A Question Of Ethics

Word is out that China has been using deceptive tactics in its opening to the Olympics. First was the CGI sequence in lieu of real footage of the giant footsteps, and the other was having a pretty girl stand in for the less attractive siren, while having the better singer voice the lyrics.

What is irksome is the suggestion that the West is somehow unreasonably picking on China. As the Chinese would have said themselves, there is no smoke without fire. This "West" bogeyman can hardly pick on something that does not exist. But the issue is less on these strange East/West politics than the question of ethics.

Make no mistake, the Olympics opening ceremony has always been a political event. It is meant to showcase the country as much as it is to herald the metaphorical giants of sports. The question, therefore, is whether it is ethical to gloss over some minor inadequacies by using illusory substitutes. This is akin to a film, where nobody is offended by special effects until they realize that they are there. Should the suspension of disbelief be shattered, the audience feels cheated. By revealing the Olympic smoke and mirrors, some feel understandably offended.

Still, this is a question of what is real, and thereby what is ethical. If a the singer was the less attractive one, she would have been a slight blemish on the show. In the interests of perfectionism, that would have been unacceptable. Yet in the interests of due credit and humanism, a less than perfect human specimen could still be showcased in the performance and none would begrudge that. People know that they are witnessing a performance space, yet are still seeing it as a human space due to the human presence presumably showcasing human prowess. The confusion of the two leads to the flawed assumption of wanting "real" within an illusory performance space. Was the singing real? They could have easily made a recording in a studio setting, then have her lip synch at the performance proper. Were the fireworks real? They actually happened, even though the footage was fabricated due to safety concerns. What is real? On one paw I think the question of ethics is moot because this is a performance and not a real talent contest. On the other paw, I can understand the human concerns that due credit is not given, and that they are witnessing a wizard of Oz illusion in what they assume to be real.