the final thought

  I'm done contemplating what that opening ceremony at the Olympics was supposed to represent or not represent. I have boiled it down to its' basic purpose. That purpose is to entertain the masses. It is apparent to me that lesson has not been learned, at least not by that French artistic director. Perhaps he has never watched the movie Gladiator with Russel Crowe. That pretty much sums up what entertains the masses. I'm not able to quote lines from many movies verbatim, I don't memorize them, but I think the Emperors sister told him "the crowd is fickle brother" and Marcus will be forgotten in a week. The games were held to placate and distract the crowd. In one scene in the movie, he even asks, "are you not entertained?" Win the crowd and win your freedom.

  There was little entertaining about those opening ceremonies for a basic reason, not many realized what any of that was about. The crowd wasn't a group of intellectuals. No one was holding discussions and forums examining the inner meaning of the symbolism. A few celebrities were included in that to draw the crowd in, that much he seems to have understood, but beyond that, it was flat and somewhat puzzling. What the heck am I watching? I do believe the vast majority of the population know that the Olympic games began in Greece thousands of years ago. Most people in the world today have heard of the Greek Gods, most generally as an amusement. Zeus and the gang. Very entertaining for a variety of reasons. The bad guys we love to hate. And they did engage in all the naughty things that entertain us, even to this very day. 

  There are those outraged by the symbolism as they perceived it to be. The Last Supper, the rider of a pale horse and all of that. That is what the crowd saw regardless of what the planner was attempting to show. For the most part, the crowd was not entertained. Of course, you always have those in the crowd that don't care what it is they are seeing, it is just a party. They aren't giving any thought to anything beyond having a good time. The crowd mentality where people are just swept up into whatever. And then you will have those that fancy themselves above all of that, the enlightened ones proclaiming the brilliance of the program. Millions of dollars were expended in creating this spectacle, it is pushing the current narrative, and artistic people were involved, it has to be great! But the reality is this, what was the highlight of the entire program? Celine Dion singing a beautiful song. People were entertained by that. It required no thought on the part of the listeners. 

  And so, for me the bottom line is that it failed as entertainment. Regardless of any intended or unintended messaging. In spite of any historical references or profound statements on society and the social order today. No matter how many bullet holes you put in the Statue of Liberty, it was an utter failure as far as entertaining the crowd. There will be those looking down from their white castles saying it was just misunderstood by the ignorant and uneducated masses. There will be those that gave it no thought at all and remained mystified. And beyond all that there are those that found all of it repulsive, offensive, and a slap in the face. I am reminded of a meme I see often on Facebook, "You Had One Job!"