In a fight for domination, China forgot the most important ingredient for pride in a country: identity.
Americans are proud of all of their hot dog grilling, fireworks shooting, and loud proud brashness. And this continued commitment to being American has led us to greater heights. “Fusion” food like TexMex, big trucks, constant innovation in technology, and even planting the first flag on the Moon. At the heart of every one of our country’s greatest achievements is the subtle acknowledgment that this is a win for America and the world.
Hosting the Olympics is a way to show all the qualities of a country on a global stage and show off the aspects you’re most proud of. Uniquely though, the host country is showing off culture, not superiority. Dominance comes through the athletic competition, and culture is shown through the ceremonies and various courses and stages created for the games. Athletic competition can be copied. You can study great training regimens from other countries and techniques used by champions to gain an edge. You can even cheat to win an athletic competition if you’re desperate.
One thing you can’t “win” though, is being the best host. There’s definitely a good host and a bad host. The Brazilian Olympics had several unfortunate mishaps, including the Zika virus outbreak, which admittedly was beyond their control. Because of bad construction and a helter-skelter atheletes’ village, they would definitely be classified as bad hosts by many Olympic athletes. While China may not be a bad host, the question remains, are they a good host? And what they want to know is, are they the best host? And it seems China’s measure of goodness is its ability to control everything.
Some points towards being a good host are how seriously they’re taking the covid pandemic. The athletes and all Olympic personnel will be cut off from the outside world during the Olympics so they can maintain control of the spread of the virus. I half expected China to deny the severity of the pandemic and take smaller measures, but they chose instead to prove their ability to control everything, including germs.
Their winter facilities, including the massive amount of man-made snow, have again proven China’s ability to control weather conditions and landscape. Bejing doesn’t naturally get much snow at all, but they’ve manufactured enough snow to cover whole mountainsides. One worries about the effect of the snow melting after the Olympics is over and the environmental effect it may have on mountains not used to that much water, but for the purposes of the Olympics, China has once again proven control.
The Olympics opening ceremony was also a canvas for their control over the elements, including fire. The ceremony included a magical fireworks display spelling out words and symbols like the Olympic rings. I’ve always dreamed of 4th of July fireworks being used to create the American flag or spell out the U.S.A. or some such wonder, but most times Americans accept just big splashes of color. China took their fireworks a step further and wrote out the word “SPRING” which was used as their theme for the opening. They get major cool points for that. However, that brings me to my next point.
Spring was spelled in English. In fact, most of the magical display of an LED screen on the floor was in English, with Chinese characters in the margins, in smaller print. The count down from 24 included large Arabic numerals (the kind used in English). I didn’t notice any Chinese number characters on there. I understand that many Chinese students learn English in school, so much of the Chinese population would be able to read English easily. However, this wasn’t the English Olympics. It wasn’t the American Olympics. It was the Chinese Olympics.
In the weeks leading up to the opening ceremony, I was excited to see some real Chinese culture. In Arkansas, we don’t have a large Chinese population, so I don’t get much authentic Chinese influence. We have some “Asian” grocery stores, which could mean anything from Laotian to Vietnamese to Hmong to Marshallese. To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. But the Olympics is a chance to see China as China presents itself. Not mushed into what ignorant Americans think China is.
For example, to get in a Chinese mood, I made some sweet and sour chicken including ingredients like American ketchup and Hawaiian pineapple, and listened to some CloZee who I think sounds Chinese but is actually a French artist. It’s about as Chinese as I could get with my limited knowledge of the culture. And I was ready to be immersed in the truly unique culture that China has developed over the centuries.
After watching the ceremony, I was left with a profound disappointment. I understood the concept of 24 lunar cycles and the coming of Spring better, but I didn’t get much else. I expected dragons or unique instruments like the guzheng and erhu. There were visual elements like grass and dandelions, which are common to all continents. Snow was another major element, which is common to all Winter Olympics. LED screens and lights were showcased, but LED screens are found everywhere. Nothing felt very Chinese to me.
One thing I do know about Chinese culture is that their music has completely different chord structures than Western music. Their most common interval is the 4th, rather than the European structure of the 3rd and 5th. Without getting too deep into music theory, it sounds a lot different. Some of the song choices were very disappointing to me though. The entrance of the athletes was full of Western classical music. For example, there was the William Tell Overture, which was used in as the theme song to The Lone Ranger cowboy tv show for years. Not very Eastern. I believe I heard Pomp and Circumstance, a classic American high school graduation song. The most “Eastern” songs were by Tchaikovsky, a Russian classical composer. These songs are well known by most of the Western world.
Perhaps it was a gesture to make the Western world feel at home, but to me, it felt like going to another country to drink Starbucks and eat Mcdonalds’. I don’t want American things. I’m there to experience the new culture. Take me to a Mom and Pop shop that serves things I can’t pronounce but taste delicious. Let me listen to Chinese music with the 4th intervals that clash in my brain until I find the symmetry and beauty in it. Show me the real China, not a Chinese takeout.
To me, that’s where China as a host failed. They proved their dominance in control over the elements, but they did so without the commitment to being who they are. I would class them as good hosts, but not great hosts.
