Poor old France. A country once iconic for flair and fashion, faltered on the waters of the Seine River. There were some very lovely and memorable highlights, including seeing and hearing Céline Dion once again and despite her health struggles. But so much fell flat, partly I think because of the choice to host outside a stadium. Somewhat symbolically, this decision showed the opening was more about selective values-promotion than sport.
Of course the most egregious and outrageous part of this opening ceremony was the deliberate and intentional mocking of the Last Supper. As we all know, this a very important moment in Christian history and one beautifully depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s mural in Milan. That Paris’ Olympic officials thought that a bunch of poor performing drag queens should mock and deride this moment of history and art - in celebration of diversity and inclusion - is mind boggling and hypocritical.
This display of disdain and derision of Christianity was intentional and deliberate. It was no accident. But the contrast between the choreography in Paris and the art of Da Vinci is striking. Da Vinci’s depiction of the Last Supper is as profound as it is beautiful. You do not even have to be Christian to admire the artistry and beauty of what he painted. In contrast, the Olympic rendition was tawdry, tasteless, and just plain terrible. The mural celebrates the good and is beautiful in consequence; the other is ugly and only highlights the opposite of good.
As noted, the director of the opening said the day was also about tolerance and inclusion. This might come as a surprise to all the Christian athletes from around the world and those watching on television. Yet we all know that those who talk of ‘inclusion and tolerance’ only mean of their views. The director and his acolytes heaped scorn on one of the world’s great religions, yet are also part of a cohort that would want you in prison for using the wrong pronoun.
It has to be said, that French organisers would not have dared mocked any other religion. In some ways we can take this as a compliment. Christianity has underpinned French culture and civilisation. Notre Dame Cathedral, on the banks of the Seine River on which all the boats travelled during the ceremony, is but one poignant symbol. Yet Christianity is now seen as a direct challenge to the ever-growing absurdity of progressive culture overtaking the West. No matter what you think of Christianity, the alternative on display at the Paris Olympics opening was ugly and a sign of where our cultures are headed.
Let’s be clear, had the Olympics’ organisers mocked Islam, then French cities would now be on fire. The French know all about Islamist violence after Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan (among many others) and are rightly worried, while strangely continuing to import the problem. It is important to note however this is not specifically a French issue. We can just look across the English Channel in recent weeks to see similar inspired violence in Leeds and Manchester – neither reported in New Zealand or in much media at all. Explicit mockery of Christianity is to be celebrated at the Olympics while simultaneously, other religious-inspired violence is to be ignored.
Speaking of media. I find it fascinating that little has been said or reported about the coordinated attack – hours before the Olympics Opening – on the French train network. This caused significant damage and disruption, and according to French officials (off-record so far), it appears to be the work of far-left activists. Perhaps it does not fit a convenient narrative?
One final observation about the Paris Olympics. With so much focus on woke concepts such as equity, inclusion, and tolerance, it seems lost on officials that the Games are about sport, competition, and excellence. Athletes who are there are the best – they compete and train hard – to the exclusion of others. A gold medal is received not because of progressive virtue-signaling but because you win and are better than everybody else.
Simon O'Connor a former National MP graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Political Studies . Simon blogs at On Point - where this article was sourced.
This display of disdain and derision of Christianity was intentional and deliberate. It was no accident. But the contrast between the choreography in Paris and the art of Da Vinci is striking. Da Vinci’s depiction of the Last Supper is as profound as it is beautiful. You do not even have to be Christian to admire the artistry and beauty of what he painted. In contrast, the Olympic rendition was tawdry, tasteless, and just plain terrible. The mural celebrates the good and is beautiful in consequence; the other is ugly and only highlights the opposite of good.
As noted, the director of the opening said the day was also about tolerance and inclusion. This might come as a surprise to all the Christian athletes from around the world and those watching on television. Yet we all know that those who talk of ‘inclusion and tolerance’ only mean of their views. The director and his acolytes heaped scorn on one of the world’s great religions, yet are also part of a cohort that would want you in prison for using the wrong pronoun.
It has to be said, that French organisers would not have dared mocked any other religion. In some ways we can take this as a compliment. Christianity has underpinned French culture and civilisation. Notre Dame Cathedral, on the banks of the Seine River on which all the boats travelled during the ceremony, is but one poignant symbol. Yet Christianity is now seen as a direct challenge to the ever-growing absurdity of progressive culture overtaking the West. No matter what you think of Christianity, the alternative on display at the Paris Olympics opening was ugly and a sign of where our cultures are headed.
Let’s be clear, had the Olympics’ organisers mocked Islam, then French cities would now be on fire. The French know all about Islamist violence after Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan (among many others) and are rightly worried, while strangely continuing to import the problem. It is important to note however this is not specifically a French issue. We can just look across the English Channel in recent weeks to see similar inspired violence in Leeds and Manchester – neither reported in New Zealand or in much media at all. Explicit mockery of Christianity is to be celebrated at the Olympics while simultaneously, other religious-inspired violence is to be ignored.
Speaking of media. I find it fascinating that little has been said or reported about the coordinated attack – hours before the Olympics Opening – on the French train network. This caused significant damage and disruption, and according to French officials (off-record so far), it appears to be the work of far-left activists. Perhaps it does not fit a convenient narrative?
One final observation about the Paris Olympics. With so much focus on woke concepts such as equity, inclusion, and tolerance, it seems lost on officials that the Games are about sport, competition, and excellence. Athletes who are there are the best – they compete and train hard – to the exclusion of others. A gold medal is received not because of progressive virtue-signaling but because you win and are better than everybody else.
Simon O'Connor a former National MP graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Political Studies . Simon blogs at On Point - where this article was sourced.
16 comments:
Where is the chorus of supportive voices from Islamists and leftists saying it is unacceptable to mock religion?
Deafening anytime anything remotely mocking or controversial is said about Islam.
Silent when it comes to trampling on the mana of Christ and Christians.
Think about this:
1.France is a secular nation . Inclusion and diversity should not be issues at all. No need for this tableau on the Last Supper - at all.
2.This poor taste incident deliberately targeted Christianity. Noone dared target Judaism or Islam - for fear of massive disruptive response.
3. French authorities duly apologized to protesters - including from Da Vinci's own homeland of Italy.
4. Applying the logic of Descartes:
Christianity formally protested and then accepted an apology .
So this confession is clearly more tolerant and respectful of diversity than others.
Your words sum it up exactly, Simon:-
"Let’s be clear, had the Olympics’ organisers mocked Islam, then French cities would now be on fire."
This blatant hypocrisy is just so typical.
It is totally unacceptable to go out of one's way to offend a group of people who on the whole are quite innocuous. Live and let live!
Exactly, Anon.
As a Christian I am not offended but rather believe the perpetrators of this tasteless tack do themselves more harm than those they are trying to offend..
As a non-religious person I have disagreed publicly with Simon O'Connor, but in respect of his column, I entirely agree with him. Deliberately setting out to offend people who are generally innocuous is simply unacceptable and just plain nasty.
But radical Islam is another matter, for radical Islamists, with their views on stoning for adultery, death for apostasy, etc, are truly evil and it is the duty of civilised people to offend them.
Trouble is, offending such people is treated as blasphemy, and in this respect we seem to be voluntarily reverting to the thought control of the Middle Ages.
I agree with Gaynor, I am a Christian and found it tacky rather than offensive. Of course if someone mocked the LGBTQ community they would be arrested for hate speech so there is a wider issue.
Get a grip people. If the Last Supper is being mocked it wouldn"t be the first time.
Except it wasn’t about the Last Supper at all.
I prefer the view expressed by MSNBC columnist Anthea Butler, who wrote "The so-called re-enactment was a scene of a bacchanal, a feast to the Greek god Dionysus. After all, the Olympics originated in ancient Greece, and the Greek gods were a part of the culture of that time. French director Thomas Jolly, who oversaw the opening ceremony show, explained that the scene was Dionysus arriving on a table and that it was meant to be representative of the gods of Olympus celebrating the Olympic Games".
Christians ought to look outside their own peculiar world-view before rushing to judgement about things they don't understand.
Anon 3.18. Pull the other one. How many chanced to be at the feast? Why use drag artists?How long before the games return to China and realism? When the Chinese conquer NZ totally, many loathed developments will be terminated, possibly with the practitioners.
Great article and well said. Now more than ever we the people need to find a new backbone or be lost to the wolves forever; whether they be in drag or muslim extremists or simply woke elites trying to destroy what we now have and enjoy....
The parable and imagery of the last supper is almost univerally known within those of Christian faith and quite possibly millions of those of other faiths.
How many viewing the opening ceremony would know of the story of Dionysus dining with the Gods at Olympus ? A tiny fraction of 1% perhaps ?
Mr Jolly could not possibly say that he expected the audience like him to know of both stories and to be able to tell the difference and not take offence. And Mr Jolly has told us he knew of both stories in advance of the public performance . So in all likelihood he knew it would give offence to many.
Mr Jolly and Ms Butler's explanations are as facile and tasteless as the performance itself.
The extract that follows is from The Guardian, a rather trendy-lefty-woke newspaper. I am far from convinced by it and invited readers to comment on how it grabs them:
>The organising committee of Paris 2024 has apologised to Catholics and other Christian groups who were outraged by a scene during the opening ceremony that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting with drag queens, a transgender model and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine.
The unintended parody of the biblical scene, performed against the backdrop of the River Seine, was actually intended to interpret Dionysus and raise awareness “of the absurdity of violence between human beings”, organisers wrote on X.
The committee was forced to apologise after the performance caused outrage among Catholics, Christian groups and conservative politicians around the world.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance,” the Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference. “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”
Well spoken Mr Vlaardingerbroek, both your comments.
Anon 3.18 Jolly and the French PR service slithered out of the issue.
Artistically , there were many ways to portray a feast. The Last Supper depicts a Christian event - but Da Vinci 's painting is one of the most recognized in the world - whether one is Christian or not. JC parodied as a female figure was deliberate.
Had this been a parody of The Prophet, Paris would have been razed to the ground in hours!
PS The tubby blue naked man was also poor taste - an actor with a great physique like Michelangelo's David would have been much more attractive. But then the obese would have been offended ......
Has anyone considered that the Paris Olympic organising committee might have cut a deal with France’s Islamic leaders: we humiliate Christians in the eyes of the world, and you keep your jihadists away from our Olympics?
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