Patriotic Orgy Again

 The American Team and U.S. Olympic Coverage

Watched the opening ceremony. (Peacock/NBC)

When the U.S. team came out they were chanting “USA, USA, USA” like a Trump rally.  15% of the players are not inoculated from CoVid.  Once in the stadium, some took off their masks for selfies and photos.  They were wearing more ugly Ralph Lauren clothing creations.  The most nationalist team of all.  May they lose.

NBC’s lame narrators broke into the parade of nations several times to have useless chats with Megan Rapinoe and other U.S. athletes.  We were treated to photos of the team on the bus, chanting USA again, while other nations entered the stadium.  Then there are the ads ... as other nations walked in.  NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie castigated China and several other U.S. government enemies in their introductions, but not one unkind word about the many dictatorships favored by the U.S.  Viewers will be greeted by coverage of events where U.S. athletes are competing or are expected to place well, but no one else.  In spite of all the hokum about ‘living in peace’ and internationalism, at bottom this is another orgy of nationalism, waste and advertising.  From what I could tell Lennon’s song “Imagine” was censored related to the lines about “no religion, no countries” and “no possessions.”  It’s a commie song, folks.

The Japanese contributions – including a great piano solo by Hiromi, a funny tech bit of turning on all the lights in Tokyo, a drone ‘world’ hovering above the stadium, a performance of pictograms – were at least uplifting.  This in spite of all the public monies wasted on venues and other niceties of the Olympics.  Make Greece the permanent home of the Olympics and remove the advertising, profiteering and product placement, professionalism, hero worship and national flags.  We need a proletarian Olympics once again.

After watching some events (NBC shows mostly swimming, gymnastics, track and maybe basketball...):  When did it become practice for winners to wrap themselves in their national flag?  It is also now the practice that big winners get corporate advertising contracts, which seems now to be the point of winning.

Here is more detail on nationalist and racist coverage by Brit and U.S. media:  https://nomadicthoughts.blogs.sapo.pt/sinophobia-russophobia-and-western-124071?fbclid=IwAR3hmPJPnMA9mSeoZe5-928ENGkkT-h4mmkUBpYyKh1CriDbAN0MeQzjfDQ

Prior blog reviews on this issue, use blog search box, upper left, to investigate our 14 year archive:  “Reflections on the 2012 Olympics,” “Playing as if the World Mattered,” “Antifascism, Sports, Sobriety,” “Hey, how ‘bout that NFL?” “Rich People Things,” “Missoula,” “The English Game,” “The Football Factory,” “Concussion,” “One Night in Miami.”  

Red Frog

July 23, 2021