The Chinese are all about appearances. Look no further than several reports coming out now about how parts of the "stunning" opening ceremony were actually manipulated for our viewing pleasure.
The Chinese Version of Milli Vanilli
First, there was the adorable little girl who lip-synced her way through a song actually performed by a different girl who simply wasn't cute enough for public consumption. Damn, that's harsh. For all of our faults here in the U.S., at least we would've allowed the real girl to sing, don't you think?
Cue Balmy Breezes
If you read my last post, you know I saw part of the broadcast, mostly where the athletes enter the stadium, so I didn't see the girl "perform" myself. But I did notice how wonderfully breezy it was there in Beijing, as the Chinese and Olympic flags fluttered majestically---or did they? Turns out, the freakin' wind was fake, too! God forbid you have a production with flaccid flags! As a remedy, they used some wind machine in the flag poles.
A Fireworks Facade
Oh, but I did see those outstanding fireworks. We all ooohed and ahhhed and enjoyed the spectacle. But turns out, what we saw on the television wasn't real fireworks, either! Something about the smog being so bad that no one would actually see them, so the Chinese spent a year producing a CGI version to broadcast over TV to wow us. They say the fireworks actually happened but we just saw the enhancements. There's more details in this article.
This is all just too fake for me. Add to that comments some have made about the forced smiles and facial expressions of some of the performers, and I just feel like I'm being sold some lemon of a car dolled up to look like a Porsche. Hmm, how can you trust a people, a nation who show you what you want to see rather than what's real? Not something I can identify with.
Look Before You Purchase
And yet, China is inescapable. Last week, I bought a new polo shirt and some socks only to get home and realize both tags said: "Made in China!" I didn't even look before my purchase. And they were so pretty. The polo shirt is this great purple color and socks are purple argyle.
Then I go to an office supply store to buy a holder for business cards, and this time I'm checking tags. Would you believe everything they had, every brand, was "Made in China?" Every single one. What are you going to do? So I bought one rather than drive aimlessly all over town on some hunt.
The U.S./China Co-dependency
Yep, we Americans have pretty much become China's bitch. And in no small part due to the need of our homegrown corporations to reach Chinese consumers and make more money. On the way home from my friend's house this weekend, my partner and I made a few pee breaks. He's very particular about where he pees, so we ended up stopping twice at a McDonald's (an Olympic sponsor). Rather than fight over where we pee, I gave in. Most of the little towns where we stopped don't have much else besides a McD's. And we had to eat, too, so we also ordered food. Again, what are you gonna do?
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