The D Spot

I was so impressed with the Lighting of the Olympic Flame and the subsequent spectacular display of fireworks that I almost cried. The world was impressed! I was so impressed that I even wrote about it—omg! the lighting of the Olympic torch is so amazing! and was talking about it with some of my kids until early morning. But this was short-lived when I found out from internet releases and talks that some of the fireworks sequences, the footprints in particular (and maybe some others) were fakes—computer generated, and inserted into the coverage to look as though they were real.

And what else is new? After the world was enamored, and the Chinese superpowers beamed with pride of Lin Miaoke, the little cute girl in a red dress and pigtails who warmed the hearts of billions of people the world over, as she sang with a voice so sweet, so pure, the Ode to the Motherland in the Bird’s Nest stadium last Friday night, it was found out soon, and them organizers admitted that the voice did not belong to her. She was made to lip-synch over the voice of 7-year old Yang Peiyi—all for the sake of national interest, or so they say. She was then exposed as a fake, how sad.

The real owner of the voice they said was not pretty enough—she had crooked teeth. Oh geez! I was so disappointed. Imagine the stigma the whole of Lin Miaoke’s life and her parents. As to Yang Peiyi, she now gets what is due to her.

And yet another one—the organizers have drafted in specially trained “spectators” to inject some atmosphere into the half-empty stadiums and echoing plazas of the Beijing Olympics. It was announced earlier that the 6.8 million tickets have been sold, but it seemed not to show in the turn out of spectators. Huge numbers of yellow-shirted ‘fans’ are arranged to come to the different venues where low turn out is expected. They would occupy blocks of empty seats, clapping and cheering equally for opposing teams.

I would not like to say I was fooled, but for a while, I was! I thought they were all real! I didn’t realize that part of these show of grandeur, purity in voice, and Olympic spirit, were as real as the fakes (designer bags, shoes, clothes, DVDs, etc) that were abundantly sold, and which the locals and tourists bought, in the SIlk Market, streets and the shopping havens in Beijing and the other cities and towns. At first glance, they would really pass for real!

I should not be really be surprised and disappointed. I recall, and I wrote about this in a February 2008 article what I observed in Beijing in 2000, from July to December—that was the time when Beijing was planning its bid for the 2008 Olympics. Imagine! THE DRIED GRASS WAS PAINTED GREEN, large pots of flowers, fresh and natural were placed in strategic places all over the parks and streets, and the city was decorated (the likes of Bay Walk) as if it were Christmas.

Oh well, let me not sulk, and watch the games instead on TV. Yes, they are fun, amazing with records broken one after another. How nice it is to see young men and women excel in their various sports. Let the Olympic spirit burn in the hearts of the athletes and spectators the world over. Let the young ones be inspired and try their best in what they do.

Related topic: BA’s take on this, here.

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