Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

[Mowich]

Ah, VanIsle, thank you so much for sharing those with us. I enjoyed reading both of them so much.

 

[VanIsle]

You are most welcome. I hope others enjoyed them as well.

 

[Kreskin]

I'm sorry to say I was not at all impressed. I didn't catch the opening ceremonies, and only a bit of the closing ceremonies... but what I did catch wasn't that great. I'm not overly comfortable with the idea of tooting our own horn quite so brazenly... it seemed a bit over the top. What I saw had the same bad taste as the whole "Own the podium" campaign... it felt like someone hijacked my Canadian-ism and defiled it a bit. All that "Lookit us! Lookit Us!" ... ugh.

The hokiest of all were those canoes and ginormous beavers romping around the stage. I have to admit, I laughed out loud - literally - but not with them. I dunno, the whole Canada/BEAVER thang... it's funny ... on a couple different levels. WTH. Is that the best we could come up with? I read a review that said it was campy. That's exactly what I thought. We could have really done a class act with this. But we didn't.

But we did say sorry. Sorry for winning all those gold medals. That was pretty Canadian lol.

 

[Slim Chance]

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion.

The following is what prompted me to respond:

The opening show, made it look as if the general consensus was that the whole of Canada embraced the very culture they highlighted.

The 4 honourary heads of state?

The costumes?

The dancing?

A lie!

This is not a political statement, as much as it is just a misrepresentation of fact. The portrayal of Natives in the opening ceremony, was not how we are viewed day to day, by both the Gov't and the general populace.

Ultimately, those FN representatives that assisted in organizing and participated in the event either did not feel the same as you or somehow they were forced.

This theme of stereotyping cultures exists for all cultures, nations, religions, etc.. It's a part of the identity of these groups (for good or bad) and rightly or wrongly, it is what is associated in terms of the identity by outsiders.

 

[VanIsle]

We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time, but we will,
eventually; just like we did when we invented the zamboni.
This statement was in one of the "letters" I added to this thread. We are in fact, not responsible for the making of the Zamboni here in Canada. Mr. Zamboni, the inventor, did his inventing in California so - that said - we'll apologize again and state that we were wrong. There is a Zamboni plant in Ontario though.

 

[CDNBear]

Except for both opening and closing renditions of our national anthem - neither of which I appreciated, I thoroughly enjoyed both presentations.

Dear gawd, I couldn't agree with you more.

About three notes into he Anthem both times, I yelled at the TV, "Just sing the ****ing song!". I hate when they try to stylize it.

I especially got a kick out of the theme of the closing ceremonies - making fun of ourselves. Yeah some of us really do think the moose should be a national symbol of Canada, right alongside the Beav. Some of us also like the fact that no nation on earth has such snazzy police uniforms, nor the legend and history they speak to. Heck, there are even some of us who got teary-eyed as the building erupted in a sustained ovation following John Furlongs' thank you to the athletes of the world. Hearing the opening bars of The Maple Leaf Forever almost instantly took some of us back to grade school when we sang it every day, as we now sang it with Michael.

And you know what? If the Native community had participated more in that, spoofing ourselves as it were, I would have laughed.

Well, I'm glad I had no part in planning the ceremonies. Trying to "do it right" would be pretty much impossible, given the apparently high numbers of people who stand by to ambush the first person who tries to do something a bit different.

Sometimes it pays to look for something good in an event. The payoff is, the critic(s) might end up feeling a little better about the country and move a bit closer to the optimistic side of things. You know, spread a little sunshine and all that...

I didn't miss all the athletes. They were the most positive thing about the Olympics. AS they should have been.

The following is what prompted me to respond:

Still not seeing it.

Ultimately, those FN representatives that assisted in organizing and participated in the event either did not feel the same as you or somehow they were forced.

:roll:

This theme of stereotyping cultures exists for all cultures, nations, religions, etc.. It's a part of the identity of these groups (for good or bad) and rightly or wrongly, it is what is associated in terms of the identity by outsiders.

I'll have to remember that the next time I'm teaching my boys to be better then.

Should make it so much easier.

 

[Mowich]

Quoting CDNBear:

For had it been an honest representation of how the average Canadian sees the Native community, you would have seen brand new snowmobiles, drunks, the slaughter of hundreds of Moose for no reason, crates of guns being dragged across imaginary boundaries, violent confrontations between masked MWS members and the OPP, faux roadblocks and scores of contraband smoke shops on wheels being dragged around by dancing gas huffing juvenile delinquents. All set to the tune "Ball of confusion" by Love and Rockets.

I guess I have to categorize myself as an un-average Canadian then, Bear. I don't happen to agree with the stereotypical natives that you speak of in your post. Most of the native people I know are hard-working members of society and they, like us, truly enjoyed the ceremonies and the games. They were not the only members of the native community to do so either, as you may read about in the following links.

http://blogs.usask.ca/iportal/2010/02/first_nation_leaders_see_olymp.html
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/84248972.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-2010-Olympics-Opening-Ceremony-from-a-Native-Perspective
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2470042

 

[CDNBear]

Quoting CDNBear:


I guess I have to categorize myself as an un-average Canadian then, Bear. I don't happen to agree with the stereotypical natives that you speak of in your post. Most of the native people I know are hard-working members of society and they, like us, truly enjoyed the ceremonies and the games. They were not the only members of the native community to do so either, as you may read about in the following links.

http://blogs.usask.ca/iportal/2010/02/first_nation_leaders_see_olymp.html
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/84248972.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-2010-Olympics-Opening-Ceremony-from-a-Native-Perspective
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2470042

Awesome, you couldn't have missed the point any more if you had made it a concerted effort...:roll:

eta: I have several more glaringly positive articles written by Natives, including a reporter who is Onondaga as well, and a good friend of mine, from far more legitimate Native news sources.

My opinion, is my opinion, and shaped by my perceptions, which of course, was shaped by my life experiences.

I find it troubling that you feel I must think like every other Native to have an honest opinion...

 

[Risus]

My opinion, is my opinion, and shaped by my perceptions, which of course, was shaped by my life experiences.

Do you get out much?

 

[#juan]

Here is a link to the whole opening ceremony:

CTV Olympics - The Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

The new Canada Line trains were purchased from South Korea and not Bombardier.. I could not believe Canada could not make these trains but hey, what else is new..



CBC News - British Columbia - New Canada Line trains double capacity of current SkyTrain cars

My mistake, this was a public private partnership. So the feds I guess had less say in the matter and couldn't continue to support that privately owned Crown corporation, Bombardier.

There are no Olympic Games without federal/natiional govt participation, and they paid big bucks to help pay for the Games so they get a say on certain things. Unfortunately the Opening Ceremony was one area they had too much input.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Sure, the government paid for a portion of the games, but they had nothing to do with the contents of the ceremony. That was the producer of the show and the VANOC.
Don't be racist. What is wrong with putting the aboriginals front and center???? The aboriginals are part of our beginning history. Wake up.

For VANOC to deal with aboriginals they need fed govt participation, it may not be formal but it is there.

I'm not racist. I have met and worked with aboriginals and I don't consider them inferior. I think however their traditional cultures are a thing of the past. Like I think imperialism is a thing of the past but I can like a person who think its okay.

Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.

I kind of like totem poles, being a phallic symbol and all. You don't hear the feminists whining about aboriginal phallic symbolism or the phallousocracy.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

You are negative about a lot of subjects in these forums.

I am merely correcting many erroneous ideas out there. Enhancing the enlightenment of the masses as a public service.

Don't you want to know that a vlolent convicted criminal who associates with known gang members was allowed to stay in Canada? A man who poked the eye out of another rman in a fight and said it was an accident. If you don't find that fascinating, if not gruesome, then it just makes me work harder. But then, I don't watch horror movies.

I'll let you know if I win the lottery.

 

[Kreskin]

I don't see what the ruckus is all about. I suppose it's impossible to make everyone happy. The Games were inclusive. The Chiefs and head honchos sat together. The show was good. Very few people got mugged and robbed. Steroids were a non-issue. The sporting events were spectacular. The world was impressed. It hardly rained. The sun showed up.

Mostly good in my books.

 

[talloola]

Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.


you talk about first nations as though they are not really
people, like you or I,are just people.
They
weren't put in the show, they participated in the show.
They have a brain and a desire to either do it or not.

It obviously was something they wanted to do, and I enjoyed
their part of the show immensley.

It was all very beautiful, and nice to see all people
entertaining together happily. Of course there is a
need to improve relations with the first nations, and
it is improving with time, give it a chance, nothing
negative here.

 

[Liberalman]

Aborigionals were represented and since they own this country by the treatise it was right

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

[you talk about first nations as though they are not really
people, like you or I,are just people.
They weren't put in the show, they participated in the show.
They have a brain and a desire to either do it or not.

It obviously was something they wanted to do, and I enjoyed
their part of the show immensley.

It was all very beautiful, and nice to see all people
entertaining together happily. Of course there is a
need to improve relations with the first nations, and
it is improving with time, give it a chance, nothing
negative here.

In some ways aboriginals are not just ordinary people in Canada, they are groups of people who have contracts or treaties with the federal govt. Like the rest of us they have MPs and MLAs to represent them, but they have more in their treaty status. I have no treaty with the fed govt, nor part of any group that does.

Like many Canadians talloola, it is clear to me you don't like to talk about politics, I do. A democracy is all about politics. Aboriginals have a political agenda, deal with it.

I'm just of the opinion that Canadians do sports much better than they do mass entertaining spectacles like opening and closing ceremonies for big sporting events. You can't have it all I guess.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Aborigionals were represented and since they own this country by the treatise it was right

Aboriginals don't own this country.

 

[Risus]

For VANOC to deal with aboriginals they need fed govt participation, it may not be formal but it is there.

I'm not racist. I have met and worked with aboriginals and I don't consider them inferior. I think however their traditional cultures are a thing of the past. Like I think imperialism is a thing of the past but I can like a person who think its okay.

Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.

I kind of like totem poles, being a phallic symbol and all. You don't hear the feminists whining about aboriginal phallic symbolism or the phallousocracy.

The only totem poles I know of are in BC. I haven't seen any in Ontario, Quebec or NB on or near any of their reserves or communities. Well maybe a couple near souvenir shops for the tourists. So your argument on that point is BS. It is my understanding that a good part of the area that the games were held at was originally aboriginal, so I see no problem in having them take part in the ceremonies. After all, they were the original 'Canadians'.
And, yes, I think you are racist.