Come on Spoons; don't be obtuse, he is the perfect metaphor for Britain.
London 2012 Opening Ceremony
- Thread starter Nick 0208 Ldn
- Start date
Come on Spoons; don't be obtuse, he is the perfect metaphor for Britain.
A bumbling idiot? He's a metaphor for our monarchy.
Just finished watching the entire ceremony. It was brilliant. The two things I found funny about it were the James Bond and Queen segment and the Mr. Bean segment, which was absolutely hilarious. Starting from the Industrial Revolution to the rise of the rings and the lighting of the torch, it was amazing. Fantastic job from Danny Boyle and the people of England.
History of UK, culture, inclusiveness of all minorities, marketing of the country all made for a enjoyable few hours. I personally thought it was geared more towards the middle aged and the elderly, which could be the reason younger people might not have felt the same impact.
The Industrial revolution was a load of sugar coated shite , the history of British music made no sense , the Queen looked like she was dragged away from an episode of corrie , Mr bean was mildly amusing (not his best character) , all in all good in parts.
Really? I don't think the word LOLZ has a place in the Olympics, but it was included last night too.
Nah, it was aimed at the younger generation, if anything. I mean.. JKR, Dizzy Rascal...that awful internet/Sims thing, Mr fecking Bean, David Beckham et al?
I liked it. It celebrated and honoured things the country should actually be proud of, and at the same time stuck two fingers up at most of the things I hate about Britain (i.e. The Tories).
Even the ending bit with the construction workers forming the guard of honour and then the torch lighting being handed to some unknown kids instead of some priveliged tosspot or David Beckham.
Complete contrast to the utter poe faced twattery that is Wimbledon from a few weeks ago.
Even the ending bit with the construction workers forming the guard of honour and then the torch lighting being handed to some unknown kids instead of some priveliged tosspot or David Beckham.
Complete contrast to the utter poe faced twattery that is Wimbledon from a few weeks ago.
Thankfully I fell asleep before the arrival of King David .....
I'm with Plech and the others. Am not British and I had no idea what was going on. Found it extremely boring.
It had boring parts - what olympic opening ceremony doesn't? - but it had some memorable ones and that's the important thing.
Was watched by just under 27 million people in the UK last night.
I thought it was a giant waste of money. Get the teams to come out there, wave a bit, and feck off.
Opening ceremonies are always a giant waste of money, and boring, and never make any sense. This one was just less poe faced than any of the others I've failed to sit through. It didnt seem to care that it was a fumbling mess.
Spoony fecking loves contemporary dance
28.5 watched Corrie on Christmas day in 87 or 85. I have no idea how I almost know that.
I thought it was brilliant
Great opening ceremony
Bollocks. And I've heard a few people say the great thing about the opening ceremony was that it wasn't over the top like Beijing.. Thing is we've spent 15odd billion on a pointless waste of money in troubled times, so, shouting aren't we great at being humble reeks of hypocrisy. May be that's just me though, being a fan of contemporary dance and all that...(must look up contemporary dance....)
The Beijing one was so much better. It was actually visually brilliant to watch. This just had bad caricatures, a playlist of famous songs and a grumpy queen.
Apart from the drumers, what was in the Beijing one?
I don't actually remember what it involved. I just remember being entertained (I think).
It's the Caf which seems to be specialising in the grumpy queen caricature.
What do you all remember of the Beijing ceremony? A hoard of drummers and a guy on a wire? Computer generated fireworks for TV audiences only?
Was there an attempt at any positive or sporting symbolism?
Hey, it was fun! These should be fun not dull!
Beijing might have well have been done by robots. It was soulless and seemed like some sort of show of might from an oppressive leadership. There was also the forced/child labour controversy.
At least last night had some element of fun for all involved, including the performers themselves.
At least last night had some element of fun for all involved, including the performers themselves.
thought the London ceremony was a joyous occasion. excellent production all round.
much better than the Beijing one, which was more about synchronization than a celebration.
much better than the Beijing one, which was more about synchronization than a celebration.
It was lame. She jumps out of a plane and before she's landed she walks out into the stadium? She probably came out before she was supposed to. And then she made a really annoyed face while she was getting a standing ovation.
Also, do you think many non-Brits will remember anything from this ceremony 4 years on? All I will remember is that I found it dull.
It basically was an anti-Beijing. Everything it had Beijing did the opposite.
Incoherent, mad, self-deprecating, full of in-jokes and esoteric cultural references, ugly kids singing (take that Beijing), multiculturalism, subversive themes....
I thought it was cracking for basically the reasons Plech didn't like it. It would have been better if Branagh played Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter though.
Incoherent, mad, self-deprecating, full of in-jokes and esoteric cultural references, ugly kids singing (take that Beijing), multiculturalism, subversive themes....
I thought it was cracking for basically the reasons Plech didn't like it. It would have been better if Branagh played Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter though.
That's the thing. I can see why British people loved it. But this is a WORLD event. You have to be more inclusive and if you're going to make it a showcase of all things British, then at least do so keeping in mind that people from other countries don't know that much about your country. It seemed arrogant in a sense. Like "we're making this for us so..".
The emphasis on youth and children has been consistent right from Singapore to the present, the hope is for that ot be taken forward. London had a human element and a sense of enjoyment, not something which i would attach to Beijing.
Just look at the people who were chosen to carry the Olympic flag and the symbolism there. If there were political elements such as the suffragettes or the NHS they were wholly positive.
As was remarked upon earlier n the thread, the performers and volunteers looked like they were having fun too.
Beijing had awe in places but what other emotions even for someone who is Chinese?
Well now they do know more about our country. An opening ceremony should be celebrating the host city/country, I don't want to be spoon fed cultural stereotypes that I'm already aware of.
You'd have to ask the chinese. I'm not sure how most of the world even understood that. And I think it's better for most of the world to be amazed rather than confused.
It's true that it didn't take itself too seriously. But nor do Ant and Dec, Goldie Lookin Chain, or Walsall FC... and they're still shit.
You do. Anyway I've seen Akram Khan live (I was forced to), and what he did last night was really mediocre compared to his usual stuff, he's amazing (if you like dance, which you do).
But there is some middle ground between the somewhat sinister autocracy / automatism of Beijing, and the structureless 'madcap' rubbishness of last night.
One thing I will grant you, on reflection, is that the NHS bit, even if ridiculous, was an impressive thing to do politically. Though it would have been better if fireworks had spelt out the enormous words 'Lansley is a cnut' across the sky of east London.
No, not really. Because I couldn't understand any of it.
The pop/rock classic sections included songs I like and already know, but it was done so shoddily. A bunch of wannabe looking youngsters with some strange side story including "LOLZ" speech bubbles dancing to classics mixed in quite an ordinary manner. Would have been better had they possibly gotten contemporary artists to do quick renditions of classic songs. I mean something other than just playing old songs.
I thought the reaction to him was just bizarre. I saw Sky earlier hailing it as a masterclass in comedy. What?! How can anyone who is not still a child, find Mr Bean funny now? It's not just weird, it's a bit embrassing. Should have just ran Chris Morris's pedo special on the big screens, now that would have been a tribute to our comedy.
Exactly. This is it in a nutshell, the texting bit....right....because that's unique to London isn't it, and what a transition from the IR to Modern London, with no bridge between. The NHS tribute on reflection wasn't bad, if only because Cameron had to sit there and be involved in telling the world what a national treasure and achievement it is.
NBC didn't broadcast live, they actually waited till it was over, filled it with adverts and launched it at prime time. They know what they're after.
The NHS part was very good... And are all bedtime stories scary? Also don't you lot think the multicultural angle seemed to be far too much back slapping? And whether it was anti Beijing or not... It still was a tremendous waste of cash. Heh, we're great we can waste cash in a more humble manner! But yeah, Beijing was far too over the top, I guess the Chinese just wanted to tell the world it's got very large biceps.
Yeah, he was only there to appeal to the global audience...surprised Benny Hill wasn't involved in some holographic way. British humour is the best.. It's something to be proud of, it's a shame we pandered to a worldwide audience instead of showcasing British humour. I suspect Boyle will say... We were just taking the piss out of ourselves. Or something.