There is absolutely no question that the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing was brilliant, amazing, breathtaking, and every other superlative you could possibly think of. But, now questions are being raised as to just how authentic the stunning technological masterpiece really was.
In the hours (yes, hours) following the opening ceremony, which aired in the United State on Friday night, several media outlets reported that some of the footage NBC and the BBC ran of the fireworks exploding across China’s capital during the finale was digitally inserted into television coverage. Reports say the networks did so over concerns that not all of the 29 blasts could be captured on camera.
Okay, I worked in TV for more than decade and I can see how this decision could be justified. After all, China spent years fine tuning the opening ceremony in an effort to present a flawless presentation to the world, so what’s the harm in digitally inserting a few fireworks.
(By the way, you’ll have a hard time seeing what actually aired on Friday night since the networks yanked the video off the Internet, including YouTube.)
What does bother me is the new revelation that in their quest for perfection Chinese officials broke the heart of a 7-year-old local girl who they claimed was “not good-looking enough” to appear at the Olympics opening ceremony.
Remember that cute as a button little girl who belted out “Ode to the Motherland,” during the opening ceremonies? She lit up the stage and made the front page of the China Daily newspaper the next day. The pig-tailed girl in the red dress brought 91,000 spectators to their feet and left millions watching at home in awe.
She’s cute—yes. But, apparently she can’t sing worth a lick.
Today it was revealed that a member of China’s Politburo mandated that 9-year-old Lin Miaoke replace 7-year-old Yang Peiyi because the younger girl failed the government’s cuteness test. So, basically on Friday night we all witnessed Miaoke lip-synch Peiyi’s rendition of “Ode to the Motherland.”
According to Chinese officials, the switch was made “in the national interest.”
Translation: Peiyi’s voice was perfect, but her front teeth weren’t.
Apparently, the 7-year-old’s crooked front teeth were dubbed too much of a “distraction” by Chinese officials and she was replaced by Miaoke just 15 minutes before the opening ceremony began.
Today an organizer with the opening ceremony told local Chinese news reporters “the national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen.” Adding, “Lin Miaoke was the best in this. And Yang Peiyi’s voice was the most outstanding. We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance.”
Easy for them to say.
Can you imagine what Peiyi must have thought after spending months practicing and perfecting the song, only to be told at the last minute that another little girl would be standing in her spot taking the credit for her vocals?
Today a Chinese News Service reporter asked Peiyi whether she felt regret over the opening ceremony. To her credit (and obvious maturity and humility) Peiyi responded that just having her voice used for the opening ceremony was an honor.
What do you make of the lip-synching scandal? Was the move unethical, unfair, or both?
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