, as a teacher. Media kept referring to the singer as a natural talented musician, born with the only thing he needed: talent.

_{Last year's winner said "music is not fireworks". No one listened to him. Source: Reuters}

Focusing on "talent" is a easy strategy for the media to awe the public. But as a teacher, I think that focus has a very harmful effect on kids. First of all, because talent has a minimal effect on the quality of a musician, and I know several excepcional musicians that aren't talented at all. And secondly, because a talented musician can do nothing without the knowledge and experience to compose, improvise and talk the same language as the musicians who work with him.

Depression

The idea that everything just happens out of pure talent is also biasing kids and people in general. A very polished musical work can be made to look improvised, specially for untrained ears. Contests like "The Voice" or "Got Talent" really try to make us believe a kid just "knows" how to sing or play, and it contrasts like hell when you try to play the violin yourself for the first time. The reality is shocking.

My students usually want to be like 2cellos. I say "ok great! But these guys had 20+ years of learning and won several cello international competitions. If you want to do what they do... trust me and work harder!".

_{Passion. That's it.}

This doesn't happen only with musicians. Here are some examples:

• Sportsmen - When referring to football (soccer, in the US) players, media tends to focus on the "talented" Lionel Messi. Like he was born with everything it takes. That's obviously not true, since he trained for years and years with 100% energy to achieve success. A kid may believe he or she doesn't have the required "talent" and simply quit a sport that could be good for his physical, civical, and mental health.

I'm here once again because of talent, hard work and dedication

• Bloggers and public personalities - They also seem to be OK all the time, like if they never feel lonely, sad, blue or depressed. That illusion can create a barrier that can destroy a kid's self-confidence and shift his sense of self. Instead, we need to tell kids that bloggers are just making their job, and that it's ok to feel like shit, sometimes. We all do!

_Source

Are contests a kind of negative media?

I think yes, at least in the way they're presented. Most of them don't focus on the effort, but on that invisible force that either you have or have not. You got to be born with it, otherwise just forget it and do something else.

The solution is simple: just turn off the TV and engage with real life situations. Your football teacher has been through a lot, like everyone else, so go and ask him! Do what he says!

_{I was very surprised that a portuguese group of people could completely shift the way the Festival was heading. And sad that it just didn't work. This is great music.}

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