A myth is the nothingness that is everything: The soft power of the Olympic games
Glauco Ortolano explores the soft power myths being generated during the Olympics.
Acclaimed 20th Century Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, Fernando Pessoa - Wikipedia opens his poem “Ulysses” with a striking maxim: “A myth is the nothingness that is everything.” Pessoa always attempted to revive great Portuguese myths of the age of maritime discoveries (15th & 16th Centuries) in his literary work, especially seen in his poetry collection “Mensagem” (Message), his masterpiece. Pessoa knew of the importance of creating or recreating myths in the construction or maintenance of great civilizations and national pride.
With the start of the Paris Olympic Games 2024, we can already try to identify and study the myths that organizers attempt to build or maintain through the symbolism magnified by artists to promote ideals, national pride, or social, historical, and geopolitical agendas linked to the French civilization, and others.
Right from the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the French made masterful use of their icons and myths in a very efficient and subliminal way. Who will ever forget, for example, Céline Dion's triumphant return, marking her first public performance since 2020, closing the opening ceremony by singing 'Hymne à l'amour', a true anthem of French music, popularized by Edith Piaf, one of the greatest French icons? In addition, Céline Dion sang from a stage set up on the Eiffel Tower, another icon and major symbol of the city of lights, revered and preserved since its completion in 1889. And, by the way, the French really understand the importance of icons. Let us not forget that the Statue of Liberty, the USA's greatest icon, was a gift from France itself.
The opening ceremony was also marked by an electrifying performance by the band Gojira on the banks of the River Seine. With a striking representation of Marie Antoinette, the act “Liberté” (Freedom) brought to life Eugène Delacroix's painting “Liberty Leading the People” Liberty Leading the People | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica and ended with a dramatic recreation of the queen's execution. The recreation of the greatest myth the French Revolution produced, and that today serves as the national motto of France (and Haiti), the famous tripartite set of values, “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!” (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity), which was also used masterfully to mark the French contribution to the construction of the post-enlightenment Western world.
A third symbol explored at the opening, and this time by appropriating myths from other eras and cultures, was the controversial performance by the French drag queens, who used the Greek myth of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus) to promote an agenda of neoliberal social inclusion, but which ended up generating controversy because of its similarity to Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, a major icon of Christian sacred art. However, there is certainly nothing better for a visual artist than to generate controversy in order to promote her work, even if it is considered to be in bad taste by so many.
It remains to be seen whether the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris will be remembered more for this ludicrous controversy, for Céline Dion's extraordinary performance, or for Marie Antoinette's head dancing in the dark. Only time will tell. On the other hand, Russian leader Vladimir Putin may use the controversial drag queen act to promote his holy war against the “decadent western world” Opinion | Putin and the Myths of Western Decadence - The New York Times (nytimes.com). Through internal propaganda, he might even convince the Russian people that is was divine providence that banned Russians to participate in the Paris 2024 Games. Putin should get a gold medal for his masterful propaganda skills.
However, when it comes to creating new myths, I believe Brazilians were the most favored by the gods of the Olympus. Perhaps the most unique photo of these Olympic Games came from the lenses of the camera of photographer Jerome Brouillet from Agence France-Presse, who managed to capture a sublime moment that went viral all over the world, when Brazilian mesmerizing surfer, Gabriel Medina, with a phenomenal performance that earned him an almost perfect score of 9.90, highest ever in a Olympic surfing competition, appears to be defying gravity and floating above the water as he holds his right arm in the air while making a No. 1 sign with his index finger. Such photo is being called by many as the picture of the Paris Olympics 2024 This Photo of Surfer Gabriel Medina Is the Picture of the Paris Olympics (msn.com), and regrettably for Russian President Putin, he will not will be able to use the image in his crusade against the West.
I am sure that other soft power myths will be generated during the Olympics, which will deserve more articles on the importance of creating myths to build a strong and healthy civilization, and not necessarily through drag queens. After all, that's what the Olympic Games are, a soft power potent machine.
Glauco Ortolano is an Associate Professor at the Defense Critical Language and Culture Program of the Mansfield Center, University of Montana. He has taught at the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He was also appointed Peace Ambassador by Le Cercle Universel des Ambassadeurs de la Paix.
Photo by Kyle Dolan
