I’m not a big fan of the Olympics, but Chris Cope has a good take on things. An American living in Cardiff (Wales, you twit, part of the UK), he has an interesting perspective. And he certainly is right here:
That said, the BBC is certainly giving it its best effort. We are promised wall-to-wall coverage via TV, radio, online and mobile phones. Huge television screens have been erected in a number of city centers across the country. And a terrifying animated kung-fu monkey has been unveiled to promote the event.
In Britain, we are required by law to pay $275 a year for the privilege of watching television. This is where our money goes.
I’m particularly amused by the kung-fu monkey, whose name is … Monkey. A two-minute cartoon of his traveling to the Bird’s Nest with a pig and strange water zombie has been airing with increasing frequency over the past few weeks. It is surreal every time I see it.
Surreal is right. Wow. You’ve gotta see that to believe it.
Jim Downey
(Hat tip to Alix. Cross posted to UTI.)
3 Comments so far
Leave a comment
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Why BBC is using chinese folklore (Monkey King’s journey to the west) to promote the olympics in the UK baffles me.
Comment by GvonR August 6, 2008 @ 11:19 amAllow me to illuminate! There are two reasons for using Monkey in the advertising.
1. The 1970s television show Monkey is still popular in the UK – not in current showings, but in the memories of people who were growing up when it was first screened. These are the people who are now working in key positions in television and making decisions about how to promote the Olympics.
2. The design for the characters and the music for the adverts are by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn (aka Gorillaz), who have recently collaborated on a full-scale opera based on Journey to the West – where the designs for these characters first appeared. So the media coverage is guaranteed, as is the credibility of having Gorillaz involved.
Hope that clears it up…
Comment by Paul C August 7, 2008 @ 12:43 amPaul, thanks for the context. It is always educational to get these kinds of insights into another culture, even one as relatively similar as the UK’s to the US’s. Even with as much time as I and my wife have spent in the UK, I had no idea about this history.
Jim D.
Comment by Communion of Dreams August 7, 2008 @ 6:09 am