To say I loved the opening ceremony?

[scottishheather86]

I really enjoyed the show last night! It was bold and ambitious and all
Encompassing! It was a shame about the rain, but I think overall it was really great! But shocked how many utter miserable responses to it there have been!

I'm shocked that people are still complaining that there were trans people performing and a cheeky scene that insinuated a threesome! Love, passion and style are all big French themes! Can we get past the British stiff upper lip and just enjoy it for what it is?

Remember, we had David (not holier than thou) Beckham driving a boat up the Thames and loads of weird and quirky things at our opening ceremony, that would have gone over the heads of most of the rest of the world.

"Not sure how seeing a trans person on TV would affect children?"

Not trans people, drag queens. A dreadful and degrading parody of women.

And two men holding the torch when (I believe) this is the first ever Olympic Games with equal male and female participants. Now that is something worth celebrating.

It was dreadful. Just awful.

Doubt they have any control over the weather. Although the glimpse of the surfing competitors in Tahiti looked tempting.

Accepting of what? I genuinely don't see how men aping women makes a 60 year old woman feel sexually liberated?

Or are you just virtue signalling? It's ok to say.

The only thing I like about drag is how strongly it reinforces that the concept of femininity is entirely masculine in nature and origin. It never has had anything to do with real women and it’s no surprise that men are better at performing it.

The threesime scene was really tame and quite fleeting . It culminated in them shutting the door ti leave you with the idea that they are probably going to have sex. Any children watching weren't going to get the gist of that, especially as ir was only hinted at.

I'm not virtue signalling - I genuinely don't have an issue with it. My dcs thought the inclusiveness was great.

I loved the fact that Paris is just stunning. I think countries coming out on boats was such an original idea and much better than the usual walking around the stadium. A great way to show off the city and Seine. Very Parisian, focusing on the rooftops, buildings, river, Eiffel Tower etc...I personally thought some sections were too ott especially the last supper and showing off how they beheaded their monarchy! But...the French are quite controversial, their history always has been. kinky, fashion, elegance, shock factor, it's what I expected so understand it's not everyone's cup of tea but that's Paris! Shame about the rain though!! Hot air balloon again, another nice original idea and - Celine Dion singing on the Eiffel Tower!!! Come on, does it get any better than that!!

Everyone I have spoken to has said they thought it was shite. It looked like it had been thrown together for a tenner. Rewatch the 2012 ceremony. Last night was light years away from being a patch on it.

The threesome was a reference to Jules et Jim which is one of the most influential films of the 20th century. Look at the poster and then look at the set up of the three people running down the corridor, it's clearly meant to be a homage.

Thank you for this! Great film.

@FairyLightBan how can it be a "goady" post when she's just saying she liked it! is there some massive political agenda behind your remark?

And ‘incisiveness’, you forgot that key word. Because it’s not inclusive until a man has made a show of himself.

It was shite,didn’t think it would be anything else.

Wut? 🙄

This is interesting context, thank you.

Which part of that post are you struggling with?

@iamtheblcksheep ! right-wing Americans get offended by anything, apart from police brutality, school shootings and the reversal of women's rights!

Facts!

Yeah, they don't like those either.

The problem with 'kids won't really understand it' is that one of the signs of sexual abuse is knowing about things that kids shouldn't really understand.

So it makes it harder to spot abuse and protect kids.

But hey, it makes older women feel sexually liberated. Apparently.

There were bits I liked, bits that bored me but surely to be expected in such a long show that had to try to appeal to so many?

Certainly nothing that made me uncomfortable or outraged.

I loved it. There were some references that I’m only finding out about now, which is fine. I thought it was informative and entertaining and showcased Paris beautifully. I’m so bored with the stadium setting with athletes all filing in, this was so much more enjoyable.

Didn’t watch it. But the descriptions sound awful and glad didn’t waste time watching it.

I love the Olympics. A celebration of the very best of athleticism, competition, and sports.

There’s nothing quite like the roar of the crowd to make the hairs on your am stand up.

The opening ceremony should be the start of this - a welcome to the global community while also showcasing the host country.

There will of course always be cultural differences that don’t always translate well, and that’s fine. And none of the criticism here is about London “doing it better”. We received accolades for our opening ceremony from around the world, but so have many other countries. Tokyo’s ceremony was magnificent.

I was so disappointed. I was really excited to see what France would produce but it was truly awful.

Firstly, the weather really had an impact. But if you live somewhere that could have rainy summers, why on earth plan a ceremony that could be ruined by the weather?! Maybe have elements outside, but I spent lots of last night genuinely worried that someone would slip and hurt themselves.

The athletes coming down the river missed the roar of the crowd. It seemed very disconnected. There was no opportunity to look for your favourite competitors as you could do during the parade. Massive letdown for the flag bearers too. It’s a huge honour to be chosen but rather than leading their country out, they were relegated to just holding a sopping wet flag while crowded onto a boat for hours, often barely visible.

Lots of pre-recorded sections. Too many.

Some sections really dragged on. The masked parkour was fun at first but got a bit tedious.

Gaga was relegated to performing on some steps, isolated from anything else. When the camera panned out, it just looked odd. As if she’d fallen out of a fire exit and decided to do an impromptu dance on a bit of concrete.

The threesome wouldn’t have been picked up by most kids, but still not sure why it was needed? By all means, include a bit of sauciness,flirtiness, love, and fun - but outright sexualisation isn’t appropriate for a family, global event. The parody of the Last Supper would be viewed as really disrespectful by some countries, same with the drag acts and the whole of that raunchy section. Is that really what France is saying embodies the best of their culture? Ok then…

When they got to the Eiffel Tower and there was a crowd (although lots of empty seats which is unheard of!!) - there was finally at atmosphere. The light show started well…..but then it went on and on with some strange bloke vogueing on the stage while the torch fucked off again with a bunch of non-French athletes/sports stars.

The balloon torch was striking. And Celine was magnificent.

There were some brilliant moments - but just moments.

Someone on Twitter described it like a load of Eurovision song intros mashed up together and I think that’s spot on.

It was disjointed, a bit trashy in parts, lacked atmosphere, very wet, and had lots of isolated performances.

No one minds bizarre but flat, boring, and divisive in parts, with barely any opportunity to see the actual competitors? Yeah, that’s pretty shit.

I really really don't get the outrage of drag, especially in the context of a show. Isn't it what pantomimes are all about?