Dear Danny Boyle and the people who work on the show,
Before Friday, only
one Olympics opening ceremony ever stick in me memory.
Sydney 2000 did
thrill me like first-love.
Couldn't imagine
anybody matching that.
The China one was
spectacular, yes - ancient culture meshing with high-tech. But truth to tell,
for me, it did feel mechanical. Humanity did vanish in the masses.
Then along come this
London one.
Heh.
Men writing about it
gon can't say this, being men...but I can, being a gal an' all...
...them children
singing and signing; the performance of Abide With Me; Paul McCartney, they
make me eyes sweat profusely.
That
was a funny bit about health care. Nanee K. who migrate to England
many years ago used to sing about how good they treat she over there...but who
woulda think of doing a musical with something so clinical?
I luuv that movement
from hospital beds to a quarter-moon, story-telling and creatures creeping out just like I always think they gon do and reach out
to bite me ankles if I walk too close to a bed at night.
Oh...a thought! I does
get one sometimes. So many Mary Poppinses raining down remind me of them
Magritte men. Except she got that very important item.
I meself is obsessed
with it, I have a li'l collection. So you can imagine how I deeply appreciate that bright-blue brolly plonking 'pon the key-board. What a combination. Mr. Bean, snot, cheat, athlete.
Brilliant commentary.
From farm to fashion,
to music, media and modern communication, digging into a Dickens or Catherine
Cookson scene, dodging danger with Bond, party-party-party. Even Her Majesty get into the swing of things.
Yeah, switching from
old-old to new-new, medium changing with scenes...brilliant...
...unpredictable.
In the middle of that chaos, I swear I hear a Guyanese-Georgetown accent. Desmond? Scolding he daughter, You better go and put on a proper skirt!
A mad montage, no
matter when I look - today, tomorrow - I gon discover something else.
Just as we do with literature,
people gon have their own interpretation of this show. Some gon say it was about the media; some, music; others, about barmy British humour.
Me? I think it was
life with all she madness and sudden surprises...a quick flash of the running
man...and poignant moments, lifting the child in Abide With Me.
The show capture life today
changing rapid like pictures on a hand screen, flick-flick, fast-fast, one finger
turning the whole flippin' world.
What all this mean to
me?
I live in a
conservative place. Indian wimmen shouldn't poke a toe outside the box. Be
quiet, don't have opinion, don't walk and stare at the sky. Only lawyers, doctors,
accountants, business people are valid.
But like the Sydney show,
this London one remind me to stay true to me dreams, no matter how mad they
might sound to them people here.
I mustn't let
vanity take over though, never. That comment at the end remind me well...
...after the ego-strutting
and chest-pounding, the competition about who is better, faster, who win the
most, after all that we create, all that we do...
10 comments:
Well. . . . I suppose it was alright in a way. Could have been better.
Not as good as the opening cermony at out local Garden fete at Nether-Wopping.
Auntie Maud and the Oldies did their version of the Can-Can (their bloomers could have been a bit cleaner though).
We had Morris Dancing, a Baby show (the babes had to be at least 18 and wearing a skimpy bikini!). The Bring and buy stall was good, I swapped my old push bike for a box of colored pencils!
Afterwards we all went to the "Bull in the Bush" and got pis. . .drunk.
Unfortunately I have to confess I've been doing my best to avoid the olympics and didn't wath the opening ceremony.
The coverage in the media has been as appalling as was with the royal wedding. Full of fawning, obsequious journalists telling us how proud we should all be for being British.
I have never been a fan of jingoistic flag-waving nationalism, especially when the primary aim is to try and make us buy fizzy drinks, eat burgers and wear labelled clothing.
Perhaps I'd be feeling slightly less dark and cynical if we'd had a bit of sunshine and a lot less rain this summer. You'll have to get Scruffy Buzzards some gigs in Guyana to cheer us all up :)
beautifully said, G~G. :-)
Hi Michelle, good to see you back...and thanks. I'm starved for artsy / experimental / barmy things here.
Kim, don't tell the Olympics people this...I don't watch the games. I enjoy the opening and closing ceremonies for the art and stuff.
I'm not into the flag-waving thing either, it's too mass-behaviourish, if you know what I mean.
You Buzzards should migrate to the Caribbean.
Keith, Nether-Wopping? What a name! Aunt Maud and the Oldies should've been included in the Olympics opening ceremony.
''. I'm starved for artsy / experimental / barmy things here.''
.....me too GG, not to say they don't exist, I just haven't found them here as yet, but still, I wish I'd watched this with you. Having left my culture behind me a good few years ago now,watching this,lo and behold, it has upped and moved on without me! I found it spellbinding and was delighted that within all our pomposity and ceremony, we can still laugh at ourselves!
Lovely to read your perspective x
Thank you for that. You have made me want to see it all again.
Just the sight of one poppy got the emotions flowing.
Well done Danny.
Olympics? What Olympics?
JohnG, where were you?
I saw a grand show with Mr. Bean and a brolly, Mary Poppins with lots of brollies...
...oooh it's raining...I'd better go close the windows...
...I'm back. Rain in July! You'd think this was England or something.
Pat, yes, I remember the poppies now. That's what I mean about that show...there will always be something to re-discover / something new to see.
Zooms, I laughed out loud sometimes. I'd written about the humour too, but I edited it because this post would've been even lonnnnnger.
Of course, I don't know everything about life there...it would've been fun to watch it with you to explain some things.
I enjoyed it too and what a wonderful way to show a part of British history. The best bit for me was the Industrial Revolution and the making of the Olympic Rings.
i missed it. the opening ceremonies (and parade) are my favorite, but we were in the emergency room (all is fine, no worries). haven't watched any of the olympics since, i'm afraid.
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