Let’s return to the Paris Olympics, shall we, before I start my long journey back to East Tennessee from the West Coast.
Confession: When it comes to languages, I know absolutely nothing about French. However, it appears that if you take the word “Dionysius” and translate it into French you get “Denys,” or “Denis.”
That’s interesting, since the patron saint of France is St. Denys, a martyr who was the first bishop of Paris. He was beheaded and, in sacred art, is often shown in vestments — holding his own head.
You know, kind of like that iconic moment in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, when the beheaded Queen Marie Antoinette was shown holding her own head — while still managing to sing along with the heavy-metal band Gojira.
Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s get an update on that earth-shaking Lord’s Supper controversy (see previous Rational Sheep post). Here is the overture from a wink-wink Yahoo!News report:
A Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony scene reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” continued to stir controversy Sunday as Paris 2024 producers and the ceremony’s designer Thomas Jolly released separate, apparently opposing statements on where it drew its inspiration.
The scene in question featured a line of drag performers posing shoulder-to-shoulder on a Parisian bridge before turning the bridge into a fashion-forward catwalk. Later, those same queens celebrated over a meal where the dish was revealed to be a nearly nude man painted blue.
Many, including Jolly and the official Olympics Games X account, said that the scene is an “interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus” that “makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
Others, including a statement from Paris 2024 producers obtained by TheWrap Sunday, said that it was in fact inspired by Da Vinci’s famous painting — a skewing of the religious imagery that has been slammed by the Christian right as a mockery of Jesus Christ.
“For the ‘Festivities’ segment, Thomas Jolly took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting to create the setting,” producers said in the statement. “Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief. …”
Wait, it’s the “Christian right” that is upset? This is essentially about politics and only conservatives are upset?
NBC News went even further in its report. While offering a brief statement of criticism from Bishop Emmanuel Gobillard — representing the Holy See at the 2024 Olympics — the NBC story focused most of its attention on the hot-take views of the easily offended:
* Jenna Ellis, the former 2020 campaign attorney for Donald Trump.
* Kansas City Chiefs place kicker, and Catholic conservative, Harrison Butker.
* The “Far-right French politician Marion Marechal-Le Pe.”
* The omnipresent Elon Musk.
* Former Fox News producer Kyle Becker.
See? No one was offended except people whose names are sure to inflame the remaining viewers of the NBC/MSNBC world.
Meanwhile, the performer Barbara Butch — the lesbian “Love activist” and DJ who, wearing a silver crown, played the Jesus role in this drama — summed up her inclusion goals with an Instagram post proclaiming, ““OH YES! OH YES! THE NEW GAY TESTAMENT!” This message was soon deleted.
In many ways, the key word here is “offended” — according to about 8,000 links in a Google News search related to this story.
You know, some sad people on the far right are very easily “offended.” That’s the key fact in this controversy. About 2,000 news reports did use some form of the stronger, and openly religious, word “blasphemy.”
If you listen to the various official voices involved in this mess, you hear that thin-skinned conservatives were offended by a message of peace and inclusion that cheerfully used the Greek gods as symbols for fellowship, diversity and inclusion.
That’s the ticket.
However, this drama clearly included a moment frozen in time when the drag-culture symbols were arranged to show a revisioning of a Christian sacrament. Thus, there was a merry band of sexual revolutionaries gathering for their own form of Eucharist — with the near naked Dionysius on the table, taking the place of consecrated bread and wine.
At the very least, the Christian Savior is replaced by the Greek god of wine, fertility and debauchery. And France is redefined as well, with Dionysus at the center of a culture-defining drama broadcast to the world, as opposed to St. Denys. There’s a new patron saint in town?
Let’s end with a few Rational Sheep question.
Let’s say that you are a parent and you have one or more children who are both sports fans who love the Olympics and social-media consumers who are likely to run into viral messages and memes about the opening ceremonies.
How will you explain what took place? Will this influence whether you watch these Olympic games? Also, pastors: What did this controversy teach you (if anything) about the state of elite media culture today? Is this drama worth mentioning to your flock?
Just asking.
INSERT ART: A screen grab of the soon-deleted Barbara Butch post, posted on X.
