Further evidence of weirdness at Beijing 2008. This for example would never have happened at Athens 2004. I feel so incredibly sorry for this little girl. Her moment of glory was completely stolen from her. Shame on the organisers of the opening ceremony.
If the link doesn't work, it leads to a story of a little girl named Yang Peiyi (bottom picture). It was her voice that was heard singing Ode to the Motherland at the opening ceremony, but in her place appeared Lin Miaoke (top picture) who has gone on to become a national star because poor little Yang Peiyi was not considered cute enough to appear on camera. Apparently the decision was taken for the sake of the nation. How awful! Nice way to teach little girls in China that looks matter more than anything else. Take a look at the picture. Do you think Yang Peiyi wasn't cute enough to represent the nation?
Faked opening ceremony sequences, lessons in smiling, using cheer squad volunteers to pack out stadiums (this was really, really obvious to anyone watching any event), banning athletes from taking to the winner's podium with their national flags... what a pity.
3 comments:
Oh by the way, just fyi, athletes weren't allowed to climb the podium with their national flags in Greece either. It was in our rulebook. However, in my own Stadium, we decided to turn a blind eye, when spectators threw national flags to the winners.
This is common policy in all Games. Whether it is implemented or not, is a whole other issue.
This is sad - but it does not surprise me. The Chinese are very big on appearances and the women in particular are obsessed with the Western ideal of the 'package'. I think both the girls are beautiful in different ways (kind of like sun and moon). I hope they won't both be screwed up by this experience in the future and I hope we can succeed in creating a world where people can be appreciated for what they are, instead of being treated like eggs in a cake recipe which requires only the golden yolks.
Not surprising at all. This is business. And they intend to run it like one. What would you expect?
It's all about maximizing the profits of the stakeholders. And one of the ways to achieve that goal is by using a good dose of Marketing.
When you go to a store and find truckloads of smiling personnel? Would you prefer they stop smiling instead of putting on fake smiles? Would you buy at a store where people are frowning or look pissed off?
Would Amy Winehouse sell so much albums if she has led a normal private life (hint: think of Sharon Jones)?
Olympic Games are a product. And its producer needs to feed it to as much consumers as possible.
Post a Comment