I’ve been watching Superstars of Dance. It been…well, not bad, but not as good as I had expected. The dancers are beautiful, but the camera work is all weird, and half the time you can’t see the dancers, either because the shot is way too wide or because they are showing audience footage instead of the dancers. I was pretty disappointed, because I am a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance, and I expected more of Nigel Lithgoe.
Anyway.
Tonight I was watching the finals form Monday, thanks to the wonder of DVR (which, by the way, I can’t imagine living without). They started off talking about Michael Flatley (he’s the host) selling out stadiums and such, and how he was going to dance on the show. It was cheesy TV host patter, but I was vaguely psyched that he was going to dance. Then he started talking about how his parents immgrated, how hard they worked, etc, and that this dance was a tribute to the United States. It was sort of touching. I thought I might enjoy his performance. Music started up — a redition of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” on some flute-like instrument, maybe a fife? Anyway, a little predictable, but I still thought it might be interesting, until a girl walked on the stage, playing the fluty-thing.
In a bikini.
That’s right, she was wearing an effing BIKINI. With American flag patterns on it, and high heels. Not only that, she didn’t dance, just walked around the stage playing the fluty-thing and showing off her body. All that was missing was a pole in the middle of the stage and guys waving dollar bills. She walked offstage after a while and the other dancers came on stage, and I am sure they were lovely, but I couldn’t even pay attention, I was so pissed off about that damn bikini.
THIS is his tribute to the US? A chick in flag-striped underwear strutting around the stage? This is the tribute to a country where women have fought so hard to be respected, to have equal rights, to have a voice and be seen as human beings, not just sex objects or servants?
If that is what represents the United States, then we have failed. Every woman who has been part of the feminist movement might as well have stayed home and baked cookies, for all the good it has apparently done. I feel sick.
Oh, man. I completely agree with you.
While my boyfriend and I were watching, stunned, I turned to him and said, “You know, I think the worst of American stereotypes just threw up all over that stage.” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Omfg I couldn’t believe that whole “tribute”! Definitely ranks up there with the opening ceremony for the Atlanta Olympics, y’remember, when they brought out the monster trucks?
It was even worse than Eurovision – and that takes some doing!
I’d love to comment, but just reading about that ‘tribute’ caused me to spork my own eyes out.