A Spectacular Spectacle

If your memory still serves, I request you to recall the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics 2008, which shouldn't be too difficult a task given its impressive brilliance. I still remember that night four years ago, when I watched it at home with my family, utterly speechless and in awe. Just in the unlikely case of premature dementia, here it is:

The flawlessly sychronised mass choreography, the billions-invested fantastic digital effects, the little girl in red serenading with her tender voice, etc, etc. Everything could be concluded by one word - spectacular. Despite the subsequent embarrassing discovery that the voice didn't belong to the little pretty singer , which is quite comprehensible and if not expected under the context of China, the ceremony did not seem to have failed to amaze and astonish.

Cultural critics loathed it though, accusing the whole extravaganza a mere spectacle that empties the lived experience into a hollow, two-dimensional, commodified representation that represents inaccurately. In other words, it's all fake, it's after all yet another show to be consumed globally.

BUT - and thats a big but - the fact is that even rewatching the ceremony on Youtube still sends chills down my spine. I might be nationally biased, but I honestly couldn't name any subsequent events that are comparable to such opulent grandeur -

Until I watched the Diamond Jubilee Concert live when I was in England. It didn't come under the package of high-technology or awe-inspiring spatial vastness. Well in fact the stage was rather tiny, and some performer choices questionable (e.g. JLS). However, as I watched the Brits sing God Saves the Queen and Land of Hope and Glory, the same old chill seized me. It was at that moment when I began to anticipate the opening ceremony of London Olympics.

That said, I am not expecting yet another ceremony surpassing China's in terms of magnificence, which in my opinion is only an ill-advised attempt in terms of feasibility and budget. I was therefore quite certain that the committee would perhaps opt for a more British (i.e. humble and subtle) alternative to avoid direct comparisons.

Well indeed, when the ceremony details were revealed, I wasn't surprised at all that they will be showcasing livestock, meadow, cricket, and most importantly, rain:

If you still remember, one of the biggest bewilderments in Beijing Olymipics was the attempt to artificially clear out the sky. The british way here is ironically reverse in that they will chemically manufacture cloud and rain, making sure that the spectator will have a taste of the ultimate British experience. But honestly, wouldn't that only be redundant?

It might be called a spectacle, but the study of which will tell us numerous things about a culture's imaginaries. And I must say that I am utterly thrilled to watch how they will cleverly maneuver sheep and clouds to redefine British-ness.