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IMAGES FROM PARADISE
IMAGES FROM PARADISE
The Visual Communication of the European Union’s Federalist Utopia
Eszter Salgó
Published in 2017 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com © 2017 Eszter Salgó
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Salgo, Eszter, author.
Title: Images from paradise : the visual communication of the European Union’s federalist utopia / Eszter Salgo.
Description: New York : Berghahn Books, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017014734 (print) | LCCN 2017032605 (ebook) | ISBN 9781785336195 (e-book) | ISBN 9781785336188 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: European Union—Marketing. | Visual communication—Political aspects—European Union countries.
Classification: LCC JN30 (ebook) | LCC JN30 .S25 2017 (print) | DDC 341.242/2014—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017014734
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78533-618-8 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-78533-619-5 (ebook)
Under the influence of the Ancient
This story is fantastic
to recount
A ghost story for truly adult people
A. Warburg, Mnemosyne
2 July 1929
Introduction The (Long-Desired) Rebirth of Europe’s “Fantastic Family”
PART I—NUMINOUS STORIES ABOUT EUROPE’S REBIRTH
Chapter 1 Need for a Paradise Dream
Chapter 2 Manifestations of Eurofederalists’ Paradise Dream
Chapter 3 The Tale of Seductive Europa
PART II—THE PROMISE OF A NEW SYMBOL
Chapter 4 Welcome to the Center of the European Mandala!
Chapter 5 Europa’s Sacred Gaze
Chapter 6 The European Central Bank’s Story of Abundance: In Between Sacred Rituals and Political Marketing
PART III—EUROPEAN FESTIVAL TALES
Chapter 7 The Promise of European Rituals
Chapter 8 “Rise like a Phoenix”: A New Anthem for (Federal) Europe
Chapter 9 The 2014 Elections of the European Parliament: Preparing for a European Carnival
Concluding Remarks The European Union’s (Magic-Less) Bridge-Builders
Bibliography
Index
Many thanks to Leah Marin for all her precision, diligence, and patience on proofreading and for her friendly and wise remarks (including her hint about Europa walking on the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald city). I owe a particular debt to Alessandra Pirolli for her meticulous editing of the bibliography and for her thoughts on the videos launched by the European Union during the 2014 electoral campaign. My gratitude goes to Timothy Martin, who helped me think of the Eurovision Song Contestl (and in particular of Conchita Wurst’s performance) in a new way. Many thanks to the anonymous peer reviewers who made important suggestions for improving my arguments.
I am grateful to Berghahn Books for embracing my project; to Sasha Puchalski, Rebecca Rom-Frank, Burke Gerstenschlager, Marion Berghahn for their kind and precious support and to Ryan Masteller for his extremely thorough job on the manuscript. I dedicate this book to my family—Antonio, Fiamma, and Lara—whose love, playfulness, and imagination have been vital for me.
THE (LONG-DESIRED) REBIRTH OF EUROPE’S “FANTASTIC FAMILY”
On 1 January 2002 several commentators and policy-makers depicted the advent of the euro in European citizens’ daily lives as a historic moment, a transcendental step forward in the history of European unification, the dawn of a new era. The elimination of the national currencies and the consecration of the euro as the “holy icon” of the integration process were represented in a way to conjure up the atmosphere of a sacred initiation ritual. Videos and reports were released that testified to the ecstasy of millions of people gathering in the streets of European cities, rejoicing at the birth of the common currency, touching for the first time Europe’s hottest totem, and staging special celebrations.
