Images from Paradise. Eszter Salgó

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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

       Contents

       Acknowledgments

       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

Acknowledgements

      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.

Introduction

      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. The atmosphere of cosmic resurrection of the “European family” was further reinforced by the feeling many shared that, as a result of the magic moments of transformation, reunification was occurring.

      The sensation of a new beginning was transmitted, for instance, through the cover image of Europe magazine (published monthly by the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington), which portrayed the common currency as a lovely newborn baby actively participating in the celebration of its own birth. In the picture, the infant sits comfortably and displays a high level of satisfaction. He is wearing the black hat of an illusionist, alluding perhaps to the magic force that allowed for his birth, and a blue ribbon with the golden symbol of the euro, referring presumably to the EU’s colors—blue and gold. The baby is paunchy; his flab may evoke Cesare Ripa’s Europa holding a cornucopia as a symbol of fertility, abundance, and prosperity. Inside the magazine, an illustration of another, even fleshier, baby standing on a heap of euro coins and holding in his left hand a pack of banknotes as if they were bays of victory reinforces the importance of the European Union’s cosmic triumph.