ecl@hocsj.UUCP (09/28/84)
Comments on the Olympic Closing Ceremonies
by Mark R. Leeper
I finally got a chance to see the closing ceremony of the
Olympics. I had been told about it, with its flying saucer and its
alien, and had been curious, but I had not seen it until just the
other night. I have some comments to make on what I saw. First of
all, I suppose this is the sort of thing you expect in Los Angeles,
as I said in one of my articles elsewhere. Los Angeles is movie crazy
and assumes the rest of the world is also. That is how they came
to put a little piece of science fiction film tradition into the
Olympics. To the mind of an Angeleno, there was nothing out of
place about putting a little piece of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and DAY THE
EARTH STOOD STILL into the ceremonies.
What I found interesting, however, is one line that the alien said.
He said the Olympics represent the best that is human. My first
observation is that one species cannot judge what is best in
another. I haven't the foggiest idea what is the best in
armadillo-kind. Only an armadillo has a right to decide that. It
strikes me however that it was a human inside the suit and a human
who wrote the lines. I object to the statement that the Olympics
represent what is best in humankind. Olympic endeavor, impressive
as it is, is very physical-intensive and mental-nonintensive. To
judge that this muscle-flexing championship is what is best in
humans is much akin to the Miss America philosophy that looking
good in a swimsuit and high heels and having a minimal but
patriotic mind is the ideal of American femininity. The Olympic
athlete is a long way from my idea of an ideal person, particularly
since the few I have seen interviewed have shown less than high
mental powers. In fact, to be a successful Miss America probably
requires more of an intellect than winning gold medals does since
there are minimal mental requirements on being chosen Miss America.
In this country we have gotten used to a policy of letting our
schools deteriorate through apathy, but we turn out in droves to
see our high school football team play. We distrust and
misunderstand intellectual achievement, and we have decided to call
physical perfection the best that is human. I don't know what the
best that is human is, but I am pretty sure Mahatma Gandhi or
Albert Einstein is a lot closer to it than anyone who ever won an
Olympic medal. If what you say is what you believe, Mr. Alien,
maybe that is why you need that heavy cable to hold up your saucer.
(Evelyn C. Leeper for)
Mark R. Leeper
...ihnp4!lznv!mrlrs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (09/28/84)
I got a kick out of the Emmy program the other night, when the producer of the Olympics closing ceremony gave his Emmy acceptance speech. He went on about how he and the Hollywood TV/movie community had achieved a miraculous demonstration of the marvelous things that the human spirit can accomplish, etc., ad nauseum. I'm sure that if asked, this guy would equate the closing ceremony with the polio vaccine, the combined efforts of the Red Cross, and any other high point of human achievement that you could name. I'm continually amazed at how seriously many people in the entertainment business take their work. Their pretentiousness and self-importance are often astonishing, and they often appear to really believe their own statements. To hear this guy talk, it was like the closing ceremony had somehow also cured cancer, when in reality, it's already been almost completely forgotten. Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 (ps - I enjoyed the closing ceremony very much. I just don't think it was much more then a nice evening's entertainment.)
stu3@mhuxh.UUCP (Mark Modig) (09/29/84)
> Comments on the Olympic Closing Ceremonies > by Mark R. Leeper > > I finally got a chance to see the closing ceremony of the >Olympics. I had been told about it, with its flying saucer and its >alien, and had been curious, but I had not seen it until just the >other night. I have some comments to make on what I saw. First of >all, I suppose this is the sort of thing you expect in Los Angeles, >as I said in one of my articles elsewhere. Los Angeles is movie crazy >and assumes the rest of the world is also. That is how they came >to put a little piece of science fiction film tradition into the >Olympics. To the mind of an Angeleno, there was nothing out of >place about putting a little piece of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and DAY THE >EARTH STOOD STILL into the ceremonies. > Alright, that's ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <FLAME ON!> Just where do all you Eastern-type snobs get off indicting EVERYBODY in LA as entertainment-crazy, full-of-hype, wild-eyed maniacs? The people around here are so proud to be on the East Coast and close to New York and "civilization" and culture that I'm surprised there aren't more reports than there are of people here drowning to death during rainstorms because they've got their noses stuck so high in the air. I've lived in the LA metropolitan area for 22 years, and here for just over two, and I can tell you a few things about differences between the two: People here can be nice, but I have found many more people here who are loud, snobbish, nasty, and even cruel. They don't give a damn about anybody but themselves, they're always in a hurry, always trying to make and portray themselves as being somehow "better" than the rest of the country (an attempt which, as far as I am concerned they fail miserably at). People here drive like maniacs; most of them will cut you off at every opportunity. People here are always on the way to the top, and they don't care if they have to screw everybody else to get there. I never used to have trouble standing in lines-- here you have to fight off everyone behind you who is trying to cut in front of you. This is the East of which I have heard so much about, supposedly where politics and programs to help others got a start. That is not the same as the to-Hell-with-you attitude I see out in every day life here. As far as being entertainment crazy, yeah, there are lots of ways in which cities on the East Coast like Washington and Boston and New York have got it all over places west of here, such as the beautiful museums, theaters, and parks and all the history and such. But that also holds true for entertainment hype, too. I never saw celebrities being interviewed regularly on the news plugging their books/films/etc. until I came out here and saw "Disco News" on WNBC. There may be a time and place for that (I doubt it) but on the news????? Have you ever been out to LA or SF or SD or Port. or Sea? It's great. For example, Southern California has miles of terrific beaches, better than any I've seen here (and being from California I like beaches, so I've tried to find a good beach here). What's more, many of them are completely FREE. You may have to put some quarters in your parking meter, but if you get there early enough you may be able to park free. The smog? Don't give me smog. There is smog in the cities here, too. Also, there are a lot fewer toxic waste disaster areas there. Southern California also has REAL mountains. You can drive to Idlewild in 3 hours or so, and hike up a 10,000+ foot peak. I could go on, but it is pointless to try and convince so many narrow-minded pointy-headed Easterners that the New Yorker is not the place to turn to for a map of the world. All I can say is that I like people in LA a lot better than I do people in New Jersey or New York, and I think everyone east of the Mississippi should be shot. (Me included, for coming out here in the first place.) I thought people out here were pretty decent; they aren't. The East may have more going for it when it comes to the actual cities, but when it comes to people, L.A.'s The Place Let's hear it for the West Coast! Comments welcomed as soon as I get into my fireproof suit, flames from ignorant twits who have never been out to the West Coast to dev/null. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Scotty, get those shields up!" Mark Modig California Native Send all replies to: (and proud of it...) ihnp4!btlunix!mom (Do NOT 'r' to this article) Oh, yes, I almost forgot... Sorry! <FLAME OFF!>
goguen@cheers.DEC (Don Goguen) (10/01/84)
> . . . I don't know what the >best that is human is, but I am pretty sure Mahatma Gandhi or >Albert Einstein is a lot closer to it than anyone who ever won an >Olympic medal. If what you say is what you believe, Mr. Alien, >maybe that is why you need that heavy cable to hold up your saucer. Maybe what I have to say here belongs in another net.xxx, but these plugs for humanity/humankind/... warrant it. Even sports fans need to hear this, especially at a time when all good on earth seems attainable, such as after an Olympic Games. The best that is human is/was/still is/can only be Jesus Christ. He, when He came down and took the form of a man, was the only one to achieve perfection, something we humans will never attain on earth. Philosophies of 'great' humans will never equal His teachings. So many search for more to this life, while refusing to consider Christ. People look for 'heaven on earth', when heaven is so attainable through only Him. Like one of our great philosophers, Yogi Berra, once said: "You can look it up..." - Don Goguen