Farewell to 加油*

By James Fallows, theatlantic.com

"Note in the shot below the Chinese participants who I think edge out the opening-ceremony cheerleaders for the gold medal in stoicism. During the entire match, they had to look constantly into the crowd. This was presumably to be on guard if  anyone tried to charge the field or—much worse!—take out some kind of banner. How you could sneak a banner in through the security screenings is mystery on its own. Not once did I see a one of them turn around, even when the crowd roared and the stadium seemed to pulse with excitement. They didn't move or flinch at all. Assuming that they were actual people and not mannequins, I say: Well done! Jia you!

"(Note also the optical illusion in the shot: with the curved lines, it looks as if the picture is a trapezoid, with the bottom edge sloping up toward the right, rather than a rectangle. Or maybe the Games have destroyed my eyes and mind.)"

(From James Fallows' blog at theAtlantic.com. Note also the link to Zach Honig's photos on popphoto.com.)

*Jia you!, which translates roughly to "let's go," was the de facto motto of the Games.

_________________________

Mike

Comments

[Doroga]

His eyes & mind still have a chance, I see this illusion too :)

[whale in Taiwan]

加油加油加油 = GO!! GO!! GO!! = Hurray

[Cliff Lee]

I think facing the other way is paid work?
In football (soccer) matches, especially the big ones, there is a ring of marshalls who watch the crowd, to stop against hooligans and streakers charging the pitch.
When there is a championship winning goal, I'm amazed that they have the willpower not to turn around. Although I guess by the time the crowd goes wild, they've missed the event...

[Mark S+]

No doubt there are other watchers keeping an eye on those watchers, with heavy penalties for any crowd-watcher who looks away. Such is life in a totalitarian state...

[Richard]

"Jia You" literally means "Add Oil/Fuel" which colloquially speaking, if you are in Beijing - translates to: turn on your afterburner, but only you are translating to.. oh, never mind.

[ttt]

thanks mark s+ for your great insightful comment! :) because they have similar marhsals for football matches in europe that must mean all of europe is totalitarian too.

[Peter]

I can't look at that picture very long, I know it's just an optical illusion due to the curving lines on the track, but I keep thinking that the picture and the text are misaligned!

[Mike J.]

"I keep thinking that the picture and the text are misaligned!"

Peter,
Me too. Weird, isn't it? Usually a known straight line will tend to suppress an optical illusion, but not in this case.

Mike J.

[Benjamin Listwon]

RE: The "trapezoid effect" there. I even aligned the picture with the bottom of my browser to "make sure" I was not going crazy. It was the first thing I saw when I scrolled down, and I spent at least two minutes agonizing over it until I scrolled up and read your comment.