Chinese pull a Milli-Vanilli! (Olympic related)

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Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

VERY LONG URL

Turns out the cute little tyke that sang the song at the Opening ceremony wasn't really singing it. She was lip syncing for another little tyke that had buck teeth and just wasn't cute enough to be shown to the entire world.

Oh, and some of the fireworks weren't real either.

Things are not going so well from a public relations standpoint for China.

(Mods, I started this one in a new thread because I didn't want to derail the Olympics thread that discussed the competition)

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

First of all, you can't derail the Olympics post. That would imply it's actually on the rails.

Second, your commentary on the news item is on the brink of veering into the oncoming train of politics, but by itself, is managing to stay on track.

However, I will be the engineer of justice and throw a switch causing this thread to enter the tunnel of deleted posts if others choose to make this a discussion over the merits of the Chinese political system, etc.

All aboard.

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:45 pm

That's a bit cruel to the poor girl that sang, but either way it was still a good show they put on.

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

*Makes vague and none controversial comments as to the nature of the media and modern celebrity*

*feeling slightly braver*

I think the girl with the buck teeth is kinda cute in herself. The mean comments after the story about it showing the ‘true ugliness under nice face of china’ are just nasty. It’s not a nice thing, but it’s what big bodies and private individuals think they have to do now with the media everywhere. Can’t remember who said it, but I remember agreeing with the statement that there is no way America would now have a president in a wheel chair, yet he was arguably one of the best.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

Woo-hoo! I stayed on the track!

I think the little girl with the "buck teeth" is cute. The other one is adorable. I would have preferred to see the song actually sung rather than lip-synced.

The point of my comment that veered towards the edge of the track and somehow managed not to fly off was that China has put a lot of effort into putting forth it's best face to the world, and they have taken pr hit after pr hit. I won't list them all here, and lord knows the media sometimes (many times) gets things wrong, but I would imagine that China is not too happy with some of the stories that have been coming out.

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:14 pm

^^ If I recall, he was rarely if ever actually shown in a wheelchair - I just did a Google image search for him and there were none on the first three pages.

The whole li--synching thing isn't outrageous in itself as obviously plenty of top stars do this. What was disappointing was that a seven year old girl was presumably told that she was too ugly to appear on camera, unless (I hope) they came up with a white lie.

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

It's a large organisation that feels it has to put it's best face forwards - I.e. the nature of celebrity meaning everyone is more concerned with appearance than substance.

I mean, what’s the worst that would have happened if the cute girl had sung rather than the adorable one lipsync? China would have been associated with a talented but less than adorable young girl? Is that really so bad, and if not, why did they think it important enough to do.

Insecurity affects more than teens nowdays.

[would like to note is still being careful]

@ Rorschach
And yet American candidates are still generally healthy, middle-aged, married, white men, preferably with a military history of some form. They’re safe; a man that might be pictured in a wheelchair is a political risk as he can be interpreted by the media. I admit that it has changed somewhat with the last run of elections, a woman and a black man, but I’m still not convinced that either of them will actually get in, despite the publicity.

[would like to point out that i'm not throwing stones, in our history britain has had one woman and Disraeli, other than that we've had white middle class...]

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:23 pm

Did you see that shopt in the opening ceremony of firework footpirints walking through Bejing?

Did you wonder how they did it?

CGI and in advance, that's how:

Quote:

Gao Xiaolong, head of the visual effects team for the ceremony, said it had taken almost a year to create the 55-second sequence. Meticulous efforts were made to ensure the sequence was as unnoticeable as possible: they sought advice from the Beijing meteorological office as to how to recreate the hazy effects of Beijing's smog at night, and inserted a slight camera shake effect to simulate the idea that it was filmed from a helicopter.

LINK

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:29 pm

The firework footprints were well known to be CGI - it was mentioned during the telecast, and the reporter was suitably impressed.

It's too bad about the little girl, and even more sad that people (and press) are using this to denegrate China. I wonder if the US or UK would have done any differently?

I hate to see an event that is supposed to promote peaceful coexistence twisted to support anyone's cultural or ethnic prejudices. I thought the ceremonies were wonderful, and I admire all the athletes and their abilities. Even when I was that young and in fairly good shape, I didn't have the drive and dedication to excel the way they do. They all deserve our applause.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Then there's this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080812/od_nm/guard_dc

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

Well he is fairly handsome. If you like the boyish look.

People are shallow - go figure.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

Quote:

Other guards have been given nicknames such as "Leading Handsome," "Ravishing Hand," "Kindness" and even "Noodle Soup."

How'd you like to be the guard with the nickname of "Noodle Soup"? Everyone else gets cool nicknames, but you're stuck with "Noodle Soup."

It's nice to see that the Hand has gotten more business.

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:11 am

I just can't wait till London 2012 opening ceremony, where professional Cock-er-ney entertainers Chas And Dave's Zimmerman frame collision cause a major Elf & Safety issue, leading to the evacuation of the stadium in the middle of 'Gertcha'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOiuDAPHxCE

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:27 pm

~ Titania,

I don't think the US or UK would have done things differently. As regards the next point, historically, the Olympics has always been more about the political, cultural and ethnic prejuidices than the sporting prowess of the athletes. At the risk of getting warned I could give a really long list of examples starting with the ancient world.

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:00 pm

@ Ariyeo I'm sure you're right that someone in a wheelchair would be unlikely to get in thse days. My point was that it appears likely that he likely wouldn't have back then either, and that spin isn't a new idea.. The press was obviously far more compliant then.....

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

and it's much more invasive now. It doesn’t allow people to get away with that kind of deception, and yet it requires it.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:25 am

The olympics is all about people with great abilities being able to showcase their talents. The Olympics is not about looks.
Even if this little girl were ugly (which she is far from) she should have been able to step out there in front of the world and sing. She has a special gift and forcing her to hide herself is not only cruel, but it sends the wrong message.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:01 am

So lets get this right. China has a population of 1.3 BILLION right. In a normal world 52% of them would be female, apart from the ones left on the orphanage doorstep that leaves approximately 27 females left. Of those two are tone deaf, one is too ugly but can sing and one is pretty but can't sing. Kerching,we have a solution to the cutesy cutesy girl at the opening ceremony dilemma. Bring on Chas and Dave 2012, that's all I can say.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:35 am

Chas & Dave? You'll be lucky. Haven't we sent out a hip-hop dance troupe for the closing ceremony in order to "celebrate London's cultural diversity?" Our song will probably be a rap by Scoopy Scoopy Dog Dog or something. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:43 pm

I just ran across this article:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/olympics/articles/2008/08/14/20080814underagechineseON.html

Personally I don't care what they have done, but if this is true, then they would ruin any credibility they ever had.

B

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:48 pm

I didn't know there was a minimum age to compete. Wasn't Nadia only 14 when she won all those gold medals in gymnastics during the 1976 games?

When was the age requirement put into action?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:55 pm

From here:
http://www.speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1387b-1.html

Quote:

In 1996, the Olympic committee tried to reverse this trend by creating a sixteen-year-old age minimum.

B

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

I think I'm going to go with the following comment:

[quote=MD5724]You see. It worked. The media has made you think that the Chinese cheated merely by suggesting it. They've offered no proof. Yet, you are condemning them. I think every one of those girls, both US and Chinese look young. That's because gymnasts are usually smaller in stature. I would find it tough to tell the age of any Asian woman. I think they always look younger than their age. So excuse me. I don't like cheaters. However worse than cheating is accusing somebody of cheating just because you lost. IF they cheated, fine, they're the best in the world, but they didn't follow Olympic rules. no Olympic medal. But, don't condemn them and cast suspicion until you have some proof. If you still want to condemn them, well maybe you're watching the Olympics with Elvis, Bigfoot, and the Lochness Monster. At least, that's the type of journalism you're buying into. [/quote]

some of the people on there were using the fact that the government issue the passports as evidence that the passports were faked - cause that's logical and conclusive?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:09 pm

^^ Fair enough.

Like I said, I really don't care either way. If China (or any other country) cheated then they will have to bear the backlash.

If they didn't then more power to them for winning.

B

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:07 pm

I know about the no politics rule on Eater, but this is a clear example of the politicisation of the Olympics, and a topic that would get me a warned tag if it were to be discussed in a bit more detail. Because winning is more important than competing fairly.

The pity is that the Olympics get soo much attention when what should be the true spirit of the Olympics is overshadowed. Bring people together and to bring peace to a troubled world.

The Sudan Peace Olympics - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/africa_sudan0s_peace_olympics/html/1.stm

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