The Communist Russia Segment in the Opening Ceremony.

[Campers 1]

Well, I sure hope and also think that it would be much classier and more creative and surprising than that, but I agree that Germany would rather choose the storytelling approach than a history lesson. Or maybe it would choose a story with only a splash of history. In Berlin, for example, it would probably be indispensable to make some sort of reference at least to the German reunification.

Agreed - lets drop this subject. In the meantime I give you - Pink Floyds, The Wall . . . . . . . . .

[micheal_warren 206]

Jimmy Carter spoiled quite a few things during his presidency lol

[runningrings 678]

This segment was the highlight of the Sochi 2014 opening ceremony. It was like a cross between London's Pandemonium and Sydney's Tin Symphony --- except under the red glow of Communism. Loved it.

The music was exciting too.

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

It was great theatre. They pulled out all the theatrical stops -- well, for the whole show actually.

(I'd be very curious to know what Zhang Yimou would've had to say about the Sochi show??)

Edited February 15, 2014 by baron-pierreIV

[JMarkSnow2012 387]

This segment was the highlight of the Sochi 2014 opening ceremony. It was like a cross between London's Pandemonium and Sydney's Tin Symphony --- except under the red glow of Communism. Loved it.

The music was exciting too.

It's pretty clear that Sydney was Sochi's ultimate model, from Sputnikki onward, but with the "tableau vivant"/"circus act" feel replaced by London's "narrative" approach (helped a lot by the clear flow in most segments from screen right to screen left) and with a more ambitious and brilliantly integrated version of Vancouver's floor projection. And of course, that roof with those nine sturdy tracks- not feasible for most Olympic arenas, but a very effective innovation.

[Citizen-Seth 64]

Classic...on a smaller scale, New Zealand did touch on it's bloody past in the opening ceremony of the 1990 CWGs, but was done in a tasteful song and dance routine, melding the country into a united people in the end. All about positive presentation.

Atlanta 1996 didn't show the fact that it's the home of the Ku Klux Klan did they?

Not to be nit picky, but Harrison, Arkansas is actually home to the KKK.

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

Not to be nit picky, but Harrison, Arkansas is actually home to the KKK.

Alexjc will say anything just to diss and trash Atlanta -- even though Atlanta never did anything to him.

[JMarkSnow2012 387]

Not to be nit picky, but Harrison, Arkansas is actually home to the KKK.

However, being even more picky, Wikipedia claims that the modern KKK (as opposed to the original Civil War era KKK) was created in Atlanta, in 1921.

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

However, being even more picky, Wikipedia claims that the modern KKK (as opposed to the original Civil War era KKK) was created in Atlanta, in 1921.

Wiki is NOT a reliable source. Anybody can create any facts there that can go unchecked. ANd so what if the modern KKK was created in Atlanta, Atlanta of the late 20th century is the most liberal metropolis in the redneck US South, which is part of the reason it won 1996.

Some irate Russian just removed T.J. Oshie's data on Wiki!!

Edited February 16, 2014 by baron-pierreIV

[runningrings 678]

[Olympian2004 511]

Wiki is NOT a reliable source. Anybody can create any facts there that can go unchecked. ANd so what if the modern KKK was created in Atlanta, Atlanta of the late 20th century is the most liberal metropolis in the redneck US South, which is part of the reason it won 1996.

Some irate Russian just removed T.J. Oshie's data on Wiki!!

Exactly. Munich also was some sort of home for the Nazi movement but got the 1972 Games nevertheless. And just like Atlanta for the US South, Munich is a remarkably liberal and social-democratic city surrounded by the deeply conservative German south.

[Trylon 17]

My earlier statement about Moscow not being a "true" Olympic games was intended as a criticism of the politics which swamped those games with a western boycott. The results included skewed records, continued bitterness, athletes who lost their one shot at great competition and a second games, in 1984, that was hit with a boycott. I guess LA was successful, but without the Eastern Bloc nations, it lacked a level a credibility that other games certainly had. Many of the world's greatest athletes simply were not there.

The boycotts did not solve a single problem and only deepened the tensions of the Cold War. I am well aware of the horror that haunted the Munich games and the bitterness that resulted in a walkout by African nations just hours before the Montreal games began. But those situations are very different from an organized, planned and executed boycott.

This is why I am glad Sochi worked out for Russia. They had their chance to shine. In spite of the problems within Russia or its tension with Western nations and in spite of the staggering cost of the Sochi games, Russia had its chance to impress the world. And in many ways they did just that. And a Russia that is able to celebrate itself with the rest of the world is far better than a Russia that is isolated and bitter in that isolation. Maybe these games will have a positive legacy.