Everyone seemed to adore the opening of the Paris Olympics. Well, except fundamentalist Christians who, in their unshakable belief that everything is about them, decided that because one scene took place at a dinner table it was therefore mocking the Last Supper.
Myself, I found the opening ceremony dull — boat after boat filled with happy athletes — and switched over to re-runs of "House."
I haven't written a word in the paper — with everything going on, the Olympics seem very beside the point. But once upon a time I was all over them. This ran in 2008, just before the stunning opening to the Beijing Olympics — all those drummers — which, ironically, I thought of wistfully watching Paris's laser light show. This was back when we still worried about oppression in China, as opposed to oppression right the fuck here.
I haven't written a word in the paper — with everything going on, the Olympics seem very beside the point. But once upon a time I was all over them. This ran in 2008, just before the stunning opening to the Beijing Olympics — all those drummers — which, ironically, I thought of wistfully watching Paris's laser light show. This was back when we still worried about oppression in China, as opposed to oppression right the fuck here.
One can only imagine how much more eye-popping tonight's Olympic kickoff will be, since it is created by the Chinese themselves.
Did hosting the Olympics promote the rights of people in China?
"Not at all," said Xiao Nong Cheng, executive director of the Center for Modern China, a think tank in Princeton, N.J. "This Olympics is bad, and China's people have lost even the smallest right to talk."
Cheng pointed out that in the run-up to the Olympics, China, terrified at losing face on the world stage, suppressed its citizens even more than usual, and that indications to the contrary — such as a recent Pew survey — are merely lies.
"The Pew ignored a basic fact that surveys in China, according to official regulations, have to be approved, and all the data filtered," said Cheng. "There are no independent surveys in China. These are controlled, manipulated surveys. The data is not reliable."
He added that the world media, rather than turn a spotlight onto China, is instead muzzling itself in order to cover the Games.
"If foreigners want to be in Beijing for the Olympics, they have to seal their lips and follow all the rules the Chinese government set," he said. "The Chinese government worries that the free expression of foreigners might signal to the Chinese people they are supposed to have rights to talk freely and have press freedom."
There, just had to get that off my chest. Enjoy the Games.
—Originally published in the Sun-Times, Aug. 8, 2008
Watched the Opening Ceremonies. Loved that dirty water, but was otherwise unmoved. Thought there would be more rockin' on the boats, and rollin' on the river, and lights, and smoke on the water, and decorated watercraft. Just ordinary boats, with athletes waving flags--and you could hardly see the cool outfits they might or might not have been wearing. I've seen better boat parades in far less glamorous venues. And Chicago's annual Venetian Night puts Paris to shame.
ReplyDeleteThe non-river stuff was just hype and fluff and bull puckey. Reminded me of watching variety shows when I was a kid, with those big musical production numbers. Like on Ed Sullivan. Remember him? Truthfully, I thought China and Japan, and all the other host countries, have staged far more captivating displays in previous years. Meh...
That's all I watch...the Opening Ceremonies and the Closing Ceremonies. I like to see the torch, and how the different countries present their athletes and their flags. The games themselves? Don't give two shits about them. Never watch any of the contests. Oh, maybe bobsledding, and swimming a few times, but nothing else.
Actually watched the Olympic torch go through Cleveland in '96, on its way to Atlanta. Came across Lake Erie by boat, on a Sunday evening in early June, and then
the runners relayed it through downtown. Crowds were thin, and there was only a smattering of applause. Not such a BFD when you're there in person. The small screen makes the torch hour look much more impressive, what with all that zooming, and all those high and low camera angles. And the sound track, natch.
Still, we felt like we had to be there, even if only to check it off our bucket list, and to receive the bright red "I Saw The Flame" stickers that were handed out. Sponsored by Coca-Cola--who else? Still have a couple of them.
We saw the torch pass through Evanston any moons ago. Light crowds and the moment was partly ruined by people holding up "Blago for Governor" signs along the way and in the group following the torch. Loses a it of the Olympic spirit.
DeleteThe Olympics are important to the athletes and their families. Maybe to the government of the host country. Seems like a lot of money that could be better spent on something .. anything .. else. I don't get the enthusiasm of regular people, but then I also don't get the rabid support of professional sports teams and the grossly overpaid athletes who supposedly "represent" the cities they play for but rarely live in. The circus atmosphere certainly distracts from the impending political upheaval.
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no interest in the Olympics! I find it a media manufactured out of control monster, which NBC will use to promote its upcoming new shows for the fall & ignore the athletes in favor of their boring up close & personal crap.
ReplyDeleteI also have no interest in the bizarre made up "sports" like rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming & incredibly this year, break dancing!
But then i also have no use for gymnastics, which I find weird beyond belief, as the female side of it appears to be made up of teen girls who have had their puberty delayed somehow & are kept tinier than even the smallest girls of her age by some artificial means.
The sole difference between the Olympics & boring as hell soccer is that the Olympics fans aren't anywhere near as violent as the drunken soccer fans! Most seem happy to be there, despite having to pay obscene amounts of cash for everything, insane ticket prices & jacked up hotel rates.
And I'm still ecstatic Chicago lost out on the 2016 games, some news organizations have been showing photos of all the abandoned Olympic venues from Rio & Beijing, which cost billions to build & are now useless & rotting away!
Oh & Grizz, that stupid torch relay was created by Goebbels & the Nazis, I find it disgusting that it continues! But then, the 1936 games were a disgrace, as Avery Brundage, who was later the IOC head was the head of the 1936 US Olympic committee & he kicked two Jewish women off of the team, because he thought bringing them with would embarrass them in front of Hitler.
Thankfully, Brundage apparently didn't hate blacks, as much as he hated Jews & so he allowed Jesse Owens on the team & he made a mockery of that Aryan superiority bullshit! And apparently some of the German athletes weren't bigots either, as I remember a documentary about Owens where he was talking about how one of the German runners helped him adjust his starting style.
You are correct about the Nazi origin of the torch relay, but the history of the Olympic flame pre-dates 1936.
DeleteThe first time that a symbolic flame made its appearance in the Summer Olympic Games was for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies, where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics.
The first ever torch-lighting ceremony was held in Olympia, Greece, on July 20, 1936. The torches used were made by Krupp, and the mirror used to light the flame was made by Zeiss Optics, both companies with links to the Nazis.
At the first Olympic torch relay, the flame was transported from Olympia to Berlin over 1,980 miles, by 3,331 runners, in twelve days and eleven nights. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels commissioned filmmaker and propagandist Leni Riefenstahl to film the event. [Wikipedia]
I am married to an Olympics junkie, so it’s on the tv a lot, but I thought the Opening Ceremony was tedious and mostly pageant-free and the event coverage so US-centric that hardly anyone else gets any air time regardless of how good they are. Can’t wait for this one to be over.
ReplyDeleteMy vote - the Olympics suck.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure they're great for the athletes and their families, and all those celebs, NBC and otherwise. And somebody is making a killing, mostly under the table.
But as I age, the very idea of competitive sport just leaves me cold, especially when these performances should be appreciated for their skill and beauty, and not ranked by some crabby-ass judge. Adding a heaping helping of jingoism makes it stink all the more.
My favorite Olympic memory was 1984 games in LA. McDonald’s had a promotion where you could win a sandwich, fries, or a drink if the US won a gold, Silver, or Bronze medal. You got a game card with a different event with every purchase.
ReplyDeleteThe Soviet Union and the East European countries boycotted those games because the United States boycotted the 1980 games in Russia because they invaded Afghanistan. As a result, the US dominated and almost all of the McDonald’s game cards were winners.
I was a teenager and had friends who worked at McDonald’s. They would give me stacks of the cards. Me and everyone I knew ate free for the duration of the promotion. That was a good Summer.
I so appreciate your take on this...today just checked in on the womens gymnastics to see S Biles step up to congrats the other leaders from other contries before the end of the compition She's a class act.
ReplyDelete