I watched the whole thing last night. I still can’t make any sense of what I watched. It’s nearly as confusing as the difference between the United Kindgom and Great Britain (and there is a big difference). I mean it was incredible production. There’s no doubt that all the volunteers on stage and behind the scenes really did a fantastic job. My confusion lies with the subject material.
I believe there were 4 sections, or acts to the performance. The stage started off as pasture that looked like something out of The Lord of the Rings. Then Kenneth Brannagh comes out and recites a line from The Tempest. The pasture transforms into a factory from the 1800s. Sound simple enough for the first two acts, right. Ummm it was way way weirder then that.
The Queen of England graciously did a bit with Daniel Craig. However her Corgis seemed to get most of the screen time. The short video would have us believe she actually got ina helicopter with Daniel Craig (as James Bond) and then parachuted out.
Then there was a massive dance number for the National Health service. Nurses and doctors were dressed right out of WWI. Sick kids were jumping on trampoline beds.
The topper was this bizarre tribute to the creator of the internet with some kind story about teens in the digital age.
Buzzfeed has conveniently provided these links.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/the-25-most-absurd-moments-of-the-olympic-opening
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/40-photos-from-the-insanely-british-olympics-openi
I was reading the comments from the British from the links. Apparently being an American and finding the whole thing kind of crazy makes me “ignorant”. A comedy bit with Rowan Atkinson dreaming he’s in Chariots of Fire totally makes sense. Guys in 19th century dress voguing makes zero sense. That massive baby was surreal. I mean the whole production as an expression of England in the past 200 years works. I guess since I am just an ignorant American, I still find the 2008 opening ceremonies to be the standard of spectacle. You didn’t need to be British, Irish, Scottish, Bermudian, Australian, Canadian etc to get it.