It was just a bunch of people, of all shapes and colors, moving in unison.Īnd at that moment-at that ordinary, human, surprisingly beautiful moment-even NBC couldn’t cut away.From this end, they had their ups and downs, their hits and misses, their loonies and ptooies. Broken into smaller and smaller fragments, the light seemed to burst, and the function of the Games in a tumultuous world finally began to register: A dance party erupted, with much the same kinesthetic joy as sport itself, and without the crush of commerce. To a distinct, percussive thrum, framed by shifting boxes of light, figures in red faced off against figures in gold and silver on the floor of the Maracanã, representing divides of race and class that have periodically threatened to pull the country apart. Indeed, it was the ceremony’s most explicit reference to the clash-and collaboration-of cultures that led to the night’s most stunning sequence, at least until the Brazilian delegation concluded the Parade of Nations and the ignition of the Olympic torch. Photo by Heuler Andrey/AGIF/REX/Shutterstock A winsome tribute to Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont featured an animated flight past Rio’s most iconic landmarks, as if spliced in from a sequel to “Up.” Opening Olympic ceremony in Rio 2016. Performers representing those stolen to Brazil during the years of the Atlantic slave trade wore heavy boxes on their dragging feet. The crowd could be heard singing the national anthem, accompanied by a single guitar and a handful of strings. If the comparatively low budget let to a few disappointing moments in their brief narrative of Brazil from the beginning of the world to the present day-I’ve seen more convincing “nature” effects at a Rainforest Cafe-it nonetheless offered a chance for more than one sequence with pared-down power. It’s hard to blame NBC for selling itself less so for skirting the issues facing Brazil, given the rather forthright content of Meirelles and Thomas’ energetic production. There were only the “undeniable realities of political controversy,” the need to “put the headlines aside,” the desire to “hit the reset button.” Money talks-or doesn’t, as the case may be. Phillip/AP/REX/ShutterstockĪs to the Olympics themselves, of course-which have strained the country’s budget in the midst of an economic downturn, caused untold infrastructural headaches, and displaced thousands, per The Nation’s Dave Zirin-never was heard a discouraging word. Gisele Bundchen at the Rio 2016 opening Olympics ceremony. “It’s complicated when it comes to politics here in Brazil,” Lauer noted as acting president Michel Temer greeted the crowd, echoing his colleagues’ uncertain allusions to the political turmoil in Brazil, including the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. The spirit that prevailed on the network was in fact one of commerce, which sat uneasily alongside both the theatrics inside the stadium and the real world beyond. We could expect “a spirit of revelry that endures in the face of everything else,” Costas promised in his opening voiceover, but if Meirelles and Thomas ultimately delivered on this point, it was not exactly NBC’s doing: After all, the one highlight of this introductory interlude, the jubilant mugging of the track-and-field team during an interview with star runner Allyson Felix, was unplanned. Hopeful images-of Rio, of the athletes, of Olympics past-unspooled, burnished with bright colors. Professional golfer David Feherty interviewed President Obama. In the 35 minutes that passed before the actual ceremony even began, for instance, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, and Hoda Kotb chattered on with the tight smiles and forced enthusiasm of put-upon store clerks a “Meet the Commentators”-style montage introduced us to Mary Carillo (playing soccer), Tom Brokaw (riding horseback), and Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir (enjoying a parade).
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