Saturday, August 09, 2008
Not impressed
Googled for reviews on the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony just now and it seems that the world really liked what it saw. Stuff along the lines of "perfect 10", "perfect night" and "rave reviews" were peppered among my search results.
I disagree though. I think the Chinese were trying too hard. I know that it's rare to have such an opportunity when foreigners watch the country with their prior prejudices put aside, but the crash course in the evolution of the nation was absolutely unnecessary.
I also felt that the build up was poorly done. I thought such ceremonies should generally want to peak at the end, but it seemed like the best of it was at the beginning. The countdown, fireworks (29 steps from Tiannanmen Square to the Bird's Nest stadium) and the opening drum act was spectacular. But the rest of the program failed to keep the momentum going, which led to a lull instead. My friends (also foreigners) and I were bored.
What I was really disappointed with was the lack of aerial perspective performances, i.e. formations, play of colors and motion from the bird's eye view. The costumes were very detailed and many of the performances were beautiful if you could actually see them (i.e. front row seats or on tv) but most of the people in the stadium probably couldn't (unless there was something on the big screen). But I felt that if you have so many people performing, then you should really try to maximize the "macro" effect. I guess Zhang Yimou pretty much arranged the opening ceremony to be like one of his movies.
The lighting of the torch (they lifted up the torch-bearer and he did running motions in the air around the stadium) was also tacky and lame. Worst of all, there was a timing screw-up between the speed of the cable and the projection of the scroll unveiling itself. That should have been rehearsed many times, the mistake was unacceptable. Also, the fireworks display at the end was just pure overkill, no choreography at all.
Of course, the Chinese probably do not share my opinion, nor do many of the foreigners who have not seen much of Chinese culture, and the on-site spectators must have been really felt the excitement. They were just ready to be impressed, and I have always been rather critical. I think that Singapore's National Day celebrations are more entertaining, despite being on a smaller scale. And I wouldn't even consider myself a die-hard patriot. (Speaking of which, that's tonight – I'll find out if I have to eat my words. But first I need to find somebody with cable TV so that I can watch it...)
Anyway, I think the Chinese could have done a better job.
12:39 Posted in From the observatory | Permalink | Comments (7) | Email this
Comments
you cannot be more wrong, your foreigner friends too.
this IS the greatest ever olympics opening. period. no other way. it showcased the greatest civilization on earth, our proud history, and achievements. a story written 5000 years ago, and now, take that white people, we will crush and dominate you.
八国联军, 分挎中国, 今天将是你们敞还血债的时候!!!
Posted by: kenny | Sunday, August 10, 2008
yes you may be right that this is the greatest ever olympics opening. it definitely was, if budget and manpower involved should be the determining factor.
my point however was not contesting its greatness, it was that the chinese are capable of better and could have done more with less. in their bid to impress the world, they seem to have thrown everything into this, as such giving me the impression that they seemed to have mistaken quantity for quality.
the "foreigners" were mostly singaporean and of chinese ethnicity. one should not be so quick to assume that white people are the only ones who judge, or that they necessarily feel the way you imply.
I must also add that this year the Singapore National Day celebrations were not as entertaining as before, so I shall have to eat my words this year. pity.
Posted by: sandy | Sunday, August 10, 2008
Agree with you, Sandy, that the drums at the beginning caught my attention, and the dance which uses the arms to do chinese brush painting was also good. Other than that, my attention went back to the work on my laptop.
It was the greatest opening ever, but that's because Sydney 2000 set the stage for modern Olympics ceremonies. And honestly, the mainland Chinese showed they have many human bodies to spare, with spectacular costumes/props which will now go to waste. So, the comment on quantity without better quality is also valid.
What greatest civilization on earth?? It WAS the greatest civilization, but it's no longer so. It went back to the primate-age during the Cultural Revolution and the mainland culture nees another 20 years at least to catch up with the developed world.
I am a Singaporean chinese and proud of it. Thrash the crap assumption that foreigners = caucasians.
Posted by: Theng Tiang | Sunday, August 10, 2008
tsk, u 2. tsk. it was a huge moment for me, being chinese and seeing my motherland host the olympics, and show the world we have arrived. having li ning light the cauldron was also highly significant, for li ning remains one of the greatest Asian athletes ever, and China's first ever male gold medallist.
no disrespect, but i don't think you realise how important a moment this is. if china had not screwed up during the Qing Dynasty, we would all be speaking chinese now as our default language. every chinese should realise this is our moment in history, that we put aside 200 years of humiliation and reclaim our place.
the ceremony in this context was highly significant, showcasing the civilization's history, achievements and place. i actually shed a tear or two as Li Ning raced around the stadium, and the images of Chinese progress unfurled.
Posted by: kenny | Sunday, August 10, 2008
i agree that the choice for li ning as the torch bearer is significant. that much was impressed upon me as the commentator talked about him during that segment. had he just run around the track though, his past achievements would not have been diminished in anyway.
how does this olympic ceremony let china reclaim her place? the grandeur of a one-time ceremony does not establish a country's place in world, it merely indicates the sufficiency of her resources (which in this case is not disputed) and her ability to pool it together for one occasion.
the greatness of a nation is reflected a series of achievements and ability to recover from crises, failures and screw-ups. China has been making rapid progress and i expect is well able to make many more major milestones. as such, there is no need to rely solely on the opening ceremony as its only opportunity to "prove" herself.
furthermore, if this opening ceremony is heralded as the best that this nation can deliver, that should be very disappointing to all chinese, at home and abroad. it would mean that this is as good as it gets, and that the country has peaked, which leaves little to look forward to in the future. and i disagree with that.
Posted by: sandy | Monday, August 11, 2008
look, nobody is claiming that either this ceremony lets china "reclaim its place", or "rely on the opening ceremony to "prove" herself", or it is "the best that this nation can deliver."
no!
the point is that it was a very special moment, because China showed the world, that the nation is ready to assume world power status, and has come of age. its about national pride and joy, that after 200 years of humilation at the hands of the western powers, China has recovered and is now rapidly ascending into world hegemonic power status.
the olympics, and hosting it, is an important moment, to let China show the world who she is now. Its similar to what Hitler did for the 1936 Games when he used it as a platform to show German / Aryan supremacy. Or what the Japanese did for 1964 Games, to show how they have recovered after 20 years. Or what Singapore is trying to show with us bidding and winning for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games!
It is against this context, that I found the Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2008 particularly impressive, because the pride of a civilization was clearly on display, and wonderfully expressed too. And rightly so.
Posted by: kenny | Tuesday, August 12, 2008
the statement "China showed the world, that the nation is ready to assume world power status, and has come of age...has recovered and is now rapidly ascending into world hegemonic power status." suggests that idea of a country trying to prove herself worthy. but perhaps showing isn't quite the same as proving.
also your 2nd comment says "show the world we have arrived" and "reclaim our place", as such it led me to think that's what you meant. but now that you have clarified that you are not making those claims means i must have misunderstood what you said.
like i said in the original post, i stand in the minute minority that wasn't impressed and we don't have to agree. i'm glad you really enjoyed the ceremony though, together with an overwhelming majority of the world.
Posted by: sandy | Thursday, August 14, 2008
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