Currently Reading: Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier and Inishmurray: Island Voices by Joe McGowan
So who else loved the ode to children’s literature that
appeared in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics last night?
Besides the opening montage of scenes and vistas from
England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, the literature segment was by
far my favorite. What can be better than a performance that starts with J.K.
Rowling reading a passage from Peter Pan?
Clip here:
As she reads, literary villains including Captain Hook and
Lord Voldemort (as a terrifyingly huge statue, complete with wand that shoots
sparks) come to life to frighten the young girl reading in bed. She and the
other children are finally saved by the appearance of a slew of Mary Poppins’
flying down with their umbrellas to chase the baddies away. (To dance with Mary
Poppins is every kid’s dream, I should think.) The only thing that would have
made it better was if Aslan the Lion appeared with Mary Poppins, and the kids
fell back asleep clutching stuffed Winnie the Pooh bears.
I just love that at a ceremony celebrating the start of the
world’s biggest athletic competitions, tribute is paid to England’s cultural contributions
in history, music, film… and literature. By doing so, it emphasized the
importance of the arts alongside the focus on athleticism, which is a crucial
message to today’s society, in my opinion. In a world where education budgets
are tight, and music and theater programs are usually cut in favor of athletic
programs, this was a subtle reminder of the importance of all areas in a
child’s education. I also find it interesting that children’s literature was emphasized. From a country whose literary
heritage includes works of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, and so many others, the Ceremonies focused instead on England’s
contributions to children’s literature. Perhaps I am reading too much into this
(catch the pun?), but I see it as a reflection of the idea that children’s
literature is the most important kind of all, for that is where a person’s
future begins. I am passionate about the importance of books in a child’s life,
for I know how reading influenced who I am today and I have seen the difference
between children who are encouraged to read and those who are not. So of course
I watched this highlight of some of England’s most beloved children’s books
(although really, where was Narnia?) with delight and have been mulling it over
ever since.
I think the message inherent in this segment was that these
beloved children’s books, like many others, are timeless. They endure because
they are real to the children who read them and because they continue to exist
for us when we are older. The power inside books like these triumph over the
dark things in life and provide children with worlds never before imagined. It
is children who grow up to inherit our world and exposure to great children’s
literature does nothing but benefit them as they grow and learn. We were once
children too. We once fell in love with Neverland, Narnia, and Mr. McGregor’s
garden. Each generation will continue to do so, just as the one before them
did. Whatever the future may hold, this alone will endure. And that is a
comforting thought.
So those are my musings on the Opening
Ceremonies. Final thoughts: bravo to Rowan Atkinson for bringing back Mr. Bean
so flawlessly, and thank you Kenneth Branagh for giving life
to a great passage from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” His performance was so moving
that I did not even recognize it as Shakespeare until he was finished because
he performed it in such a way that it seemed as if the words had never been
spoken before, that they just materialized out of air in the seconds before he
spoke them. I tried posting a clip of the performance, but it didn't work. Try Googling it, if you can! It always gives me chills! (The background hymn "Jerusalem" doesn't hurt the effect either.)
