The far right has accused the event’s organizers of parodying Christianity with drag queens
Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, denied parodying Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting The Last Supper or making references to Christianity in the show. Jolly said: “You will never find any desire on my part to mock, to belittle anything. I wanted to make a ceremony that would repair, that would reconcile. Also that would reaffirm the values of our Republic,” referring to the motto liberty, equality and fraternity, in an interview with the BFMTV channel.
Reactions to the scene
In the “party” portion of the opening, extravagantly dressed people, including drag queens, appeared in front of a long catwalk/dance floor, in an image supposedly evocative of “The Last Supper.” There was a DJ rig at the top of the catwalk, and DJ Barbara Butch, in the center, with a halo-like accessory, made a heart sign with her hands.
The French Episcopal Conference (CEF) condemned the scene, considering it a “mockery of Christianity”. The French far right also joined in and called the reference to the painting by the Italian painter blasphemous for the presence of drag queens. Leaving aside the fact that the famous painting is secular, as it was commissioned for the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, and not as an object of religious worship, in addition to the observation that Leonardo was gay according to his biographers, the incitement to hatred was shared by the global right, including Elon Musk and the usual Brazil.
It wasn’t the Last Supper
However, Thomas Jolly stressed that “The Last Supper” was not his inspiration: “The idea was more to create a great pagan festival connected with the Olympian gods… Olympism… Olympics.”
The real reference should have become clear with the arrival on the scene of Dionysus/Bacchus, in homage to the Greco-Roman god of wine and festivities, who also served as a symbolic representation of France as a country of wine and festivities. His presence was also linked to a famous painting: The Banquet of the Gods, by the Dutchman Jan Van Bijlert.
“The interpretation of the Greek god Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings,” the official profile of the X Olympic Games highlighted in real time, in a message that should dispel any confusion with Christianity.
But do you think that the presence of Dionysus, all blue, changed the perception of those who protested? On the contrary, he was confused with Jesus Christ and the event was accused of Christophobia by the most radical – and ignorant.
Source: Terra
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