China did it

[Killian Kalthorne]

The point of the show was to be entertained, right? If you were entertained does it matter if it is fake or not?

[Azarkon]

I agree, but it's also a good opportunity to bash China, as you might have noticed. IMO, the British media is especially hard on the ceremony... Could it be that they're lowering the bar for the London 2012?

[Killian Kalthorne]

They could always have David Tennent to run the last bit of the Torch run in his Doctor Who garb.

[julianw]

I agree, but it's also a good opportunity to bash China, as you might have noticed. IMO, the British media is especially hard on the ceremony... Could it be that they're lowering the bar for the London 2012?

 

Maybe. British press also reported the story about the Spain's basketball team picture that's supposed to be racist. (Apparently, the Spanish players posed together while slanting their eyes or something, which is not particularly funny but definitely not offensive imo.) I think media people just like to blow stuff out of proportion in order to make money and that's about it.

[Gorgon]

China deserves bashing, its a one party state. Since when did we get all touchy feely about calling a dictatorship what it is.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Gorgon

[Azarkon]

We never did make a distinction between the oppressive aspects of the Chinese regime and its handling of the Olympics. That's the problem. Nobody listens to a whiner, and we're being pretty damn whiny condemning everything the Chinese government does, regardless of severity. You can't expect to be taken seriously when a little bit of CG during the televised ceremony (that the crew actually admitted to a few days later) has you up in arms about how the Chinese government deceived the world. Being an objective critic requires tact, and at the moment we're not seeing alot of it from Western media.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Azarkon

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Yeah, I had some small amount of trust in their government for a while... but this (and a few other recent scandals on even the most basic of human rights) don't help.

[SteveThaiBinh]

This is ridiculous, and smacks of Brit-bashing. Imagine if the organisers of the London 2012 opening ceremony were to have a fake pretty girl miming because a government member had decreed the real singer 'not pretty enough'. There would be a public outcry from the British people, and rightly so. In fact, the member of government would almost certainly lose his/her job. So we're not supposed to hold the Chinese government to the same standard? Whether or not this fake singing incident is indicative of wider problems in China, whether or not it's being exploited by China-bashers, it remains a shoddy thing to have done. Who tells a little girl that she's not pretty enough to sing for her country?

[Killian Kalthorne]

Who tells a little girl that she's not pretty enough to sing for her country?

 

Um... The Chinese.

[Tigranes]

And the Americans, and everyone else, probably.

 

Come on, you don't think a Wetsern TV network wouldn't choose kid singers at a national event based on looks as well as patriotism / singing ability?

 

It wouldn't be a last-minute politburo switch order, but ugly kids would get cast aside in the selection process to begin with.

[Walsingham]

The kid's not ugly. Just not picture perfect. And yeah, that crap may fly in the States, but we're not quite as viciously Mendelian here yet.*

 

 

*Because we're all misshapen goofy lard-balls.

[Gorgon]

Justice for Yang Peiy NOW !!!11

[Killian Kalthorne]

The kid's not ugly. Just not picture perfect. And yeah, that crap may fly in the States, but we're not quite as viciously Mendelian here yet.*

 

 

*Because we're all misshapen goofy lard-balls.

As long as we don't cry out for a baby Ruth candy bar or Rocky Road ice cream I think its all good.

[Xard]

China deserves bashing, its a one party state. Since when did we get all touchy feely about calling a dictatorship what it is.

 

Communist party is today about is nowadays as hegemonious as party consisting of private owners, party loyals, farmers, officials etc. can be. It is entirely different deal than in 1980's. The voting situations aren't anymore simple Yes-No questions with everyone agreeing.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Xard

[Walsingham]

Can some clever chap please give an idiot's guide to the present Chinese government system?

[Killian Kalthorne]

Um... Communism and Oppression bad?

[Walsingham]

Alright, maybe not THAT much of an idiot.

[Azarkon]

This is ridiculous, and smacks of Brit-bashing. Imagine if the organisers of the London 2012 opening ceremony were to have a fake pretty girl miming because a government member had decreed the real singer 'not pretty enough'. There would be a public outcry from the British people, and rightly so. In fact, the member of government would almost certainly lose his/her job. So we're not supposed to hold the Chinese government to the same standard? Whether or not this fake singing incident is indicative of wider problems in China, whether or not it's being exploited by China-bashers, it remains a shoddy thing to have done. Who tells a little girl that she's not pretty enough to sing for her country?

 

Everybody.

 

Oh, they're not very blunt about it, here in the West. They just don't pick the ugly ones in the first place at time of audition. And instead of calling them ugly, they say, "you did well... But it just wasn't what we were looking for, sorry." It's an euphemism for the same thing.

 

The situation here, as I understand it after reading a bit deeper, is that it was a process of elimination. The staff had several candidates that they were trying to pick from, including Lin Miaoke, Yang Peiyin, some 10-year old, and maybe others, as well. Lin had the perfect look and stage presence, but her voice wasn't up to par. Yang had the perfect voice, but her stage presence and appearance wasn't what they wanted. Upon screening the board, which included both senior Politburo members and various directors (ie the people the planning committee answered to), it was decided that Yang simply did not have the right looks but that her voice was what they wanted. So, a compromise was struck and both girls got to perform. A bit shady, perhaps, but it's show business, where voice dubbing an actor/actress for the right effect is common.

 

The only real issue here is a matter of difference in perception: to Western audiences, the Olympics ceremony was apparently supposed to represent some sort of genuine performance, where everything they saw was "real."

 

To the Chinese, it was a show, and they treated it as such.

[Walsingham]

Then they should have done the decent thing, and bioengineered the two girls together into a dangerous singing monster, that would go on a rampage, cuteifying people left right and centre.

[Killian Kalthorne]

And they will need to wear bells that jingle each time they cutesy a victim.

[~Di]

Man, I can't believe how many people are supporting China's shallow deception by saying "everyone else does it too". Clearly y'all haven't seen some of the homely but lusty-lunged kiddies on American television.

 

And everyone else does NOT do it too.

[Azarkon]

There are ugly kids on Chinese television, too. It means nothing. Directors pick the kid that looks the part, and in this case the part demanded a cute kid with an awesome voice, so they made do with two (which is funny and sad, but not exactly an atrocity). Would it make you feel better if they had looked harder and found a kid who was both cute and could sing?

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Then they should have done the decent thing, and bioengineered the two girls together into a dangerous singing monster, that would go on a rampage, cuteifying people left right and centre.

 

Cutezilla?

[julianw]

Can some clever chap please give an idiot's guide to the present Chinese government system?

 

My information sources are pretty old but basically the supreme ruling body in the Chinese government is the parliament (usually 90% communists and 10% outsiders). Every four years, the parliament members vote for the chairman of the government body and once elected the chairman cannot serve more than two terms. (The winner is usually predetermined kinda like how Washington got the first presidency even though it

Edited August 14, 2008 by julianw

[Hurlshort]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/w...p&type=lgns

 

ROID RAGE!