The closing ceremonies of the Games in London were an embarrassment to Western Civilization and showed how morally bankrupt the British have become.
In Beijing, China’s message in their closing ceremony was clearly the virtues of statism. They proudly showcased the merging of corporatism and communism. Flying, identically dressed humans creating a Tower of Babel represented the “cog in a machine” values of their culture and was done so artfully that most people never recognized the symbolism. China was declaring their plans for the world, once their grip on global power and finance is complete. Double down on western corporate and eastern communist excess (100-plus million murdered under Chinese communism in this century alone), and you have the makings of a 1984-ish nightmare.
The British showed they have no philosophy, no values except rock and roll, big-breasted chicks, rap stars riding in Rolls Royces, and no real clue that their expression of morally bankrupt worship of materialism is repugnant and why the rest of the world thinks Western colonialism needs to be overthrown, violently. Most Olympic hosts make some effort to show their cultural values in a positive light.
The British seemed completely unaware that their cavalcade of campy, garish and pompous frivolity made Beijing’s Kafkaesque showcasing of Big Brother look moral by comparison.
Very bad message. The games were great, they did a good job. But if that closing spectacle did not offend you and make you afraid for Western Civilization, you aren’t thinking clearly. Obviously the Brits weren’t.
Sonny Craig
Apache Junction
Centrist posted at 6:27 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Dude, if a rapper driving in a rolls makes you think the world is coming to an end, you need to seriously check your mental status.
sockratties posted at 7:30 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Sonny… What could symbolize modern capitalism better than the materialistic extravaganza the Brits put on. They were obviously playing to the young and impressionable. I see the intended audience as the same genre that is dependent on social media, smart phones and purchasing power, be it cars, clothes, the next new tech-toy or just glitzy style. Of course if you want to make a political statement, as did Hitler and the Chinese, that’s your prerogative. Morality? Do you eat coal to produce diamonds?
Dale Whiting posted at 8:15 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Sonny,
To each his own.
Looks like this is a matter of taste and opinoin. I got bored and changed the channel, but not because I found it tasteless or in poor taste, just boring. And clearly sockratties does not like your tastes. No problem! No doubt you feel pretty much the same about his tastes.
sockratties posted at 9:10 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Dale – I didn’t say I liked it. I don’t fit the target audience. Where I disagree with Sonny is the arbitrary assignment of morality to everything. The Chinese could have had huge pictures of Hu Jintao or Mao if they had so wanted: shades of Orwell and thought police. The Brits tend to be somewhat irreverent and that is a quality in itself. If we should question authority, and we should, we should also question agendas. London represents England, not the Western World. She doesn’t speak for us and we should respect her choices which are none of our business. What was in bad taste was sending Mitt Romney and his big mouth over there. Our problems, worldwide, are more about poking our noses where they don’t belong than perceived morality issues which we hypocritically try to push on everyone else.
Cerulean posted at 9:57 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
This is an Interesting letter, and some insightful comments.
I did not watch either of the two Olympic ceremonies. I must say however that Sonny’s description of the British closing conjured for me, images of a halftime Super Bowl extravaganza at any-town Superdome USA. A loud display of super-rock stars and a razzel dazzle light show.
Maybe that is why Sonny is disappointed. I would be too.
mrconservative posted at 10:03 am on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
I didn't watch the closing ceremony, mostly because it wsa on Sunday. But I probably wouldn't hav watched it anyway, since I learned that the Ugly Spice Girls were going to perform. I don't like the way those girls dress, when they're actually wear clothes, that is.
SonnyC50 posted at 12:47 pm on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
I'm classically trained in philosophy and theology, thus, you are correct to see my letter as an overemphasis. I think your comments represent the vast majority of thought, and that my view is now the archaic one. While I understand how we got here, it does not fail to amaze me when others do not see things the way I do. I was a student of the philosopher Francis Schaeffer, and he said the following. I encourage those interested in the culture wars, here and globally to revisit Schaeffer's thoughts, particularly the work titled How Shall We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture which explains the process of philosophical reductionism through art and philosophy from the Renaissance through the present:
"There is a flow to history and culture. This flow is rooted and has its wellspring in the thoughts of people. People are unique in the inner life of the mind -- what they are in their thought-world determines how they act. This is true of their value systems and it is true of their creativity. It is true of their corporate actions, such as political decisions, and it is true of their personal lives. The results of their thought-world flow through their fingers or from their tongues into the external world. This is true of Michelangelo's chisel, and it is true of a dictator's sword."
My thought in the letter is not so much that materialism as expressed in free enterprise is bad, but that seemingly thoughtless cultural excess in a time of a clash of civilizations is to me the epitome of stupidity. We aren't talking injecting politics into the Olympics, China certainly did that during their games, what we are talking about is what our art and cuture says about us as a civilization. Most of the rest of the world do not hold the view now that free market capitalism is moral so that extreme displays of it like the British closing cermonies, at a moment of opportunity to showcase better cultural values, seems suicidal to me.
Thanks for your comments.
VofReason posted at 1:08 pm on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Didn't watch, but not surprising. Look at network TV and see what represents entertainment and celebration to evidently the masses. I for one would rather watch reruns on TVLand and shows that are years into syndication. TV like it seems the closing ceremony has become bathroom humor on a loop. Sad really.
Centrist posted at 3:48 pm on Wed, Aug 15, 2012.
Sonny,
I too have training in philosophy (I minored in it in college). And, by your writing style I can see you are being honest when you speak of your background. However, on this one, you have overthought it. Sometimes, a banana is a banana.
Oxzen posted at 12:13 am on Thu, Aug 16, 2012.
As a resident of London, England, I have to say I agree with Sonny Craig that the Olympic Games closing ceremonies were deeply embarrassing, though it's probably going too far to say that they showed that all Brits are morally bankrupt. I think the dominant commercial culture's values are repugnant and morally bankrupt, but most people here live pretty decent lives and are also quite moral in their day to day behaviour - just as they are in the USA.
The problems with the closing ceremony stem from handing its production to a team of people whose main business is showbiz and the promotion of pop music, whereas the producers of the impressive Chinese ceremonies, and to be fair the opening ceremony of London 2012, were people with artistic vision and imagination. This is how we ended up with a "cavalcade of campy, garish and pompous frivolity", which I think is an excellent description of what took place. I've called it a lot worse things myself.
Had the Games' organisers given the responsibility for producing a worthy closing ceremony to a group of people with real talent and a brief to show British culture to best effect to a world wide audience, which in my opinion ought have happened, then a very different image of Britain could have been presented, though not necessarily one that was truly accurate and representative either, as we have many trashy and unworthy elements in our mainstream and commercial culture.
At the very least we should have been offered a closing ceremony that was original and entertaining, and a proper celebration of some incredible athletes and their achievements, and on those counts alone it was a dismal failure. The fact that it was tacky, boring and cheesy is embarrassing to most of us in Britain and is really unforgivable.
By the way, I've enjoyed my virtual visit to Apache Junction and Arizona - you have some beautiful landscapes and scenery!
Dale Whiting posted at 10:52 am on Thu, Aug 16, 2012.
SonnyC50,
Welcome to the site! Sorry you choose a "handle" and not just your real name. But I'll be looking forward to hearing more from you.
Had you explained where you were coming from in the piece, it would have been more helpful. As sockratties maintains, it was not a matter of like or dislike, or taste as I read into it, but a philosopical perspective, an idea or approach which those choriographing the ceremony probably did not consider.
The question then would be "Must this concept be considered to make a decent closing ceremony?" I must agree I liked the Chinese closing ceremony for it's representation of a nation wishing to join the rest of the world. GB does not need to portray that theme. Heck, after a 1000 years we all pretty much know GB!
wangly posted at 7:19 pm on Thu, Nov 8, 2012.
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