Westerners and Chinese Alike Criticize Beijing Opening Cermonies

BEIJING -- In the aftermath of a dazzling opening ceremony dubbed by the world's media its "coming out party," China appears to be experiencing a premature hangover. Less than a week after Beijing claimed center stage for the inauguration of the 29th Olympics, a growing chorus of Chinese and foreign voices is criticizing the ceremony, albeit for slightly different reasons.

Among Chinese critics, the consensus is that the the ceremony did not live up to artistic and cultural expectations, while Western commentators have tended to focus on the symbolic meaning of the ceremony, and the methods by which it was produced.

"Ordinary people had been hearing about this for so long that when it happened, they expected it to be more spectacular," Lulu Wang, an English translator in Beijing, told World Politics Review, reflecting the Chinese view.

The opening ceremony began precisely at 8:08 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2008, capitalizing on the lucky implications of the number 8 in China.

The climax saw a giant globe rise from the center of the stadium, circumnavigated by clinging dancers and topped by a duet in Chinese and English. Spectacular fireworks blazed into the night sky and later the stadium floor was covered with a sea of children's faces imprinted on giant cards. Across Beijing, more fireworks erupted in an aerial display intended by the Chinese hosts to remind the world that they invented the art.

But the view of the fireworks show that was broadcast around the world was later revealed to have been partially computer-generated. The computer-generated footage was created months in advance by Chinese officials fearful that Beijing's hazy skies would obscure pictures of the fireworks show.

Another bit of showbiz sleight-of-hand was revealed Wednesday by a whistleblower, who reported that the 9-year-old Chinese girl who sang during a segment of the ceremony was in fact lip-syncing to the voice of another girl. The crooked teeth of the 7-year-old who gave voice to the performance apparently played into a decision to use the more photogenic youngster, though Chinese officials said it was simply a matter of choosing the best voice and the best performer.

The ceremony earned official broadcaster NBC the highest overnight ratings of any non-U.S. summer opening ceremony in history.

USA Today's reviewer described it as "sort of Albert Speer meets Star Wars. As memorable and impressive as that opening, pounding, screaming drum corps may have been, it was also the least welcoming 'welcome' ever recorded -- and having the drummers smile during it just made it seem odder and a bit chilling."

With months of advance billing in the U.S. media as the night when China would reveal its new power, much of the press corps in Beijing was expecting an intimidating ceremony. Corridor chat by Western reporters was complimentary of the Chinese infrastructure and organization, but revealed some disappointment that the show did not live up to some predictions that it would be a militaristic spectacle.

But a certain military precision was involved in organizing the vast numbers of people who participated in the show, and a significant portion of the ceremony's 16,000 performers were drawn from song and dance units of the Peoples' Liberation Army. Multiple commentators interpreted the highly coordinated production numbers as a Chinese statement about the benefits of collectivism over Western-style individualism.

According to the traditional narrative of economic history, "societies get more individualistic as they develop," columnist David Brooks noted in the New York Times.

"But what happens if collectivist societies snap out of their economic stagnation? What happens if collectivist societies, especially those in Asia, rise economically and come to rival the West? A new sort of global conversation develops."

"The opening ceremony in Beijing was a statement in that conversation," Brooks wrote. "It was part of China's assertion that development doesn't come only through Western, liberal means, but also through Eastern and collective ones."

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