Pride of Europe
Series structure:
- 28 episodes, each 55 minutes long
- 26 episodes dedicated to the countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom
- 2 episodes dedicated to the European Community, the establishment of the EU, the acceptance of all its member countries and its further development
- Each episode will deal with the historical, social and cultural context of the origins and development of each national anthem
- The viewer will be presented with an entertaining and captivating way of learning about the origins and developments, which will be supplied with little-known interesting pieces of information
- To ensure viewership in future generations, the highest shooting standards will be met (resolutions of 4K and higher)
- • Each episode will contain unique drawings and animations, which will come as close as possible to a realistic depiction, thus supplementing the individual stages of each national anthem’s development
Explication
With the end of the Middle Ages came the pitfall of traditional communities, and the identity of citizens, until then derived from God, turned towards the nation. Humans have always desired to belong to a group. As celebrations of this sense of togetherness, songs with festive or combative lyrics, which each citizen knew by heart, were created. Thus, the national anthems were born.
European culture has a long tradition and history, one of the most extensive in the world. The documentary series ‘NATIONAL ANTHEMS’ aims to make a statement about the era of awakening nations. Where the history of other great states (e. g. USA or Australia) begins, our European one undergoes a reshaping. Would multinational empires have disintegrated had the national enlightenment not taken place? Would a bsolutist monarchies replace republics and much more democratic constitutional monarchies?
National pride brought us pain as well. Racism and nationalism lead to a world war. The pacifism of the 1960s shatters the very concept of national pride and asks us to imagine a unified world without countries. Because of a rigid school teaching of history, most of us feel an aversion towards the Czech National Revival or the French Revolution. But what would the world look like without any nations? What would we identify ourselves as? Would we answer the question of ‘who are we?’ with a bland ‘human beings’? Would we not be even more lost and lonely than we already are in this post-modern world?
Have you ever introduced yourselves to a foreigner? Your national identity and your place of origin are usually the second things you state, right after you name. Despite this, we have a tendency in this modern age to refuse and despise out national pride.
Through the history and individual stories of national anthems, this documentary series restores our concept of national pride and, what is more, the feeling of belonging to the European Union. The series will not only show us what we can and should be proud of as citizens of a given country, but also what citizens of other European countries can and should take pride in. It will restore our self-confidence, our pride of being Czech, French, Swedish, our pride of being members of the European Union.
Because we need to be proud, to be strong and stand behind our nation. We need to stand under the protection of the European Union and to stop despising our own identity, which leads to us undermining ourselves. How else should we hold up in today’s huge, globalised world?
