Tag: paris-olympics

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I am of two minds about the Olympic opening ceremonies Last Supper controversy. In a previous blog, I explained how I think that the people behind the opening ceremonies were being disingenuous in their denial that they were showing a Bacchanalian Feast and not satirizing da Vinci’s the Last Supper with a transvestites, transexuals and gay people. I personally thought they were satirizing the Last Supper while I was watching it. Only to be told, after the shit hit the fan, that it was something else altogether.

It simply defies logic that millions of people around the world would think the Last Supper and be so wrong. Denying it is insulting to the intelligence of the people watching the show and, more importantly, an out right lie. The controversy is still going on and now nobody rightly believes the Paris Olympic Committee. It would just be easier to own up to it and thank them for bringing it to their attention. You know the typical Customer Service response you hear when the company has no intention of doing anything about the complaint.

I also have a big problem with the people who got bent out of shape about it. People have been using the Last Supper for years without any backlash from the Christian Community. Buzzfeed has put together a list of 50 plus examples if you are looking for some evidence. How is putting Marilyn Monroe or Albert Einstein or Homer Simpson at the head of the table any more blasphemous than a transvestite? It is a joke.

It’s the painting that is being satirized not Jesus. I think it is highly unlikely that the good Christians complaining about the Paris Olympic version of the Last Supper have never seen a satiric version of the painting. A simple google search provides numerous examples as I have shown. I remember seeing one in the basement of one of my Dad’s friends. The Last Supper was with dogs instead of Jesus and apostles My Dad’s friend was practicing Catholic as well as my Dad who thought it was pretty funny. So now you are getting mad. So now anyone who uses the Last Supper in a satiric way is anti-Christian. Spare me the faux outrage because I don’t believe it for one minute.

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When I first saw the tableau of the Bacchanalian Feast at the Paris Olympics, my first thought was they are making fun of the Last Supper. It popped into my mind almost at first sight. Millions of other people had exactly the same thought which leads me to question the official explanation that it had nothing to do with da Vinci’s the Last Supper and was merely showing a Bacchanalian Feast with Greek Gods.

This explanation might fly a bit better if a good portion of the world wasn’t so familiar with the Da Vinci painting. It is also a little insulting to your critics to say you idiots can’t you see this has nothing to do with the Last Supper. These are Greek Gods sitting there at the table. This is all Bacchanalian Feast and no Last Supper. It isn’t our fault that you ingrates can’t tell the difference.

Isn’t art a personal experience? So even though your intention was to show a Bacchanalian Feast, I saw the Last Supper. And, if you were to show it to me again. I am pretty sure I would still see the Last Supper because my familiarity with Greek Gods is minimal while I know a great deal about Jesus and Christianity. It isn’t likely that I will ever see what you are intending me to see, so your vehicle might not be the best one to convey a Bacchanalian Feast if, indeed, it was your intention not to make fun of the Last Supper. To be clear, I was amused when I first saw it. But I was amused because I thought they were making fun of the Last Supper with drag queens. Since I am not a Christian, I can enjoy the joke.

On the other hand, if I were a Christian, I might have other feelings which, I would think, people who were putting together such a show for a large and diverse audience might take into consideration. I seriously doubt that the smart and cultured people putting the Olympic show together are unfamiliar with the Last Supper. It is, after all, one of da Vinci’s most famous paintings, one that a large portion of the Olympic audience might be familiar with. So, the Bacchanalian Feast response to the uproar this performance caused is more than a little disingenuous. They knew what they were doing and they maybe were even a little suspicious of the reaction they would receive and they went ahead any way.

So, yeah, obviously a Bacchanalian Feast, can’t understand why people are making such a big deal about it.