# Wow.... the Olympic opening ceremony was amazing (politics and human rights aside)



## Thonex (Aug 9, 2008)

I've always loved the Olympics, and have always tried to look past the politics when it comes to the best athletes in the world.

I knew China was going to pull out all the stops when it came to the opening ceremony, but I was still blown away with how creative and visually beautiful it was. 

Very impressive. I don't think any other nation would (or even could) summon the resources and pull off what they did for the Beijing Olympic opening.

Let the games begin.

T


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## artsoundz (Aug 9, 2008)

no kidding! I've never seen anything like it. It was a quantum leap in tech and creativity.

I like that one guy in the middle.... : )


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## Robobino (Aug 9, 2008)

That's what you can buy with 42 billions... 

Panem et circenses.


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## Ed (Aug 9, 2008)

42 billion. wow. just imagine how many of the poor in China could have been helped for that.


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## Robobino (Aug 9, 2008)

Actually, the poor people are in the stadium, doing the show. Poverty is hidden under their costumes. Pride is a good substitute to food.


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## Thonex (Aug 9, 2008)

Robobino @ Sat Aug 09 said:


> That's what you can buy with 42 billions...
> 
> Panem et circenses.



wow... 42 billion what??? Dollars, Euros, Chinese Currency - the Renminbi?


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## Thonex (Aug 9, 2008)

Robobino @ Sat Aug 09 said:


> Actually, the poor people are in the stadium, doing the show. Poverty is hidden under their costumes. Pride is a good substitute to food.



Someone on another forum mentioned "black prisons" where they put the people who protested about being forcibly evicted out of their homes to make way for the Olympics stadium and such.

Anyone know about this?

Just to be clear, I'm very aware of the human rights issue surrounding China.... but I just tried to put that out of my mind during the opening ceremony.

Now... it will interesting to see what reporters will be able to tell during their stay.

T


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## Nick Batzdorf (Aug 9, 2008)

That ceremony was completely amazing. The billions were mostly spent on the buildings, not the ceremony, and they're going to make money on the Olympics anyway. They have as large a middle class as the U.S. has - it's just that they also have a lot of poor people, since they have more of them than they can support.

This is good Chinese behavior, and I can only think of good things to say about it.


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## handz (Aug 9, 2008)

It was realy great! Only Lan Lang looked like from some cheap manga movie and those little childs scared me a bit...


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## Lunatique (Aug 11, 2008)

I wrote about it in my latest blog entry, but of course, it contains political elements:
http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality_website/about_me/wordpress/2008/08/09/2008-olympics-thougts/ (http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality ... s-thougts/)

For those of you that didn't know, Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers, Hero...etc) directed the opening ceremony. 

The co-designer of the Bird's Nest (the main stadium), Ai Weiwei, wrote a very scathing review of the opening ceremony in his blog (linked in my blog). He went from supporting the Beijing Olympics to vehemently trashing and opposing it.

Steven Spielberg was an artistic advisor initially, but backed out in protest as well.


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## tgfoo (Aug 11, 2008)

I thought it was beautiful. However, I just wish I could have seen it without listening to the commentators throughout and without commercials.


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## Thonex (Aug 11, 2008)

Lunatique @ Mon Aug 11 said:


> I wrote about it in my latest blog entry, but of course, it contains political elements:
> http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality_website/about_me/wordpress/2008/08/09/2008-olympics-thougts/ (http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality ... s-thougts/)



Great blog Lunatique!!!!

You're a talented writer... thanks for your insight and perspective.

Cheers,

T


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## Nick Batzdorf (Aug 11, 2008)

Actually, tgfoo, I thought the guy explaining the cultural references was fabulous. But I agree with you about Bob Costas - he didn't add anything - and Matt Lauer is always annoying.


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## madbulk (Aug 11, 2008)

Olympic commentary and coverage is necessarily annoying. It's two-thirds of why the olympics are awful. And I don't understand Costas's career at all. I hope he's in on the joke. As a younger guy, he was the best in the biz. Now he's been promoted up and out of it.

And I enjoyed your blog piece very much too, Robert. Thanks for linking to it.


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## JT3_Jon (Aug 11, 2008)

I dont get cable so I haven't been able to see it yet (is it on youtube yet?) but I did read this in the news: http://www.informationweek.com/news/per ... =210002310

I guess some of the fireworks shown on the broadcast were digital. Its interesting how people are reacting. Some are mad about it, thinking its dishonest, yet movies & TV use CGI all the time. For those of you who saw it, how do you feel?

I personally feel nothing should be added later to the TV feed that isn't seen by those attending in person. After all, the olympics are a live sporting event. If they could somehow have holographic fireworks that are seen live, I'd be all for it, but until then... ~o)

edit: looks like I wont be able to watch it on youtube after all :( 
http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/07/olympics-video.html


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## Lunatique (Aug 11, 2008)

JT3_Jon @ Mon Aug 11 said:


> I guess some of the fireworks shown on the broadcast were digital. Its interesting how people are reacting. Some are mad about it, thinking its dishonest, yet movies & TV use CGI all the time. For those of you who saw it, how do you feel?



For a live show, adding CG is in bad taste IMO, unless it was something obvious like putting Shrek on the podium with a real actor. What they did was to fake an effect they had technical difficulty pulling off in rehersal, and that IMO is like using a backing tape when trying to sing a difficult part in a song while doing a live show. either you can pull it off or you can't, don't fake it.


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## Ed (Aug 12, 2008)

JT3_Jon @ Mon Aug 11 said:


> I guess some of the fireworks shown on the broadcast were digital. Its interesting how people are reacting. Some are mad about it, thinking its dishonest, yet movies & TV use CGI all the time. For those of you who saw it, how do you feel?



How is that the same???


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## Lunatique (Aug 12, 2008)

BTW, I could tell right away that the little girl who sang in the ceremony was lip-syncing, and my wife didn't believe me. Now it's been uncovered that the little girl not only did not sing live, it wasn't even her voice. They recorded another little girl who sang well, but wasn't very attractive, and then had a prettier girl lip-sync to her recording during the ceremony. Totally Milli Vanilli. Who the hell does that during the Olympics opening ceremony?


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## nikolas (Aug 12, 2008)

Lunatique @ Tue Aug 12 said:


> Who the hell does that during the Olympics opening ceremony?


Chinesse? China? The persons responsible behind the Olympic intro?

:lol:


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## madbulk (Aug 12, 2008)

Then why'd they make me look at Lang Lang? He wasn't playing. A missed opportunity to put a chinese calendar girl up there.


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## Robobino (Aug 12, 2008)

Lunatique @ Tue Aug 12 said:


> BTW, I could tell right away that the little girl who sang in the ceremony was lip-syncing, and my wife didn't believe me. Now it's been uncovered that the little girl not only did not sing live, it wasn't even her voice. They recorded another little girl who sang well, but wasn't very attractive, and then had a prettier girl lip-sync to her recording during the ceremony. Totally Milli Vanilli. Who the hell does that during the Olympics opening ceremony?



Yes, that's the poor girl who wasn't pretty enough (on the right)...


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## madbulk (Aug 12, 2008)

Not that it would be okay were the kid ghastly, but she's perfectly cute! Dress that kid up, let her sing it in her terrific little voice but with live imperfections and she'd have been cute as hell. Ridiculous.


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## Robobino (Aug 12, 2008)

That kid would have done a killer job too :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=WVJNharf5qE


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## José Herring (Aug 12, 2008)

Kids are cute because they're kids. Says a lot about the men running the show if they're trying to judge which kid is "more pretty" than the other. Damn, they're kids!


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## midphase (Aug 12, 2008)

Jose,

You have obviously never seen Children of the Corn or Village of the Damned!


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## CFDG (Aug 12, 2008)

... Or The Shining. ReDrUm! rEdRuM!


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## Robobino (Aug 12, 2008)

Or young W. Bush...


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## Lunatique (Aug 12, 2008)

I wonder if maybe the girl they picked has relations to some important official (or an official owed someone a favor)? The original kid really isn't ugly at all. Or maybe the original girl has stage fright? If it was only because of appearance, then I guess somebody really hates baby fat and crooked teeth, which so many children have.

It's really a very stupid decision by the government official. China already has a reputation as a country of counterfeit and pirated goods and copyright infringement, and this just lowers its credibility even more.


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