I stayed up late to watch the Paralympics Opening Ceremony on the telly last night. A tad schmaltzy (to put it mildly), but it certainly pushed the spectacular spectacle buttons. To my mind, at least, the Paralympics represent something a lot closer to the “spirit of sport” than the Olympics, and I’ll be following the Games as much as I can. Not having digital tv, I’ll be a tad disadvantaged as I’ll miss the live coverage on ABC2, but ABC1 will be showing a highlights package at 6pm and 11pm every night which can also be streamed on demand from Iview. I’m happy to do a bit of Paralympics blogging from time to time if folks are interested.
One thing that disappointed me about the coverage of the Sydney Paralympics was the way camera angles were used to implicitly normalise the athletes’ bodies (people in chairs were shot in interviews from above the waist, and arm amputees often from above the shoulder!) and the endless repetition of certain super-crip “overcoming adversity!” narratives in commentary. Although that does have the unintended advantage of crowding out some of the hyper-nationalism stuff that disfigures the Olympics! I’m hoping there’s been some progress in both the willingness to represent difference openly and in appreciating elite athletes as elite athletes in the intervening eight years. Incidentally, many are that in a different sense from Olympic athletes – it’s not uncommon for Paralympians to switch from say, swimming to athletics, and you’ll find that there are a lot of athletes who’ve participated in multiple sports, and even some who compete in both Winter and Summer Paralympics.
I’m also not sure what the funding differential (if any) is in Australia, but there’s some coverage in the New York Times which suggests it’s a big problem in the States. It would be nice if some of the “OMG! Britain beat us! Let’s spend more dosh!” dosh goes the way of the Australian Paralympic Committee. Finally, I’d like to point to the fact that the Australian Paralympians have their own YouTube channel, and over the fold, I’ve embedded a promo package and an interview with Australian leg amputee sprinter and long jumper Christine Wolf.
Right on, Kim. An excellent production, which I didn’t find schmaltzy anyway, even if some was sentimental. Another bonus was Karen Tighe’s well-researched commentary. The Seven production of the Olympics opening suffered badly from uninformed commentators, who seemed obsessed with the Tibet issue.
Bruce McAvaney is a bit sugary, but he’s about the only Seven member in Karen’s class for informed research. Don’t know why he wasn’t used for that event.
I should also add what a pleasure it was to see all those athletes with such joy and pride in being part of it.
Look forward to it. (…and I have digital and can get ABC-TV2! Yea!)
Don, yep, Karen Tighe is really good value!
Kim, you know that a digital set-top box can be purchased for no more than $50-$60?
Less on ebay prolly.
Yeah, I know, Geoff. I bought one a while back but got rid of it because the signal was weakened a lot by being channeled through one aerial on my apt building. But maybe I should investigate options tomorrow!
I’ll start watching the paralympics again when they allow the intellectually disabled back into the competition. Till then, I think they are a bigger bunch of snobby elitists than the able-bodied mob.
According to the Paralympics organisers the Intellectual Disability category is merely suspended while they work out proper classification procedures as it was felt that it had all become a bit of a shambles.
It’s a bit like the Olympics suspending a particular sport due to inadequacies in the international admin of that sport.
Wake me up for the Gay Olympics Kimbo
Kim, May I suggest that before you buy another set top box, you disconnect your external aerial and try a set of ‘rabbit ears’. If you get reasonable reception through this ‘internal’ aerial, a standard set top box (I paid $40 for mine) will improve same immeasurably. Also ABC 2 will then be available and it’s ‘good’.
BTW, tonight’s Basketball game, which Australia won by a point, was fantastic.
Drama at its best.
wbb
The suspension has been in place since 2000. How long do they need? Are they really trying?
I don’t think the delay is fair or reasonable, under the circumstances.
Kim – get a signal booster.
It’s a little (tiny) active (i.e. plugs into a power socket) device and it should make a poor signal just fine. Or talk to others in the building and get a bigger “masthead” amp to go up on the roof and boost everyone’s signal.
I work in a newsagency on the Gold Coast so usually get the chance to peruse the newspapers each morning. I find it very disappointing that there was no news at all on any of the front pages about the Australian athletes’ great achievements on day one of the games – 10 medals for goodness sake – and yet if Stephanie Rice had scratched herself it would have been screaming headlines and, as we know, five or six figure deals with every women’s mag in the land.
The achievements of our paralympians are in so many ways superior to those of our “abled” athletes and yet no coverage at all. I did note a few items on page 18 of the SMH sports pullout and must admit didn’t get the chance today to look at the other MSM but I doubt very much if we will have front page after front page of proud athletes during the coming week as we did during the Olympics. Shame!
In a poor mood, I sat to watch, having been tuned by the Australian Story episode on a disabled athlete who name escapes me for the mo. Resisting the temptation to feel confronted, I watched on as athlete after athlete performed prodigies of the like equalled only events at he same place a fortnight ago.
Am actually feeling calm, clean and humanised for the first time in a couple of days.
Schmaltzy? Yes.
But perhaps something else, related to seeing spirit and character in action and being a bit inspired by it. They dont want pity and they deserve respect and aclaim for what they’ve accomplished in adversity.