Well. Say what you will about the Olympics, the Chinese sure put on an opening ceremony. For a moment there, I almost understood how a people might willingly, even happily, surrender their individuality to the grand goals of a powerful state.
At the same time, though, I couldn’t help thinking about the North Koreans and their love of mass spectacle, particularly the Arirang mass games.
I doubt many North Koreans were allowed to watch the Beijing opening ceremonies, but if any North Korean did, it was Kim Jong-Il, the Dear Leader. And I bet he got a case of flop sweats, because . . .
. . . tonight . . .
. . . he met his match!
Update (Aug 12): My apologies to the Dear Leader and Peoples’ Republic of North Korea. It turns out that portions of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies were computer-generated and lip-synched. The DPRK’s Arirang mass games demonstrations may seem primitive by comparison, but they’re real. At least I think they’re real. After all, they can’t very well be computer-generated if Kim Jong-Il has the only computer in the country.