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tawny
Guest
I have to admit the only part I truly enjoyed was the depiction of the Russian Ballet. Absolutely beautiful.
- Status
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empther
Guest
They should have had lots more of it,
plus some replaying of Russian folk songs and such. A nation of 150 million must have produced some.
The enactment of Tolstoy’s War and Peace,
( the chubby guy with glasses was supposed to be Pierre, one of the main characters whose purpose was to provide flow to the story, he seemed to be everywhere all the time )
was lost on people who hadn’t read the book which is 99.9% of the viewers.
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Bruised_Reed
Guest
It’s okay that some/many viewers didn’t know exactly what was going on. People on this forum and others I’ve read in com boxes are expressing interest in Russian arts and history. I’m of the mind that if even one follows through that is a positive thing.
I would have liked to see the classic portrayal of ballet a bit longer since I wasn’t impressed with the jelly fish version. It didn’t work for me. There, empther, are you happy now?
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alexandratm
Guest
Much of Russian ballet is rooted in folk music and dance. While it would have been nice to see more of that (I can always watch more ballet!), yes, that large nation did produce folk songs. You even heard some of them during the performance.
And as far as a lack of viewers being familiar with War and Peace - how is that Russia’s fault? It’s a classic work of literature. If you didn’t understand what was going on (which, even if you didn’t know the plot, the performance was still enjoyable, in my opinion), that’s on the viewer, not the presenter. Would you have felt the same way if it was a work from Shakespeare being highlighted?
I’m not trying to paint those who did not enjoy the production as uneducated, as there were parts I enjoyed more than others. For some, ballet isn’t their thing, and that’s fine. But I think some criticisms I am seeing come from a lack of understanding of Russian history and culture, rather than any true fault of the production. If you (general you) don’t know that Russia lost twenty million in WWII, or that many Russian composers based their compositions around folk songs, or the plotline of War and Peace, or that the dancers were supposed to look robotic during Stalinist rule, well, I think that’s on you (general you), not on the presenters.
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empther
Guest
I don’t recall if the recent London Summer Games opening ceremony made reference to Shakespeare. Surely they did. But what I remember was the entertainment of the London ceremony, even the Queen’s “parachuting arrival” in the stadium.
That was the way to do it.
I guess the next Germany hosts the Games they should reenact the Holocaust?
The athletes aren’t there for a history lesson, and the Olympics is supposed to be about the athletes’ exuberant spirit. No dirty laundry, please!
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Cat
Guest
Many of the athletes enjoy history (and other subjects). Elite athletes who compete internationally get to know athletes and teams from other countries, and enjoy learning about their countries.I don’t recall if the recent London Summer Games opening ceremony made reference to Shakespeare. Surely they did. But what I remember was the entertainment of the London ceremony, even the Queen’s “parachuting arrival” in the stadium.
That was the way to do it.
I guess the next Germany hosts the Games they should reenact the Holocaust?
The athletes aren’t there for a history lesson, and the Olympics is supposed to be about the athletes’ exuberant spirit. No dirty laundry, please!
Just as every athlete has bad practices and bad competitions, every country has “dirty laundry.” It would be deceptive to pretend otherwise.
The Olympic movement seeks to bring the world together, so it’s appropriate to showcase the history of the host nation in order to foster deeper understanding of our fellow human beings and their countries.
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Hoosier_Daddy
Guest
This is what the OP thinks is superior to the Sochi opening ceremony.
olympic.org/videos/los-angeles-1984-opening-ceremony
Funny how nostalgia seems to inflate the actual reality. A jetpack jetsons guy and some balloons being launched by oompa loompas?
Look, I’m all for getting in the Delorean and firing up the ole flex capacitor but Doc and Marty missed the boat on this one.
Hello!? McFly!!!
olympic.org/videos/los-angeles-1984-opening-ceremony
Funny how nostalgia seems to inflate the actual reality. A jetpack jetsons guy and some balloons being launched by oompa loompas?
Look, I’m all for getting in the Delorean and firing up the ole flex capacitor but Doc and Marty missed the boat on this one.
Hello!? McFly!!!
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Joie_de_Vivre
Guest
I think it could have used Korobeiniki with a backdrop of falling tetrominos
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mikekle
Guest
WOW, thats the first review Ive heard with that kind of opinion!! I thought it was great, best Ive seen in a long time, blows away anything the US has done in modern times as well.What a drag, man!
Looked like a convention of robots.
Where was the joy?
Especially oppressive was the segment representing Stalin’s industrialization period in the 1930s. You had these thousands of people all dressed alike ( no individualism under Stalin, you know ) carrying steel beams and walking inside giant gears. Makes you nostalgic for the good old days!
At the end, the little girl let go of the red balloon symbolizing the twentieth century dream never realized, meaning that it was a new century and let’s be hopeful. That was the end.
My sister said it was all trash. She and my brother take a trip every year. They’ve been to China, Egypt, England, Ireland, Italy, France, Greece, Russia and I forget where else. She says of all the peoples she saw the Russians were the grimmest.
Compare to the 1984 Summer opening ceremony in Los Angelos orchestrated by a prominent Hollywood movie producer/director. People dancing and running around to a hundred popular pieces of American music of the last two hundred years. The IOC President was moved to tears in gratitude “Well done, America!”] for our reviving the Olympic movement which wasn’t doing so well at that time after Jimmy Carter’s idiotic boycott of the Moscow 1980 games and Russia’s reprisal boycott of the 1984 games. We knew how to throw a party without the Russians.
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empther
Guest
Really, now! This is what brings them to the Olympics?
I guess you must have talked to them in the nightclubs,
because they never talk like that when being interviewed all day on the television coverage.
I agree.
The next time we have an Olympics in the United States,
the opening ceremony should reenact the internment of Japanese-Americans in WW2,
black slavery,
black lynchings,
the Ku Klux Klan,
the Indian wars,
the incendiary bombs dropped on Germany,
the My Lai Massacre,
etc etc etc
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Bruised_Reed
Guest
I apologize if I this is obvious but you did note that the athletes are being interviewed. What questions are they asked? It’s usually about their event, their training, their competitors; and most of the interviews are with those who just medaled or are waiting for their scores, so, no, that isn’t what they are talking about. Ask the competitors who know they don’t have a snowballs chance in hell placing high enough to be news for any country but their own. They are there for the whole experience, including the opening ceremony. And of course no one is talking about the opening ceremony now…except us and you started it…because other things are going on.
:banghead:I agree.
The next time we have an Olympics in the United States,
the opening ceremony should reenact the internment of Japanese-Americans in WW2,
black slavery,
black lynchings,
the Ku Klux Klan,
the Indian wars,
the My Lai Massacre,
etc etc etc
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Hoosier_Daddy
Guest
I have known several olympians. Some big names, some not so big. The big names people usually have been to the host country many times in training and in general. The smaller names, not so much, so they are interested in the culture and history.
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tomarin
Guest
Is that from “the Sound of Music”?Interesting concept. The Matrix Musical !
Keano Reeves, or whatever the guy’s name was, goes into the mad scientist’s laboratory for a painful transformation to the matrix, and he sings
:harp:
What will this day be like? I wonder.
What will my future be? I wonder.
It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free
My heart should be wildly rejoicing
Oh, what’s the matter with me?
I’ve always longed for adventure
To do the things I’ve never dared
And here I’m facing adventure
Then why am I so scared
A captain with seven children
What’s so fearsome about that?
Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries
If I don’t I just know I’ll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack
:harp:
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empther
Guest
Yes. It’s the song Maria sings the first time she left the abbey to go be a governess for the Captain’s seven brats.
( in the 1963 Julie Andrews movie, not the recent live stage play starring Carrie “Are You Ready For Some Football?” Underwood )
See posts 40, 41, and 45 to see how this historic revolution in entertainment was conceived.
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empther
Guest
Oh. I see you were
Did any ask to see the manuscript? No.
Did any bother to read the one to three sample chapters they asked to see ( snail mail )? I doubt it very much. They get as many as 1,500 submissions a week. ( *** )
Did any make a single specific comment about my story? No.
Could an unpublished author get The Bible published? No.
How many rejection slips did Ernest Hemingway get before publishing his first novel? 104 :bigyikes: :banghead: :crying:
I’m working on getting the story in printed copies via Amazon’s CREATESPACE service. It’s free to me, I have full control, no editors ( I’ve been over the whole text twelve times ) and I will send sample copies to Catholic high school English teachers who will see that’s it’s the ideal book to assign to classes.
( *** I joined two “writers’ forums” last year. Writers give samples of their work. Unbelievable trash. Example: a story about a war between zombies and vampires. I wonder how it turned out? It must be hell to be a literary agent. The global moderator of one of the forums had as his claim to fame a published novel about a vampire. * I’m not making this up!* :tiphat: Last time I checked it ranked 4,000,000th on the Amazon “Bestseller List” )
I sent my sure-to-win-the-Nobel story to 32 literary agents.
Did any ask to see the manuscript? No.
Did any bother to read the one to three sample chapters they asked to see ( snail mail )? I doubt it very much. They get as many as 1,500 submissions a week. ( *** )
Did any make a single specific comment about my story? No.
Could an unpublished author get The Bible published? No.
How many rejection slips did Ernest Hemingway get before publishing his first novel? 104 :bigyikes: :banghead: :crying:
I’m working on getting the story in printed copies via Amazon’s CREATESPACE service. It’s free to me, I have full control, no editors ( I’ve been over the whole text twelve times ) and I will send sample copies to Catholic high school English teachers who will see that’s it’s the ideal book to assign to classes.
( *** I joined two “writers’ forums” last year. Writers give samples of their work. Unbelievable trash. Example: a story about a war between zombies and vampires. I wonder how it turned out?
It must be hell to be a literary agent. The global moderator of one of the forums had as his claim to fame a published novel about a vampire. * I’m not making this up!* :tiphat: Last time I checked it ranked 4,000,000th on the Amazon “Bestseller List” )- Status