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Olympics closing
Aug. 24th, 2008 11:40 pmSaw the closing live on CCTV5 at 5 in the morning. It wasn't as grand as the opening, leaving me with just a little feeling of "虎头蛇尾". Then again, I realize that the opening may have been far too tough an act to really follow up on, maybe.
OR, on thinking deeper, if the opening ceremony is mainly focused on the long history of China to this momentous day/era/etc, and the closing ceremony is supposed to mainly reflect modern day Chinese society... then... well, it's sadly accurate. Culturally, we seem to have left the best of our artistic (performing, musical, artistry, etc.) talents somewhere in the Tang and Ming dynasties. =_=;
OK, maybe that's a little harsh. But the mish-mash of pop stars yelling at the top of their lungs at the end, not to mention Jackie Chan's appearance (he's so adorable up there *wibbles*), is a rather good portrayal of today's "common day life" in China.
At any rate, at 8:30 I watched NBC version. Once again, they cut out a lot of parts for commercials and did some of the songs at the end out of order. Also, I have no idea where they parked their camera crew, cuz the acoustics was so bad that sound for the various pop songs at the end sounded like it came from a cell phone recording.
BUT! The biggest difference is the commentary that was droning on in the background. They actually remained silent during some parts (such as the human-flame-tower bit) instead of making up random "meanings" like they did the opening. And that wasn't the most shocking change! There were no more politically charged comments that drove me into contemplating violence across the TV screen! No more badmouthing China while watching the performance!
I dunno, maybe the last 2 weeks of hospitality in China given to these reporters was as good an influence as the Chinese government undoubtedly hoped for. Or maybe they were too embarrassed to badmouth the country after the final gold count became clear. Or maybe NBC is too happy rolling in the $ and ratings it's been getting to think bad thoughts of the conspirator that made it all possible. Whatever it was, let's see how long it lasts. (Certainly didn't last for long on the internet news, that's all I can say.)
Overall, what do you know?
8:08 8-8-08 was China's lucky moment after all. ^_^
PS: Anyone help me figure out if Yahoo news even has a place where it archives old articles?
OR, on thinking deeper, if the opening ceremony is mainly focused on the long history of China to this momentous day/era/etc, and the closing ceremony is supposed to mainly reflect modern day Chinese society... then... well, it's sadly accurate. Culturally, we seem to have left the best of our artistic (performing, musical, artistry, etc.) talents somewhere in the Tang and Ming dynasties. =_=;
OK, maybe that's a little harsh. But the mish-mash of pop stars yelling at the top of their lungs at the end, not to mention Jackie Chan's appearance (he's so adorable up there *wibbles*), is a rather good portrayal of today's "common day life" in China.
At any rate, at 8:30 I watched NBC version. Once again, they cut out a lot of parts for commercials and did some of the songs at the end out of order. Also, I have no idea where they parked their camera crew, cuz the acoustics was so bad that sound for the various pop songs at the end sounded like it came from a cell phone recording.
BUT! The biggest difference is the commentary that was droning on in the background. They actually remained silent during some parts (such as the human-flame-tower bit) instead of making up random "meanings" like they did the opening. And that wasn't the most shocking change! There were no more politically charged comments that drove me into contemplating violence across the TV screen! No more badmouthing China while watching the performance!
I dunno, maybe the last 2 weeks of hospitality in China given to these reporters was as good an influence as the Chinese government undoubtedly hoped for. Or maybe they were too embarrassed to badmouth the country after the final gold count became clear. Or maybe NBC is too happy rolling in the $ and ratings it's been getting to think bad thoughts of the conspirator that made it all possible. Whatever it was, let's see how long it lasts. (Certainly didn't last for long on the internet news, that's all I can say.)
Overall, what do you know?
8:08 8-8-08 was China's lucky moment after all. ^_^
PS: Anyone help me figure out if Yahoo news even has a place where it archives old articles?
