Tuesday, August 12, 2008

China's "Smiling Angel"


No one can deny the excitement, precision and beauty of the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic games. China spent large amounts of time and money preparing to open the games in a way that would be remembered forever. Everything had to be perfect, including the little girl who sang at the ceremony. So what was China to do when they found a girl with a beautiful voice (Yang Peiyi) that didn't match the image they wanted, and a girl that fit the image, but couldn't sing (Ling Miaoke)?

China ended up putting Miaoke on stage at the ceremony, but she was lip-syncing. They had previously recorded Peiyi singing "Ode to the Motherland," and played it Miaoke mouthed the words.

"The show's musical director said Lin was used because it was in the best interests of the country," it says in an article on BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7556058.stm.)

Many times we hear about a man or woman getting a job/promotion/something because of their appearance, but how many times is it confirmed? Even though some people put a great deal of emphasis on a person's appearance, it's rare for them to admit it. So when China blatantly said that they put the prettier girl out there because it was in the best interest of the country, how did you feel?

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