Opening Ceremony Opinion Poll

[mr.x]

http://beat.bodoglife.com/entertainm...lar-15964.html

[Mike K.]

I couldn't get over the lame dancing of the folks dressed in white as the athletes entered BC Place. They were literally flailing around and it was embarrassing to watch.

And Gretzky's "torch run" could have been handled better. In between shots of him looking like he had something else on his mind (he switched between ice cold and frightened facial expressions), the sirens/horns of police cars, and groups of drunken followers huffing and puffing as they chased the truck made what should have been one of the finest moments of the ceremony a touch comedic and somewhat underwhelming.

[Yume-sama]

I think it was "Good".

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Mike K.

I couldn't get over the lame dancing of the folks dressed in white as the athletes entered BC Place. They were literally flailing around and it was embarrassing to watch.

Hahaha, I was laughing so hard at those guys. They looked like white Careltons and I agree it was embarrassing to watch.

[SpongeG]

they dance like that at a lot of openings i have seen - the music used here was hardly danceable though - at least greece had tiesto

[bils]

not good

1. dancing snowflakes lining the athletes were just embarrassing
2. the fiddler's shadow on the moon was completely out of sync
3. the cauldron mishap
4. the lip synching throughout
5. the complete unenthusiam of the speakers
6. way too much projections and far too few performers
7. wayne being trucked thru the city with total absence of security. what the hell?

i'm a major proponent of the olympics but i'm sorry, i was quite disappointed

[nova9]

Originally Posted by bils

not good

1. dancing snowflakes lining the athletes were just embarrassing
2. the fiddler's shadow on the moon was completely out of sync
3. the cauldron mishap
4. the lip synching throughout
5. the complete unenthusiam of the speakers
6. way too much projections and far too few performers
7. wayne being trucked thru the city with total absence of security. what the hell?

i'm a major proponent of the olympics but i'm sorry, i was quite disappointed

The moon shadow was competing WITH the fiddler. Out of sync. Are you kidding me?!?!

Thanks for just listing the negatives. What of the other segments? I highly doubt there was NOTHING for you at the ceremonies.

[SpongeG]

the moon shadow was competing thats how i saw it too - i didn't get the fiddler causing the ring to dance though they explained it on CTV and i didn't get it

[Ayreonaut]

Seriously? Lip syncing as a negative? Has there ever been a ceremony where that wasn't the case?

[SpongeG]

it was hard to tell - its expected

is this not the same forum where it was discussed to death about the VOC not wanting to participate if they were to be recorded...?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by bils

not good

1. dancing snowflakes lining the athletes were just embarrassing
2. the fiddler's shadow on the moon was completely out of sync
3. the cauldron mishap
4. the lip synching throughout
5. the complete unenthusiam of the speakers
6. way too much projections and far too few performers
7. wayne being trucked thru the city with total absence of security. what the hell?

i'm a major proponent of the olympics but i'm sorry, i was quite disappointed

I don't think you can give an opinion if you didn't understand what an Olympic Opening Ceremony is nor what happened last night.

1. Dancing snowflakes? They were children dressed in white gear as white was the theme of the night, and they were aligned boy-girl-boy-girl. Every Olympic Ceremony has people aligning together to create a path for athletes to walk along, and they are often dancing.

2. It was meant to be out of sync! The fiddler is competing with his shadow, it's based on a French-Canadian folk tale.

3. I'll give you that. But it really was a highly complex cauldron. You didn't have one cauldron, rather you had five cauldrons. The fourth one failed not because the fourth cauldron failed but because the trap door got jammed by the layer of fake snow/confetti on the stadium floor.

4. EVERY OLYMPIC CEREMONY HAS LIP SYNCHING. So much can go wrong, lip synching is a necessity with shows this large.

5. Huh? Speakers?

6. Too much projections? That's what made the ceremony spectacular. People are calling this ceremony simple and elegant.

As for too few performers, they had 4,500 performers at par with Salt Lake. And it was difficult for the organizers to find talented volunteer performers in the city.

7. I'll give you that as well.

[giallo]

I thought the ceremony was very good. Not perfect by any means, but I was enthralled by it. Maybe I'm just a bit home sick right now, so it resonated with me more so than if I was back in Vancouver.

The Chinese loved it btw. At least the ones I've talked to.

[Yume-sama]

Apparently the polar bear disappearing in the beginning was Global Warming propaganda. Or so I've read. From the opposite end of the crazy spectrum of those at CBC.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4355968698/

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by mr.x

I don't think you can give an opinion if you didn't understand what an Olympic Opening Ceremony is nor what happened last night.

Actually, no, I'm sorry, but people can give an opinion about whatever they want, informed or not. And keep in mind that if the user were just as uninformed as you say he is but he chose to agree with the majority on here and say that the ceremonies were great, you wouldn't be chastising him for being uninformed.

[SpongeG]

it was a spirit bear not a polar bear

[BCPhil]

I LOVED Wayne going through the city with everyone running after him.

It made it feel like OUR games, games for the people. It made it feel like the games are for everyone, not just "elitists" that paid tons to be in the stadium, but also for Joe six pack pounding one back in pub. They could have made it overly orchestrated and pretentious, but that is NOT Canada. Running down the street with people excited, happy and cheering, that IS Canada.

Having security line the street keeping people back, or some stupid elaborate method of getting him there, would have been just too American.

The most important and significant part of the opening, lighting the ever burning flame, was done outside, where anyone could have watched. It was done amongst the "unwashed masses". It brought the opening to the public. It was perfect.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Actually, no, I'm sorry, but people can give an opinion about whatever they want, informed or not. And keep in mind that if the user were just as uninformed as you say he is but he chose to agree with the majority on here and say that the ceremonies were great, you wouldn't be chastising him for being uninformed.

That's why the patient should always dictate what kind of surgery he needs...


It's equivalent to not reading a book, then giving an opinion on its contents.

[Mike K.]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Not everyone is an expert, but we have the freedom to be armchair commentators on what we saw and how it impacted us. If we need an elaborate pre-show educational session in order to understand the ceremony then the organizers failed us.

I personally felt the ceremony was underwhelming one minute, beautiful and breathtaking the next. My favourite moment was K.D. Lang's rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. She nailed it, and him being one of my favourite poets and songwriters the performance impacted me more than other parts of the show. Some spectators would feel the exact opposite, but it wouldn't be right for me to go on about Cohen's poetic genius and how we should all salute him for the contribution he's made on global literary arts.

[bils]

Originally Posted by mr.x

That's why the patient should always dictate what kind of surgery he needs...


It's equivalent to not reading a book, then giving an opinion on its contents.

hey mr.x, i got nothing but respect for you and everyone on this forum. don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to upset anyone with my opinions. i'm simply stating what i felt about friday night. i know everyone wants to hear positive comments about the olympics, and i'm probably one of the most sensitive people when i hear bad press about our city and our olympics. i went into friday night with the greatest hopes - but as the night went on, i simply felt that it was a let down. in terms of being uninformed, yes, i am probably relatively uninformed compared to some others on this forum. mr.x, over the years you have proved to be extremely knowledgeable. but certainly i am much more informed than the average person who watched those ceremonies, and there were many times i did not understand what was going on. simply my thoughts. i'm glad everyone else found the ceremonies to be great. i hope i'm the minority.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by BCPhil

I LOVED Wayne going through the city with everyone running after him.

It made it feel like OUR games, games for the people. It made it feel like the games are for everyone, not just "elitists" that paid tons to be in the stadium, but also for Joe six pack pounding one back in pub. They could have made it overly orchestrated and pretentious, but that is NOT Canada. Running down the street with people excited, happy and cheering, that IS Canada.

Having security line the street keeping people back, or some stupid elaborate method of getting him there, would have been just too American.

The most important and significant part of the opening, lighting the ever burning flame, was done outside, where anyone could have watched. It was done amongst the "unwashed masses". It brought the opening to the public. It was perfect.

Yep exactly. Not some scripted BS, just our country's best athlete ever with the flame out in the street.