Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My Thoughts on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Opening ceremony or Third-eye poster?

Finally got around to watching the Olympic ceremonies.

Wow. I mean, WOW.

Not only was it visually spectacular but, from a performers point of view, it was technologically amazing. I still can't figure out how they pulled it all off. I found myself welling up more than once.

That is, of course, when I wasn't yelling "Hey, BBC announcer, shut the hell up!" at the screen. And to think that I watched the British version because I figured it would be less annoying than the American version.  Not so.  The music may have been spectacular but I wouldn't know because I had to keep the damn TV muted to avoid hearing the inane and often utterly pointless banter between the commentators:

(actual quote)
"Tai chi, this is. Often performed by old people.
Often performed by young people."
 Um, duh.

Or the commentary was so snarky, it was offensive:

(not-so-actual quote, but close)
"And now we see the Tibetan athletes and the Chinese athletes walking together. You can hardly tell how much they really, truly and deeply hate each other."
"Indeed."
Or this:
"There are performers representing the 56 ethnic groups of China dancing in the stadium. Few people realize that China's makeup is that complex."
"Well, that's right. You see, as China grew over the centuries - much like a giant cancer full of rich, vibrant colors and pageantry - it basically absorbed all of those areas. Simply stunning."
"Absolutely. Just imagine the amount of laundry they could do."
"Just imagine."
But, despite the snark of the British announcers, the opening ceremony still impressed the hell out of me.

Thankfully, the Japanese alphabet is based on the Chinese one so I've got a leg-up. (Because, it these opening ceremonies are any indication, they'll be owning our asses soon.)

UPDATE: Some really cool pictures from the Opening Ceremony over at Boston.com

(hat tip to Flexual Healing)

No comments: