Rio. Beautiful, exotic and colourful.

Dear reader, we at PCbyCP must confess that we’re a little bit under-enthused about the upcoming Olympics in Rio. After prolonged introspection we believe it may be due to a combination of intersecting factors. And perhaps, the feeling, formulated somewhere in the deep recesses of the subconscious, that these Olympics, these anticipated, exciting upcoming Olympics are a little desperate.

Australia. National costume says it all.

And please understand, we’re committed to giving them the benefit of the doubt. But there is this sneaking suspicion. Looking at it obliquely. Taking everything into consideration. That Rio, beautiful, exotic and colourful, might just be a symbol, a high water mark for a movement that’s just had its day.. And this, to be quite objective, poses the inescapable conclusion, that like the Royal family, and all it’s trappings, the Olympic movement is more symbolic now of the most overblown manifestation of high kitsch and grotesque inequity. A voting system that seems more dodgy than Fifa’s. And the simmering turgid realisation that for all it pretends to be, it’s a tired, ossified example of high level corruption, entitlement, and subversion of a good idea by a self serving oligarchy of sports plutocrats and satrapcy of games officials.

And this conclusion has nothing to do with the ad-nauseam promotions building within our ABC of “ exciting Olympic moments’. And they’re not the funny one’s either. It’s just that from all the snippets we get from Rio, it seems that these Olympics are symbolic of the ‘trickle down effect’. And perhaps as hollow as Berlin, Moscow, and Los Angeles Olympics in demonstrating the corruption of an international ethos, by self seeking, parochial governments.

Now you’re probably thinking, this is outrageous! And we know at home you’ll be collecting you Olympic memorabilia and delighting in the latest “cute” mascots. But the news out of Rio aint encouraging, From what we can gather, the vast majority of Rio de Janeiro-ians are under-excited by the upcoming Olympics. They are also desperately poor. And we have it on good authority that for over a century they have enjoyed their very own movement which is fun, colourful and mass participatory. It’s called Mardi Gras. And they manufacture their own individualistic and flamboyant costumes, and indulge in exuberant and flamboyant activity all night long. How could the Olympics and the very highly priced syndicated and official merchandising compete with that?

The locals are not entirely benefitting from the boon of Olympic investment either. Recent accounts have them being quarantined by a paramilitary, who seems keen on eliminating undesirables. A government who’s just tossed out the president and replaced her by an ageing white minority of old blokes, and a virus that makes peoples heads shrink and consequently reduces their cognitive function. Recently some aussie Olympians were held up at gunpoint and their bicycles stolen, and we’ve been told it’s really safe if you stick within a cordon of guns and steel happily provided by the local paramilitary to keep the Olympians safe. But step outside it?… And you’re a gonner!! And there’s ‘special treatment for the officials, who seem principally to enjoy the benefits more than the actual athletes, in sinecured comfort. As always.

Olympics. Often, a boon for real estate re-distribution.

More kitsch imbued and grotesque than Olympic uniforms comes the suspicion, well founded, that the Olympics, is more about corrupt funds, vote rigging, and other activities pioneered by international banking to ensure that the status quo is maintained.

A simple equation is at work. The amount of medals won, is in direct proportion to the amount of money invested. Consequently rich countries get lots of medals. Poor countries are left without. Which is why we believe the Rio Olympics is the high point. You get what you pay for, and for those on the bottom rung, the four year cycle of beer and circuses, flag waving and sickly anthems is just a little bit empty. But then, there’s another home truth in that. The Olympics never ever were a bastion for self reflection, irony and humour. A sick joke really. Unless you want to talk Montreal and the cost blowout, or what Jessie Owens did to Hitler’s master race theory. Mere sideshows, to the main game, bad art, bad architecture, and an Orwellian reality, that we get what we deserve.

More or less.