Open Thread #43
Fair warning: Rantiness ahead, but feel free to comment on non-ranty topics below!
Phew, for one who hadn’t intended to follow the Olympics to any close degree, I spent the early part of the week unintentionally watching almost everything (TV has been left on while I tune in and out, but inevitably I find myself watching most of the coverage). Then I got sick of wasting so much time listening to hyperbolic, jingoistic commentators blathering on about anything and everything to fill up air time and maxed out on my retarded-commentary quota.
For instance: saying that a gymnast’s last-minute injury was “like having a tear in your wedding dress before you walk down the aisle”? That is insulting to gymnasts and brides both. Oh yes, the elite gymnast who’d trained on an incredibly intense level for more than half her lifetime and was taken out of the Games at the last minute due to injury is really the same thing as a woman having a minor wardrobe mishap on her wedding day. How tragic. First off, you’re an idiot for making such a retarded comparison. Second, you’re an insulting idiot for perpetuating the stereotype that all women are frivolous, fashion-frenzied bridezillas who lose all sense of rational thought when it comes to her Day of Princessly Wedding Perfection. Some of us have never coveted a Vera Wang white dress, matchy-matchy flowers-to-cake-to-eyeshadow color coordination, or a $40,000 Big Waste of Money. Some of us are even capable of handling wedding days — or high-pressure moments — with self-control. I know! How novel! And here you thought all us women fret over a broken nail and simper over boys we like and cry when we’re frustrated.
Then we followed that bit of belittling commentary with the oh-so-clever quip following the women’s Cuba-U.S. beach volleyball match in which both teams came out sporting the same color beachwear. One team changed to alternate suits of a different color, but not without one correspondent remarking with relief over the suit change because showing up in the same outfit as another woman “is every woman’s worst nightmare.” Really? Because I have had a lot of nightmares in my life, and the color of my outfit matching the color of another woman’s outfit has never figured in any of them. Thanks for showing how thoughtful and elevated the discourse can be in women’s athletics.
Also getting on my nerves? The multiple anchors and commentators who describe the U.S. team athletes and coaches of Chinese descent as “returning home to their own country” for the Beijing Games (e.g., Shawn Johnson’s Chinese coach, the women’s volleyball coach). You know what? They’re fucking representing this country, they’ve devoted their livelihoods to furthering the sport for the U.S.’s teams, they’re contributing members of American society. So why are they all of a sudden chink-eyed foreigners “returning home”? I nearly threw my remote at my television set when one commentator essentially assured us, the American viewing public, that the U.S. volleyball coach Jenny Lang Ping (who’d formerly played for China and has since moved to the States) COULD BE TRUSTED not to compromise the U.S. team with divided loyalties to China. And what about Kevin Tan, U.S. men’s gymnast who happens to be Chinese-American. AMERICAN. Yet the commentators repeatedly had to blow smoke up their own asses about how amazing and progressive the U.S. is for having an Indian(-American), a Chinese(-American), and a Belarusian(-American) gymnast on the team.
Way to make it stunningly clear that you consider “true” Americans to be corn-fed, blue-eyed, blonde-haired white people, while the rest of us are merely The Foreign Other, no matter our citizenship or country of birth. We just happen to be benefiting from the U.S.’s benevolence and magnanimity in allowing us to live here, pay our taxes, and contribute to society, right?
Fuck you, NBC. Plz to be hiring some competent correspondents nxt time!
Suffice to say I’ve now got a heavy hand on the mute button and have switched to watching DVR-recorded broadcasts with most of the filler fast-forwarded. Because it’s stupid to give myself any aggravation over such a small thing (in my life) as the Olympics.
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Tags: ranty/ravey
Seriously, a sigh of relief from me that someone got this out.
Racist commentary aside, NBC just has bad commentators. During the men’s gymnastics final, one of the Japanese members was caught smiling on camera after he did badly on a routine and the ex-gymnast commentator said something to the affect of, “I don’t like it when I see a gymnast smile after not doing well. I don’t like it at all.” And then a female commentator was talking about how the Japanese team was taking pictures and videos of each other while they were not performing on the floor and she said, “You just don’t DO that at the Olympics!” all the while while the American team would shout frat boy lines into the camera every time the camera panned over to them.
It’s amazing how evident it is that these people are just so not aware of the implications of what they’re saying. It makes me sad.
well to tell the truth until now i didn’t watch the Olympics until now…. why… i had my share of high blood and slpeeless nights in the last world cup… so from now i will only do sport not watching it for the sake of my heath….
I wouldn’t say ranting, more-so stating the truth.
OMG!!!!!!! I Feel the exact same way! I too had no intention of watching as much of the Olympics as I have. My daughters and I have been up past midnight glued to the TV.
We’ve recently moved from Houston to the “Burbs” and and encountered the kind of racism that comes with a smile. You know the kind that declares “One of my best friends is a …….” or “My sister used to date a …….., he was a really nice guy”. ARG!!! What’s really more frustrating is when they’re surprised that you can actually articulate you words and can speak without an accent.
Javabeans, great writing. I love your witt and frankness.
Well, better get my Mexican-American ass to work.
That’s one way to put it. HAHA. I also heard those words from the commentators as I have been steadily tuning into the olympics every morning and night. And let me tell you, at first I really didn’t take any offense to it because I thought they were trying to lighten the mood in all seriousness.
To me, as an asian american, I’m not so discontented. I just firmly believe these commentators are trying their best (partially failing) to give as much background information on the coaches and team members.
When I heard the wedding dress comment, I simply laughed thinking, “How can a wedding dress tear and a broken ankle be the same?” And yet, my father thought otherwise saying, “You know, he’s right!”
All in all, it’s the olympics that comes every 4 years. Who says we must listen to these fine (sarcastic) commentaries. Rather, let’s just focus on the games instead. It truly is a pleasure to watch when you do.
Right on javabeans, right on. Thank you for articulating it so well, it needed to be said.
I know javabeans, I know…The women stuff hasn’t bugged me as much as the race comments. Especially the gymnastic commentary has been terrible! Amy, the comments about the Japanese gymnasts made me mad too! Last night I watched the women with the sound turned down low (in fact I was listening to korean101.com podcasts instead haha), and wow it was awesome!! Our US women were amazing under such big pressure! I love the Olympics and will be watching even if I have to hit the mute button. Thanks for your rant javabeans. I really appreciate it!
OMG! That sounds pretty bad. The US TV station commentaries are one of the reasons I have avoided watching the Olympics. I haven’t been able to stand it in the past.
Yeah, I heard the wedding dress comment and I thought how stupid .. what an idiot.
I also heard what #1 Amy mentioned about the commentator basically saying the Japanese were unprofessional for smiling after a disappointing performance. Anyone who has ever watched a Japanese dramas/movies or read any of Donald Ritchie’s essays on Japan knows that smiles can indicate more than “I am happy.” in other cultures including Japan. That judgmental comment embarrassed me as an American and it wasn’t the only one to do so.
When NBC’s China correspondent/expert took a break during the opening ceremony when the athletes were entering the stadium, I had to listen to Bob Costas repeatedly point out how “nonsensical” it will seem to the audience the order in which the athletes were coming out. And that was after he explained
they were coming out according to how many strokes it takes to write their country’s name in Chinese. He still seemed to think this made no sense… like the Chinese just thought it would be cool to do that for a change.
And don’t get me started on Bob Costas’ interview with Bush. Some Americans are so condescending to other cultures it is so embarrassing to me. I guess it’s not just Americans either - that Spanish basketball team photo - wtf?!!!
Here’s my rant on something not as important . Why can’t ANYONE at NBC pronounce Beijing correctly or just closer to correct? (I’m not talking about the tones and granted the Chinese pronounce the “j” in a way which has no exact equivalent sound in English)
But people it’s more like a “j” as in “just” or “jingle”, not like the “s” in leisure. I hear it mispronounced a hundred times a day now from every single commentator and that plucks my nerves.
I don’t know… the Olympics make me happy for the world/humanity in so many ways but they also point out how much more we need to learn about each other!
You wouldn’t believe some of the comments floating around the web. Some people are actually so ignorant to make comments like, “Shawn should have got the gold because she is the true American.” What the heck is a “true American?” Being in this country for a few years has really been an eye-opening experience when it comes to race and prejudice.
Are all commentators over the world the same? No I think only the ones from “civilized” country. I’m from France, and I was not so surprised to read your topic today. Because here it’s more or less the same atitude they have. I was watching the opening ceremony and already wanted to kill the guy speaking behind the image. He couldn’t get one phrase out that doesn’t insinuate how bad China is: politics, human rights, ecology, even the traditional costumes. At the end, I couldn’t maintain my calm any longer, had to go on their website to leave a comment. And believe me I was not the first there, nor the most angry one.
I am not saying I’m all pro-China, but hey, I don’t put on the olympics to hear people talk about politics or human rights. What if we give the athletes their due attention? Also the ancient Olympics was a mean of truce during war times. Please let us enjoy the sports!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for writing this post.
The Olympics have been driving me nuts for these past few days, and yesterday I finally gave up— I just didn’t watch them. After I looked at the All Around results for the female gymnasts on the NBC website, I decided to go to bed because I couldn’t bring myself to listen to the commentators and their stupid remarks.
I was out this week on business and like yourself Javabeans, spent more time watching the Olympics then previous planned. In any case, my conclusion after a week of watching the media and reading all sorts of ramblings here and there is that:
Olympics = Ignorant Nationalism
It’s not new of course, but for the media to be that blatant?? I guess my assumption that they cater to the lowest common denominator is in fact correct.
@ Alyssa
> To me, as an asian american, I’m not so discontented.
> I just firmly believe these commentators are trying their best
> (partially failing) to give as much background information
> on the coaches and team members.
I know a lot of people who think this way…
So imagine if the commentators talked about the black athletes that way.
For example, the flag bearer was a Sudanese immigrant. Can you imagine if the commentators said, “Even though he’s from Sudan, don’t worry he’s on our side!”
Or about the number of black athletes competing for us, “Isn’t it amazing that our country has all these African Americans to represent us? My how progressive we are.”
You can bet if they said that there would be a many protests and boycotts of NBC and its sponsors.
TOTALLY FUCKIN TRUE.
THis is a RAVE about YOUR RANT.
Couldn’t agree with you more! In face, I’ve been feeling and hearing the same thing and I’m getting tired of it. So after seeing your post, I think I’ll do the most rational thing. Send an angry email to NBC. Toodles!
Yikes! And I was feeling grumpy about some of the Japanese coverage! (A few commentators sound like they are broadcasting a horserace over the radio! Just too much over-hyped unnecessary information!) However, i don’t think we have to deal with this level of idiocy! I find it unbelievable that they can get away with such nonsense. (I’m Canadian and I can’t imagine commentators there getting away with such unprofessional drivel.)
Actually, after reading your rant I googled “NBC olympic coverage idiots.” Whoo baby! You are NOT alone - there are lots of NBC olympic rants out there! Now, if only all this rant power could be harnessed into something that could kick NBCs butt! It certainly sounds like they need it!
Why does nationalistic pride often translate into borderline xenophobia? Why does supporting your country mean saying bad things about other countries? Its this very reason why I chose not to follow the Olympics. Its understandable that coverage of the Olympics in America would be America-centric; but I dont know why this is synonymous with bashing the athletes from other nations. In fact, its the reason I choose not to watch any news broadcasts (or things in the news family) from local television - if I want any attempt at objective, informed, intelligent reporting, I wont find it there. I also find it particularly ironic that they are actually pointing out the ethnic backgrounds of some of the American athletes - do the commentators need to be reminded that America is a nation of immigrants? Should someone point out how unlikely yet admirable it is that a (Polish/Irish/Italian/German/Dutch/etc)-American commentator can be *so supportive* of the American team despite their foreign heritage? Or does this over-developed sense of Other-ness only apply when its accompanied by a racial deviation from “the norm” (said norm, as Javabeans pointed out, being the blond blue-eyed Caucasian). It takes away from everything these wonderful athletes/coaches have and will accomplish that their loyalties are even a conversation topic - I guess they are American enough to add to the medal count, but not much else. That said, I very much doubt America is the only nation that has such ridiculous Olympic coverage.
I’ve been following very closely to the gymnastics and swimming competitions (because they air late at night) and I actually like listening to the commentators. Without them, I wouldn’t know what was going on. I now know how the gymnastics scoring system works. I didn’t catch them saying anything like what y’all are talking about up there, probably cuz my mom likes to make her own commentary while we watch.
Still, I always love your ranting!
P.S. I am SO happy the US women gymnasts beat China last night. I’m usually all for China, but they really should think about choosing ELIGIBLE athletes with more experience next time.
Javabeans I totally agree with your rant regarding the olympic coverage! It has been making me mad too!
I have been watching all the gymnastics coverage and I hate to say this but although I was dismayed I was not shocked… During the last two summer olympics there were many tasteless comments made about Dominique Dawes being the only African American gymist, and what that said about her rare determination, given her background (As a fairly determined, although not athletically, African American I was a just a tad UPSET). The comments have always been prejudiced and often small minded.
I think the main problem with the commentators is that they feel they always have to say SOMETHING witty and given their insights I highly doubt they think before they speak; thus the end result is that thier prejudices are painfully obvious. I also think that many of the commentators are jealous of the atheletes and as a result the commentators feel the need to cut them down and belittle thier amazing athelitic accomplishments (cause honestly, even if you lose at the Olymipics you are still one of the best in the world, you have to be to compete). I think it would be better to just watch the even with no ramble in the background and then have a judge explain what the deductions were, etc. And then watch the medal ceremony minus stupid comments. But that’s just my two cents.
From what I can piece together, from other commenters and personal experience, it’s not just the American media. Listening to the BBC commentary on the parade of nations during the opening ceremony, certain countries (western, pro -American) were more likely to be described in terms of their Athletic achievements, the rest were all about political troubles, and they never seemed to have something positive to say, which had me yelling STFU! at the screen by the end of it. Extremely negative bunch of people, reporters seem to be these days. They seem to have trouble finding good things to say about….well, anyone.
You could listen to the Canadian ones over here, but they’re not that much better. Day 1-4: China’s got horrible weather, bla bla, our athletes will contract asthma, bla. Day 5 - now: omg we have no medals noessssss.
In fact, they cut out women’s gymnastics in favour of swimming trials. WTF?
Thank goodness for mute buttons.
lol
Haha, it’s a bunch of Americans on NBC anyway. Did you see any other race besides White?
That aside, it doesn’t really matter to me b/c I clearly don’t think I listen to what they say. I only watch the swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball part.
According to what you say, yes they are very unaware of what they are saying on television and because of that i find their rantings a bit annoying.
“Haha, it’s a bunch of Americans on NBC anyway. Did you see any other race besides White?”
popcorn, that’s exactly the problem. “Americans” doesn’t equal “white.” The non-white people they’re putting down or treating condescendingly are ALSO American. It’s like when Tara Lipinski won the gold over Michelle Kwan and the news headline read “American Beats Kwan.” WTF?
Here’s my suggestion…watch CBC coverage. I’m not sure if you get CBC in the States but I avoid NBC coverage like the plague!
The one thing I like the most about CBC coverage (other than the Canadian athletes), is that they are really, really good a presenting the event from the angle of the event, not by whether or not there is a Canadian in it. The commentators are always really supportive of whomever is competing well (as indicated by the recent coverage of the gymnastics competition) or sympathetic towards the ones who are not.
Granted, there are times when they might cut short one event to cover another that does have a Canadian athlete/team, but they usually go back and continue the coverage. Since there are so many events going on at one time, I would suspect it’s a scheduling nightmare. They do, however, have streaming video on their website at http://www.cbc.ca.
I’ll be interested to see what kind of comments arise with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, considering many Canadians train in the US and many Americans train in Canada…hmmmmm…
(Personally, I’m not looking forward to the traffic nightmare *sigh*)
The reason why I hate watching the Olympics on NBC is because it’s all about the “americans” and how great they are.
You’ve got it right on the dot javabeans!
omg, i thought i was the only one addicted to the olympics since everyone around me seems to be just watching it “here and there”…i’ve been following it like crazy!
this summer’s olympics has been so good. all your rants are funny but thank god i have selective hearing and zone out all the senseless talking! i’ve caught some REALLY idiotic comments from the commentators and just laugh cuz they’re so stupid!
yeah this topic was bound to come up sooner or later…at first i thought the wedding dress comment was just stupid, but when i pieced it together with other remarks i’d heard over the course of a few days about chipped nails & a female volleyball player’s lost wedding ring…not to mention the astoundingly dumb one about “every woman’s worst nightmare” being the tragedy of showing up wearing the same colors…i came to the conclusion that these commentators are sexist as well as racist…it’s an ugly combination…
before i even bother to get pissed about it…let me just say the remarks related to nationality and ethnicity have left a bad taste in my mouth…really bad…all of the comments about americans of chinese heritage “returning to their homeland” are just nauseating…the commentator who emphasized how shawn johnson’s coach is “a man born in china”…making a big deal about it as if it’s unheard of for him to coach a fellow american because of his asian ethnicity…the photo of the spanish basketball team making chink eyes at the world…and the crowning glory has to be the age controversy over the chinese women’s gymnastics team…all of which amounts to a slap in the face as far as the level of cultural sensitivity goes in this olympics…
if americans want to give the world the impression that they’re unprofessional, unintelligent, ignorant, prejudiced, racist, sexist and nationalistic..i would say they’re doing a pretty good job of it…the olympics are supposed to an inspiring event, but i must say the idiots who are on the sidelines blowing foul wind out of their arses are turning it into a three-ring circus and making fools out of themselves in the process…
some things just never change…i can’t believe they actually made beef about nastia liukin not being a “true american”…their constant references to her russian birth place made me wonder…so would they call americans who have immigrant parents russian american or german american or whatnot? you don’t hear of that…but you hear italian american, jewish american, chinese american, etc. it boils down to non-white ethnicity & you’re automatically labeled a foreigner…
well, once the olympics are over i’ll be hauling my korean american keester to school…lol @ blkrose…racism with a smile…you hit the nail on the head…
Wow. so many comments were said from NBC. I was really close to watchin the olympics on NBC because I just came back from overseas and watched the entire opening ceremony to an entire week’s olympics.
I’m actually glad I watched it there, i just wished i was overseas longer so then I could finish the rest of the olympics.. J/K. I was over there because of family.
Thanks for giving us the heads up!
Javabeans you are so right. I dislike the NBC’s “supposedly objective” broadcast of the olympics its 100% propaganda, I prefer the Canadian’s broadcast its more objective. America has forgotten a motto of my country Jamaica - “Out of many one people”, its made up of all nationalities from the world, yet we are/and must be one people. If these people did not come to that country, they would not have earned its success to date. I am all for patriotism, but they are insulting the other countries /people with their higher than mighty attitude.
Its because of this type of broadcast, I have literally stopped watching the Olympics altogether, a person cannot enjoy the way it ought to be enjoyed. When I see the five rings, I am reminded that every nation in the world has at least one colour of that ring in their flag, doesn’t that signify some form of unity. NBCs broadcast /commentary in my mind makes a mockery of those rings.
I just love this article. That’s all I can say.
[...] *EDIT* I want to turn your attention to this blog post: http://www.dramabeans.com/2008/08/open-thread-43/ [...]
It would be impossible for me to describe just how much I agree with you. I was having this discussion last night with a friend of mine about how much I hate NBC’s coverage of the Olympics and most specially the condescension and blatant xenophobia that is being displayed.
I just cannot stand it, the female reporter who does the annoying cultural reports, how I would love to meet her in the streets. There are a number of them but she and Bob Costas just stand out for saying the most ignorant and insulting things I have ever heard from so-called broadcasting professionals.
Okay, I commented earlier and have been checking back in to read alot of good comments today. I just stumbled across this youtube video clip posted on SUBlimesFansubs’ channel. I think it speaks to the one of the subjects here today - ignorance and racism and people just not “getting it”. It’s a clip of a recent Chinese talk show where a young actor/singer paints his face black and then pretends to be Kobe Bryant playing basketball after he says, “chocolate, chocolate” ?? Omg, I’m just stunned that almost 900 people have watched it and everyone seems to think it’s funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RalBDkJIR-o
Am I the only one who finds it offensive? I can imagine the replies I’m going to get to the comment I left. I’m really disappointed with SUBlimesFansubs too.
What I really find sad is that all these commentators lack such professionalism. The blatant bashing of other countries is also. However, I do enjoy sometimes their more detailed explanations which differ from some commentaries I have seen of BBC’s broadcast and Hong Kong’s. For example, the background story of why that little kid was next to Yao Ming in the parade of nations and how he saved his classmates from that tragic earthquake. But, the unnecessary little extra personal commentaries are often unneeded.
What I find truly amazing is the professionalism of the athletes. During such intense competition and rivalry they make an effort to accommodate and acknowledge each other. For example, in the gymnastics portion the men often return forgotten equipment or slippers to other countries and shake hands and acknowledge all the other athletes and coaches, whether they may be winning or losing. It’s just a pity how the commentators mar this, and I’m really glad that the athletes don’t have to hear all of their terrible remarks.
@ suzy: i can totally see why people find it offensive. it can come off as pretty racist and ignorant, but i don’t think it’s meant to. in the video, when they darkened his skin, they weren’t exactly trying to make him “black.” before ah ben came out, they would often times mention how he looked like some other asian artists like hiroyuki sanada. they didn’t even mention that he looked like kobe bryant until he finally came out and he didn’t pretend to be kobe until they mentioned that he looked like kobe bryant. and what surprises me is that if you look closely at him with his darkened skin, he actually looks like an asian kobe bryant…like seriously. i’m not even trying to be racist or stereotypical. if you look at ah ben’s face’s profile, he legitimately looks like kobe bryant. i think that the whole darkening the skin concept wasn’t meant to be racist, but it could definitely come off as a bit racist especially to americans, who are very race conscious.
anyways, back to javabeans’ post, i couldn’t agree more. i find some of the nbc commentators quite ignorant and some times offensive and racist. like, this one time, the main guy in the studio and that lady who talks like a man were talking about chinese food and they just seemed to mock chinese food making it seem disgustingly delicious. it was like a back-handed diss. it seemed like they were complimenting chinese food, but in fact, were kind of dissing it. the nbc commentators lack true cultural awareness and a bit of tact.
SUBMIT THIS TO NBC!!! YOU MAKE GOOD POINTS AND NBC SHOULD HEAR IT!!!
Blue-eyed, blonde-haired, white people relates mostly from North-Europe, so there goes the whole “true-American-thingy” out the window, don’t ya think? Perhaps NBC should start being suspicious when it comes to white people of scandinavian descent? Who knows, might be a big conspiracy between all the other nations!! Oh noes!! XD
NBC’s coverage of the women’s individual all-around gymnastics last night was the last straw for me when, dissatisfied with the lower-than-expected scores that Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin were receiving (to which I agree), the commentators deliberately made a point that just because China is hosting the Olympics doesn’t mean there are more Chinese judges. As if all Chinese people have no morals and will do anything to get gold. Hmph.
HAHA, you just took the words out of my mouth (and made it a whole lot better while making some actual sense).
It always bothers me when I’m watching an Olympic performance, and I hear people in the background who just can’t shut their pie holes.
I swear, commentators talk so much, they should just hide their sorry little selves away from NATIONAL television and go talk to a wall or something.
so true…every word! I vaguely remember watching the olympics and hearing their really stupid and biast commentary (in which I ranted about to my family) and so I simply turned it off
definately true
it got on my nerves as well! way to speak the truth!
Honestly, I think that American commentators are racist and stereotypical in general. They cannot give praise when and where it’s due (unless it’s to America) and they can’t keep their mouths shut on trivialities. But that can sum up the general outlooks of racism and sexism in America to this day.
and that is why i watch the olympics while running on a treadmill, music from my mp3 blasting into my ears =D
but also since im in china, the commenting is a bit different
indeed those comments are enough to drive me insane
not just commentators on live show, I think written journalistic has the same sentiment.
Racist people is everywhere, and yes that so called ‘nationalism’ is overrated.
Btw, have you read about this? http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Spanish-basketball-team-poses-for-offensive-pict?urn=oly,100152
So it was supposed to be funny? *roll eyes*
woooo u go girl~
haha i cant believe how blatantly racist and sexist the commentary can be… even hearing the comments second hand is making me see red.
Awesome rant…..send this to NBC.
And I love everyone’s discussion about it…although we could have saved ourselves from this irritation if NBC wasn’t so xenophobic and WASP-y.
never thought about it that way before. They always were a little bit annoying before, but you bring up a lot of good points. And unfortunately I can’t tune in to all the coverage, I had no idea they said half the things you mentioned.
The thing that _really_ bugs the crap out of me is seeing Dubya running around playing with the athletes. I can understand if he took the day off to go to the opening ceremonies because all the countries are there and blah blah blah. But then to go hit volley balls with Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor or meet up with the male beach volley ball players or join in the huddle with the basketball team or watch Phelps get another gold medal etc. etc. is just annoying. I’m not paying taxes so that he can have a freakin vacation in China! And I hate how the commentators at NBC are simply tickled by the fact that he gives cute nicknames to the players he meets or whatever. If you wanna go have fun at the olympics wait 4 years in London AFTER you’re done playing president. >=(
I think this is a bit over-exaggerated……
although having ur dress ripped and hurting yourself is not the same, the correspondent was simply stating the fact that a whole bunch of preparation is put in to amount to one single defining moment (whatever that moment may be) and in the seconds b4 it happening…….BAM sumthing happens……………………………..
And about the racial thing……..
as a person born in Brazil, but an American citizen, i can VERY MUCH understand what the commentators were saying…………..i don’t know if i would be okay training an athlete to win in the US and not Brazil ……ESPECIALLY if Brazil and US were to go head-to-head in the event………………………..
So, it is possible to have your heart torn in between 2 countries……and loyalties sometimes do waver according to situation……….having 2 “home countries” isn’t as concrete as being just AMERICAN…………..
I think it woudl be rude NOT to mention the “second nationality” of the coach/trainer……since it is such an important aspect of the person’s life and personality……………
If i were training for example the American volleyball team and if they played against Brazil……..i would be VERY offended if no one payed attention to the fact that I am Brazilian myself……………..
so…to each, his own
Java, totally agree with you!! Thanks for putting this sentiment out there because I know a lot of people feel the same way. It helps that you write really well even when you’re feeling a bit hot-headed. :]]
nbc has the worst commentators…had to watch a lot of the nbc olympic coverage on mute cuz they were so biased and they just did not shut up!
cbc is a lot better!!!
im SOOOOOOOO with u on this one.
nbc needs to D-I-E!!!!!!!!!!!!
No matter how or what, the grass is NOT greener on the other side !!!.
I watch everything online. Complete coverage, no oral commentary, no commercials, best solution ever.
Hahaha…well too bad u don’t live further north, then you could watch the canadian broadcasting channel. They are usually a bit more sane, and tend to actually show live broadcasts most of the time. One of the benefits of living in a border state hahaha!!
Oh and i remember an announcer saying something like, “A Chinese male all a round gymnast is like a chinese panda almost extinct.” I’m like oh my gosh the things they come up with.
Kris, I thought that announcer said, “A Chinese male all around gymnast as talented as Yang Wei is as rare as (something about pandas)”, or something like that. I don’t think he meant to be offensive with that line.
However, I agree with almost everything else that has been mentioned here, but I try not to let it bother me. Especially since I now watch it on volume 1 with something else going on in the background that has nothing to do with the Olympics.
lots of comments agreeing with javabeans up there.
i like listening to them b/c it’d be boring without commentators. i can totally relate to what you’re saying about how they make stupid comparisons and generalize women. i hate how they keep on pointing to the gymnast that’s Asian American and parents ran from china to taiwan then US. come on, no matter where your root is, an american is an american period.
other than that i think they’re doing a good job of explanning the scoring systems annd so on. i mean they’re on the spot and have to speak constantly and give opinions to things on the spot. it’s their job, i know, but it’s tough so i think overall they’re doing pretty well.
Racism is terrible. I hope people don’t discriminate against Michael Phelps when they find out his dad is Poseidon. Half man, half amazing.
And wow what a finish! Phelps made a “finishing mistake” by half-stroking to the wall (you could smash your hand!), but that “mistake” won him the race. Swimming has given me my favorite moments of the whole Olympics so far!
Federer, what have you done with Federer? *Sniff*
I can see James Blake’s point of view (he IS right, but still. . . ), but Gonzo is one of the real nice guys on the men’s tour. I’m surprised Nadal beat Joker, and I have to question whether Joker is mentally ready for the US Open. Can Nadal win 3 GS’s AND the Gold?!?
New MV with So Ji Sub includes footage from Movie is a Movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRDR5X6YvJ0&fmt=18
LOL belleza!! poseidon. hahahah. that was too good
javabeans, you’re THE most articulate and eloquent ranter…EVER!!
you seriously voiced all of my mental frustrations with the commentary surrounding the olympics.
i got soooo annoyed yesterday during the women’s all-around when the commentators wouldn’t stop verbalizing their grimaces during the routines of the girls from other countries, but would be completely silently save the occasional “perfect; beautiful” during the US girls’ routines.
and the time after the routine and before the scoring was just as bad if not worse
…for the girls from other countries, they’d be like “that was just NOT a good routine!”…and when their scores would be decent, they’d be like…OH GOD WHAT IS UP WITH THE INCONSISTENT SCORING TODAY?! SHE MADE WAYYY MORE ERRORS THAN SO-AND-SO FROM OUR GLORIOUS COUNTRY!!!!
and for the US girls, they’d be like “FANTASTIC ROUNTINE!! she couldn’t have done it ANY better!!”…and when the score would be less than their amateur asses would’ve liked, they’d again blame the scoring/judges.
uhhhh…WTF.
gad.
hate hate HATE the nbc commentatorssss!!
“javabeans, you’re THE most articulate and eloquent ranter…EVER!!”
Mm hmm preach!! At her best, javabeans’s poison purple prose recalls that of the original Angry Black Woman, Jane Austen. Her good rant is eloquent and elephant.
Oh, isn’t it amazing Supergrass are still around? Don’t call it a comeback, the mop tops have been here for years!
“but would be completely silently save the occasional “perfect; beautiful” during the US girls’ routines.”
I hate that female skating and gymnastics are always world wars waged with girl-women showing way too much leg. All the same, I adored Shawn Johnson (4″8/80lbs/16 years old/defeated puberty)’s floor routine. Really perfect, beautiful. Now smile for Mom Amerika and R Kelly, Shawn and Nastia.
If only I had the time to read all of the comments…I’m 100% behind you Javabeans…you should submit your comments to the network - I’ve done the same thing after watching in absolute disgust the broadcast of Australia’s channel 7 of the Olympics - or rather the Australian swimming team. Becuause as far as they are concerned, the rest of the countries competing in their chosen disciplines don’t exist much along warrant a comment…or acknowledgement for that matter. Please excuse my little rant but I think I will feel much better once it’s all out….
So this is what I’m ^%$#^! off about - there are people starving in the world right? What makes front page news a week from the opening ceremony (which can I just say was really spectacular minus the whole fake fireworks on TV thing (though that was quite clever) and the little girl who replaced the other little girl cause the other one wasn’t pretty enough) in Australia? Breaking news!!! Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan break-up!!!! (for those who don’t know who they are, because lets face it unless you live in the land of Oz and are subjected to repeats of their marvelous swims whenever there is some space to fill in the broadcast because an Aussie in not competing, every five minutes) they are two of our swimmers - our new golden girl and the guy who for about one day held the new 50m freestyle record smashing it by something like 2 seconds. That’s number one.
Number two is the fact that as far as the broadcast is concerned, Australia is the only country competing in the Olympics and the only sport is swimming (actually I’m a little unfair - the only venue is the Water Cube (??) because they covered the diving as well . Oh and of course, they covered Michael Phelps!!! What, you mean to tell me that there are other American swimmers out there???? NO????!!!! (insert as much sarastic tone here as you like!!). Unless there is an Aussie competing in an event don’t even bother switching on because if you’re actually expecting to see interesting and exciting games involving other countries, you’re going to be solely disappointed. Zippo. Nothing. Kind of disappointing for the millions of people in this country who were born overseas and who would like to support their homeland.
And number three - for some strange unexplained reason, Australian’s (not all mind you - there are those of us who give credit where it’s due) feel that it’s necessary to claim all that’s great and successful as Australian. It’s a bit like claiming movie stars as Australian even though they were really born somewhere else. Nicole Kidman was (I think) born in New Zealand, but she’s our Nicole Kidman because she’s successful. Same with Russell Crowe. Today I hear a report on one of our current affairs programs which promised an expose (mind you, I was setting myself up for a disaster because just the other day, the same program promised another expose - the abovementioned Stephanie Rice’s grandfather was to spill the beans on the broken-up couple - guess what? They haven’t broken up at all) I suppose it was something along the same lines as your NBC reporters claiming that coaches coming to America from different nationalities can be trusted (I’m offended and it doesn’t even concern me) not to sobotage the American team. This reporter calmly pointed out that while the Australian team is (something like) 430 people strong, we really have a lot more than that. We, apparently, have the right to claim the gold medals of the majority of the other countries as well, because our retired sportsmen and women are coaching all over the world.
Yes….well…slightly better now….
if you were pissed off about that, then u must have been pissed off about the opening ceremony as well.
like how they were commenting on how certain countries will not get any medals before returning home.
i agree with you SOO much! but since most of my thoughts have already been expressed, i’ll add more to the list of ignorant comments i remember from nbc
- one commenter compared the chinese men all around gymnasts to pandas and how both are rare and should be cherished
- another (or maybe the same guy) also commented on how Wang Wei is China’s superman but “we all know that superman is white”; then the screen quickly shoots to an image of Jonathan Horton (both competed in Men’s AA)
on a side note, all the michael phelps coverage is starting to annoy me (thank goodness his events are over i believe). ok, he’s a beast in swimming, but there are so many other medalists out there and they don’t even get 10% as much spotlight as phelps. i, for one, respect a gold in all around gymnastics a lot more than one in swimming. but if we were to stick to swimming, how is it that phelps still manage to get more attention for the men’s 4×100 than lezak? he might be going for that 7 striaght golds, but c’mon. give the other guys a break. it’s not all about phelps. where is rebecca soni who has proven herself so much in these games? where is her coverage?
I don’t have anything to add, but I agree 100%. I also hate how biased the announcers are. I can understand having pride in the US, but tearing down other countries (well, making rude remarks) is pathetic.
Been watching the Olympics and I heard some of the things they say but after your post I finally realize that yeah some of the things they say is just stupid and annoying.
…. HE GOT the GOLD!
of course, every body knows that by now.
so, after reading your rant, i watched my first ever olympic coverage on TV (im very old), just to see how bad NBC really is. but all they would show was Phelps, so all i learned is how great Phelps is and how much pressure they were putting on him. thank god he won, i think the Americans would have eaten him alive if he didn’t. as soon as he won someone said “move over Mark Spitz”. jeez, Spitz is American too and still alive as far as I believe. those morons are unbelievable.
but, i think im gonna start watching the olympics. i felt such a thrill watching. thanks for the rant, javabeans. there is a world outside of dramas.
i completely agree with you.
gosh i wanted to smack those announcers two days ago when i was watching the olympics. being a chinese person myself, i was routing for both the american team and the chinese team. so given that the MCs are gay, they keep making rude comments. they don’t even keep in mind that there are others watching that might get offended by their comments. i especially noticed this when i was watching women gymastics or w/e its called. they are so biased. if one of the american gymnasts don’t get a score the MC agrees with, then they start saying how they don’t agree and blah blah. then they say the chinese had such a high score of blah blah and that they don’t agree with that and that they should have gotten a lower score and blah blah. they bash all the other countries except for their own! even though i saw some flaws in the american’s routine all the MCs said were, “beautiful, just beautiful. i don’t understand how that routine could have gotten such a score and blah blah.” i was actually going to call NBC and complain that they should knock some sense into those gay biased announcers.
I love you. javabean.
My daughter wholeheartedly agrees with your stance on this issue. However, she finds it to be a one-sided analysis of why NBC has hired the anchors and commentators it did, her chief assertion being that they are catering to the majority of the population. Interestingly enough, she then swore at the channel for skipping ahead in the 1500m men’s freestyle race. How childish, haha.
I so agree with you, the commentary and coverage of the Olympics in Australia has been just as bad. Its rather disappointing and just thinking about it makes me wanna throw a tantrum and tell the world to wake up and stop being so ignorant and incompetent.
OMG I was thinking the same thing, this morning I was watching an event and the commentator was saying that China had an advantage in this event as they were used to the humidity and smog, as did other asian competitors. What if the Olympics were held in another nation this year? Would someone have said they had a disadvantage because of the different weather conditions, altitude etc. Overall China came third for the event.
I think most of you here are over-reacting…………….I mean isn’t the Olympics all about ethnicism/nationalism/racism/sexism to begin with?? I think the commentators are just saying what many people are thinking so can you really blame them? I would probably wonder about ANY coach who doesn’t coach for his native country especially if I didn’t now that he became a naturalized citizen of another county, so the commentators were actually clarifying the situation. And many women I know put a whole lot of emphasis on every aspect of their wedding especially the dress, so who but us (women) is to blame for the wedding dress comment ? That goes the same for women wearing the same outfit - would any woman here want to go to a party and find yourself wearing the same outfit as another woman? And to Mel (#71)…………..did you object when they had non-Chinese athletes train outside Beijing (and outside China for some) because of the smog situation? If the Olympics were held in the Alps, I would think that people living there would have a huge advantage over people from the equatorial tropical countries………….what would be so wrong in thinking that? Why are so many people here afraid of stating the obvious - that there are differences between ethnicities, nationalities, races and sexes? Come on, people, relax! If you truely want racism and sexism to stop exsisting then we should have Olympic games where men and women compete against each other and athletes compete as individuals (and not as a representative of a country)………….heck we might just get rid of such devisive thing as the Olympic games all together!
Oh, one more thing javabeans…………..your comment about the US gymnastics team being more progressive…………..who can you blame but us Asian-Americans for the lack of our presence in gymnastics? Most of the families I know don’t invest alot in gymnastics - they would rather send their kids to other sports or no sports at all so that they could focus on more “academic” acheivements. Isn’t it true that most Asian-American parents would rather see their kids become doctors, lawyers, engineers than a professional gymnast (or any professional athlete for that matter)?……………sad but I have to admit this is true……………
@ Rebecca and Emma C:
I completely agree with your comment.
Everything needs to be put into context. As a minority of immigrant parents I’m not surprised by the multinational backstories of some of the athletes, but not everyone in America is as exposed to that. It is changing nowadays. But I have to say how surprised I was to find that in one of my college classes (a class about race in America nonetheless) that a lot of people came from suburbs with little or no exposure to peers of other races. The commentators are addressing that audience which they perceive for whatever reason to be the ‘majority’.
But really why would you expect an American commentator to not be biased in favor Americans? Yes one would hope they would not be jingoistic but they are after all human and are prey to the same kind of nationalist sentiment as others. I can’t say I’ve noticed them be as bad as javabeans say they’ve been. They are more critical of the mediocre athletes from other countries reserving praise for the best of the foreign athletes. They can at times be carried away by nationalism but from what I’ve seen they do try to give a fair perspective.
It is a novelty for to have minority athletes in American gymnasts at the Olympics. There should be some comment of it. Also, the fact of the matter is that a lot of immigrants and children of immigrants do have ‘divided loyalties’; some also don’t. It’s kind of silly for the patriotism to be doubted since they have chosen to represent the U.S. but I don’t find it to be as egregious as supposed by the other posters.
OMG, I thought I was the only one feeling this way, I was saying to myself “If only I could strangle those commentators, they are ruining the Olyimpics for me,” I couldn’t take it anymore, I just had to stop watching because I got sooo pissed-off when they talked, thanks for the post and just wanted to say I feel ya.
@ Jessica: I agree! Isn’t is strange how Americans (and judging from the comments, the rest of the world) are openly racist towards Asians?
If they spoke about any other race people would be outraged, but no one seems to be bothered by it when it’s directed towards Asians. It’s like they don’t even realize it’s racist!
@ triple6: Might as well get used to all the Phelps talk. lol He broke a record that was set what…30 years ago (36?) and he’s the first person to EVER win 8 gold medals at a single Olympics. It’s going to be a looooong time before anyone does something as incredible as this again. In fact I’ll bet they’re going to put him on the cover of Time magazine (maybe even imitate Mark Spitz’s iconic cover)
It just goes to show how narrow-minded and prejudiced white America still is despite their efforts to become more accepting of other races. I visited central Washington, a farming area, last week, and it was so white that people stared and commented because we were Chinese, yet the Amish didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
I was so glad to get back to Canada.
I consider myself a mutt when it comes to race and ethnicity. However, in America’s eyes and everyone else’s I’m a brown eyed, brunette white woman. I truly understand everyone’s feelings regarding the commentators. Being 31, I am sure I am older than most of you commenting, I have seen a huge change in the voice of the media and its representatives. Frankly, it’s been disgusting to see the shifts in view. All of the prejudice comments and actions (i.e. Imus etc) coming to the surface. Fear and misunderstanding causes a lot of this. I have no problem with people who have come here from other countries or people born here of other ethnicities and races.
It does irk me when people jut say “narrow-minded and prejudiced White America” because I am not that way and I don’t want to be categorized and pigeonholed like an any other ethnic or racial group. Don’t do the same thing you are accusing others of doing - it’s hypocritical - this is directed at All4movies and Peachy. I am an American and I am far from being patriotic or nationalistic. I certainly don’t have any grudges or issues with Asians. I get tons of flack for my interest in other cultures because unlike many people I know, they are not interested beyond what impacts their everyday life. Most of the time I am listening to music from another country - esp South Korea. I watch foreign films and dramas. I study the history and try to teach myself other languages of other cultures. America has issues but it isn’t necessarily about race and ethnicity as you may think it is. It’s about control, fear, the haves and have nots. This is a deep subject, but I would say the capitalist way has also caused a problem. The same problems that exist in the US exist elsewhere, they just look a little different. It’s sad that there some people that can’t not transcend their ignorance.
Embrace your fellow man. Love changes and if you are strong in your convictions, you can change the world by being you. Martin Luther King did it. Live by your actions. Live by your words. Be careful not to do the same things you accuse others of doing. I love you all. Love is free and its easy to share. May I gain wisdom and be able to give the benefit of my wisdom to others! - I live by these words.
And I say, do speak up!
Lynn,
I sincerely apologize if my comments seemed to pigeon hole all white americans. You’re totally right, there are certainly are openminded white Americans around and I did meet some on my trip.
I think I was ranting because it triggered childhood memories of being a victim of racism and prejudice and it brought back a lot of unpleasant feelings.
May we all have the privilege of experiencing a world free of prejudice and hatred one day.
amen
Javabeans genereally I agree wih your comments. And you sight some eamples of ridiculously sexist commentary. I am not sure if you are interpreting the other statements the way they were meant. They could have been attempting to point out the US’s diversity. (And I an a 1st generation black American saying that not a corn-fed blue-eyed american) But jingoistic? Thats the nature of the Olympics. I have yet to see the nation that doesn’t cover the games focusing on their own country the most. It’s to be expected. I used to complain about the commentary and bias of NBC too. But I am spending this second week of the Olympics in Beijing China. SO I have learned to appreciate NBC. If you have cable you can watch practically every event as close to live as reasonably possible. I wanted to watch some Olympics on TV tonight like Track or anything else. However if there are no Chinese in it CCTV does not show it. AT ALL. They actually showed a repeat of a volleyball game and a 3 hour special about their gold medalists instead of any live Olympic event tonight. I am up so late because at 2 am they will give a brief non Chinese recap of the Olympics unrelated to China. This is all the non-Chinese watching I get to do. SO yes NBC has it’s flaws. It’s commentary can be quite silly. That’s true of most sports commentary. All sports tv could use a lot less chatter. However at least NBC SHOWS THE OLYMPICS. I am missing that now. To be honest after CCTV I dont think I will ever complain about US olympic coverage again.
All4Movies,
Thanks!
I appreciate it. And I share your sentiments. May we live to see a world united instead of divided.
That is for sure!
Continue to speak out and know you are not alone. People of all races and backgrounds are behind you.
off-topic
It’s ironic that european Americans love to twist the facts like:
1. East Asians discovering America and not some slave-trading murdering Italian from Spain.
2. Chinese invented the printing press, and not Gutenberg. Actually, Koreans invented the first metal movable-type printing press which is what Gutenberg is credited for by whites.
3. Finally, East Asians are more evolved than Europeans. (this is fact: East asians have more brain power, less body hair, and are physically more unlike primitive primates).
BTW, in response to the NBC comments of “costumes” worn by the Chinese during the opening ceremony: IT’S NOT A COSTUME. IT’S CLOTHING. MR. LAUER AND COSTAS: DO YOU CONSIDERING YOUR SHIRT AND TIE A COSTUME? (stupid idiots….)
To Twinkie:
While I whole-heartedly agree with you that there are facts in history that have been twisted to accomplish a certain image (ex. Columbus discovering America)… Isnt saying that east asians are more evolved than europeans also a twist to suit one’s opinion
On what scientific evidence do you base your assertion on?
*Race= a social construct to identify individuals by physical features/culture
*Biological race= actual distinctions between different groups of individuals base on genetics
–>* It has been shown (through scientific research) that when studying race through human genetics… it has been proven difficult to divide humans into biological races that are equivalent to the socially/culturally constructed ideas of race and which individual is what race
So in FACT… there are less differences between races (biologically) than differences based on pure physical/cultural features
In a nutshell, all I say is that we treat everyone regardless of their race with equal respect, fairness, and humility b/c we are more alike than we are different (science proved it for you)
@Wanderer,
Saying that east asians are more evolved than europeans is not a twist to suit one’s opinion. It’s not an opinion. It’s fact. east asians were the last to evolve hence making them the most evolved. Just like Homo neanderthal evolved later than homo erectus.
You’re misunderstood my post b/c you thought I wrote that east asians are superior. Although that may be implied
@ Wanderer & Twinkie
Read this article, its very interesting to what Twinkie is talking about.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/science/26human.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin
To be honest and offtopic to the thread’s original post, history is subjective ultimately. However, we have a choice to unite and work towards a more meaningful existence.
And I am sorry, I don’t buy the genetic, evolutionary superiority of East Asians nor that of any other group of people. Every group of people has intelligent, moderate intelligent, and below intelligent individuals. There are too many variables to bank everything on genetics let alone evolution.
And besides that ,using evolution and genetics to make a case (even though you say that you were misunderstood (which honestly sounds like total bs) is tantamount to the beginning rumblings of making another argument for Eugenics. I swear I hope nobody gets that in their head to start that mess again.
Race is a misnomer and an insecurity of human beings. Always wanting to be different and set apart. We are all freaking human beings. We need to get on with being a united group. We can retain our cultures and beliefs but we don’t have to sacrifice what we are as human beings for some superior mumbo jumbo.
All though this is off topic, I feel the need to reply
To Lynn,
THANK YOU! Loved the article. I had read something similar a while ago, but couldnt think of where I read it. Basically the article states the same as what you and I were saying. That evolution doesnt occur in just one particular population, but to all populations depending on selective pressures in that area.
To Twinkie:
Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus were completely different species!! We are ALL the same species (Homo sapiens).. so saying that one human is more evolved than another is a bit of a stretch ( evolutions doesnt just happen in a day.. )