101 replies to this topic

[msp2032]

One of the parts of the Opening ceremony I got a little confused by was the segment(The NHS segment was it called?) where the children where sleeping in the beds and then the various figures came out(Mary Poppins, Captain Hook etc..). Was it suppose to be about a child's dreams or related the children who went through the London blitz bombings of 1940?

[paul92]

Was it suppose to be about a child's dreams or related the children who went through the London blitz bombings of 1940?

That's deep.
I figure it's just about fairy tale stories and villains such as Voldemort.

But I guess the flying Mary Poppins could represent the RAF if you want

[Olympian2004]

You can read the explanation in the official media guide (page 26):

As Mike Oldfield plays ‘Tubular Bells’, one little girl reads beneath the sheets. Soon her imagination conjours nightmarish villains from British children’s literature – Voldemort, Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and the Queen of Hearts. After a terrifying chase, the villains are vanquished by Mary Poppins.

http://www.london201...IDE_English.pdf

[Mercator]

Well they must have got the message across quite well:

http://www.dailymail...g-ceremony.html

NHS hospitals to set up in China and Gulf: Drive to cash in on Olympic opening ceremony

• Hospitals expected to set up centres around the world include Great Ormond Street, Royal Marsden and Moorfields Eye Hospital
• Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Libya are also thought to be prime targets for the new hospitals

Some of Britain’s best hospitals are to set up outposts in China and the Middle East to generate more cash for the NHS.
Great Ormond Street and the Royal Marsden are among those expected to build centres around the world, spreading their expertise in paediatrics and cancer care and generating much-needed income.
The Health Service is hoping to capitalise on the publicity from Danny Boyle’s depiction of the NHS in the Olympics opening ceremony – watched by an estimated one billion worldwide – by launching a major push to win contracts with foreign health services.

ETC. ETC.....

[Olympian2004]

Additionally, the 320 hospital beds that were used in the NHS segment will be donated to hospitals in Tunisia:

http://www.guardian....eremony-tunisia

[CanisMinor]

As a non-brit, I found this the absolute bottom of an otherwise great opening ceremony. The NHS, really? and then celebrating a single hospital? And that creepy giant baby? Uggghhh.

On the other hand, the Brits I speak to, loved it. Go figure.

[Mercator]

As a non-brit, I found this the absolute bottom of an otherwise great opening ceremony. The NHS, really? and then celebrating a single hospital? And that creepy giant baby? Uggghhh.

On the other hand, the Brits I speak to, loved it. Go figure.

I imagine the subliminal political message behind it was that healthcare is a right, and not a luxury. In the UK the government is trying its hardest to scupper the NHS, and that piece set the process back at least a decade!

Remember, the circle was closed because the writer of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, gave all the profits of that work to Great Ormond Street Hospital, thus rounding that section off nicely.

That certain individuals could not handle it was also exactly the type of reaction Danny Boyle was hoping to arouse in the NHS's detractors, thus assuring the fat cats' place as the bad guys in it all, whilst making the NHS a cause célèbre - genius

[mattygs]

Im not sold or dismissive of the NHS segment. I understand in the greater scheme of things how it did represent a key *British revolution* which the opening seemed to be based around, but I can see how alot of people question how a segment of an opening ceremony of the greatest peace time event in the world focused on a hospital.
Visually, I think it was decent, especially as the Marry Poppins came flying down.
I will agree though, if they wanted a giant representation at the end (where they had the baby) they should have been abit more abstract or something. I dunno, it can't be seen as anything but creepy can it?
I think some kind of light formation of a scan of a baby in the womb would have been a more effective finale to the segment.

[Olympian2004]

As a non-brit, I found this the absolute bottom of an otherwise great opening ceremony. The NHS, really? and then celebrating a single hospital? And that creepy giant baby? Uggghhh.

On the other hand, the Brits I speak to, loved it. Go figure.

Not only the Brits liked it, I liked it, too. I thought it was a nice fun segment, and done in a classier way than I originally feared -- because at first, I expected it to become overly political and sentimental. It was a political statement nevertheless, of course, regarding the cuts by the current Coalition government in Britain -- which still raises the question whether an Olympic opening ceremony was the right place to do it. But nevertheless, I enjoyed it - and I found especially the part with the dancing nurses and doctors and the kids jumping in their beds very endearing.

[Olympian2004]

I will agree though, if they wanted a giant representation at the end (where they had the baby) they should have been abit more abstract or something. I dunno, it can't be seen as anything but creepy can it?
I think some kind of light formation of a scan of a baby in the womb would have been a more effective finale to the segment.

That's true, and that baby element was another example of the sometimes rather poor camera work at the opening ceremony. If I remember it correctly, it suddenly was shown there in a long shot of the stadium's infield, but they never showed it in a close-up and really explained by camera work what it stands for.

And yes, it was rather creepy. A light formation of a baby in the womb could have come across as a slight copy of Athens' projected DNA helix, combined with the glowing belly of the pregnant woman, though.