Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Why the Beijing Opening Ceremony Has Annoyed Me

I feel like I'm doing alot of "self- image" and "media distortion" posts, but this caught my attention:

I don't know if any of you guys have heard about the little girl who sang at the opening ceremony of the olympics.

Basically what happened was that the girl with the two pigtails and the red dress that you thought sang that really pretty national anthem was actually lip syncing. Her name is Lin Miaoke.

The voice really belonged to another little girl, that they deemed not "cute enough" to perform. Her name is Yang Peiyi.

Frankly, I think that's disgusting. Honestly- they're 7 and 9 years old! So young! and I can't believe that they picked one little Chinese girl over another. In my opinion, they were both adorable. And the fact that is was a fraud makes the opening ceremony look less touching and more...just a concieted display. I mean if they had put the other girl in a red dress and done her hair and makeup, she would look just as pretty, if not prettier. Its such a shame, that at a young age that little girl is probably already made insecure about her appearance.

And the girl who lip synced? she got credit for singing at first, going to interviews and hailed by a newspaper as a 'rising star'. I'm glad that the musical director set the record straight by revealing that she wasn't actually singing.

Gah! This frustrates me so much! And that whole thing about the fireworks being enhanced as well...gosh, I wish that people stopped tampering with appearances, it just makes the whole ceremony look worse after people find out that its all just a facade.

Here's the picture of the two little girls:

For those who may argue that "well yeah, plenty of people lip sync" and I say- yes, people like Ashlee Simpson and Britney Spears do lip sync, but it is different when the girl in question is 9 years old. This is the Olympics, a more serious event, not some concert. Also, its different lip syncing something you sang earlier than lip syncing someone else's work! And honestly, I think that this situation could have been avoided. I mean, sure her teeth a little crooked but I think the Chinese are taking this "must...give...perfect...image..." thing a little too far. Plus, the real singer looks plenty cute anyway, they should have just kept her and saved themselves the trouble.

So basically, congratulations to Yang Peiyi for singing beautifully at the Olympics- I think she deserved to be at center stage.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

aww, if the other little girl was MY child, OMG...I would've been like my girl is cute too! I wouldn't let someone take credit for her talent.

Anonymous said...

Oh My God, I had no idea! That's awfull! (can't spell)

The original singer is sooo cute.
I love the world we live in, I just hate its shallow society. Jeez, was it really necessary to replace her? Poor girl, she must have felt terrible.
Thank you for reporting this. I agree with you.

And btw, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your kind comment. It has been quite surprising that first-time-readers read the entire post (which turned out to be huge and dramatic). Thank you for your opinion as well. It means a lot to me.
I think I'll post something today, at the beggining of the night (Portuguese time).

Take care! :)

sleepyhead said...

i had no idea either, and that makes me really sad. its really a shame that the was not allowed to sing because she wasn't cute enough.

Ti Dickenson said...

yea i heard about this, i think it is ridiculous and sad..seriously what has our society and generation become?? like my sister is in the first grade, and there are girls in her class that refuse to eat carbs, everyday in the lunch room either not eating or only eating salads, and this is why..this is craziness

kristine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kristine said...

hi, just happen to run into ur blog..
I wanted to say, that i too feel apalled by this! I think that this has been a very controversial topic..
I, myself also blogged about this..

queengilda said...

i think they were both doing their jobs..... but you're right, i wish they didn't do this to a kid. her voice was angelic.

Unknown said...

omg that is terrible.

i had to re-read that to make sure i had got it right.
that is crazy.

Unknown said...

wow that is horrible, I can't believe it!! They should be ashamed!

..... said...

i hate the whole controversy around that event

Copycat Sasha said...

that's disgusting. I think the other girl is adorable!

starbrained said...

:O THAT'S HORRIBLE!
I have no words. That little girl must feel terrible!

STYLE AND THE CITY . COM - PARIS said...

IT'S SUCH A SHAME

my english is not fluent enough to write here my feelings about tthat but i hate what they did

human being can be so stupid...

i try to bring some noble values in my street style blog such as : be you, don't idolize fashion and top model, find who you are and you'll be beautiful !

cheers from Paris

Kamel
STYLE AND THE CITY . COM - PARIS

Richel said...

that girl is plenty cute. I can't believe China would do that!

The Stylish Wanderer said...

Yeah, it bothered me too

we wear things said...

fantastic blog! when i saw this story in the news i was like what the heck!! and i really like your post on photoshopping in advertisments..

oh and we'll definitely link to you!

A Black Tie Event said...

That's too bad. This shouldn't be about appearances, it should be about performance, they are both cute kids.

Muffy said...

I love your blog, I tried to link to you, but I couldn't figure out your feed link.
silly blogger.

Anyway, very very nice. :-)

Caroline said...

hi and thank you! sure i'll link

Libbi said...

Thats so unfair!
Thats really anoying. >:(
Libbi
x

Unknown said...

hey! check out my new blog:
http://thinkpink-knowpink.blogspot.com/

Dana (MODAna) said...

so sickening, such young girls, it's unbearable to think someone actually told this little girl she would be hearing her voice, but not showing the world her face.
what can you trust these days?

Unknown said...

thanks for linking my "think pink know pink" website. you're awesome.

kacy said...

can you believe how the real singer will feel whenever this major event is brought up in future?

chances are, beijing olympics is something people will keep talking about!

i cannot imagine the damaged inflicted on them.

Letitia - The Fashion Editor said...

gosh i love your blog..are you really jut 16? we think so much alike! please keep postin!

Anonymous said...

Hey girl, where have you been?