An artistic depiction that appears to satirize white nationalism and racism in the U.S. at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris, 2024. NAJ screen shot

The Big Picture –
By Glynn Wilson –

The Olympic Games have been used as a platform for international politics and to influence public opinion since the first modern Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. Of course the purpose of the games was to promote international peace and understanding. But there are plenty of examples over the years of the ceremonies being used to make political points, sometimes in artistic ways.

In one of the most notable times in history, Nazi Germany tried to portray the National Socialist Party as benevolent and peace-loving when they hosted the 1936 Games in Berlin, though they used the Games to try to display “Aryan superiority.” That did not work out so well for them.

MAGA Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump seems to echo this when he talks about taking over the White House in November and claiming things like “Our movement is a movement built on love,” while critics say his entire campaign is based on division and hate.

So I just had to laugh out loud when Republicans in the United States, which seem to hold some resemblance to the Nazis and show a clear affinity for some of their ways – along with conservatives in the Catholic Church – took such great offense at a performance in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

It was an artistic tableau people saw as they walked down the red carpet into the opening ceremony and appeared to satirically make fun of what’s going on in the United States in politics, specifically the Trump MAGA movement driven by white, Christian nationalism. The set looked a lot like the red, white and blue American flag. Could this have been by accident? I don’t think so.

It seemed to depict a painting of a Biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before the crucifixion. Or at least that’s the way some Republicans and conservative Christians saw it. It featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus.

The Olympic committee tried to assuage public criticism by first denying the depiction had anything to do with Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, The Last Supper, and then defended it.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said at a news conference. “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”

Artistic director Thomas Jolly tried to draw attention away from “The Last Supper” references after the opening ceremony, saying that hadn’t been his intention.

“We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that,” Jolly told reporters Saturday.

The Catholic church in France was among those criticizing the segment, calling it “mockery of Christianity.”

Supporters of the tableau praised its message of inclusivity and tolerance, according to the way it was reported by ESPN.

Even NBC covered this controversy, the network that holds the multi-billion dollar contract to televise the Olympics. NBC and its parent Comcast struck a deal in 2014 to pay $7.65 billion to renew its media rights deal through 2032. Executives have said that the firm has made more than $1.2 billion on advertising for the Paris Games.

“In this scene from the Olympic opening ceremony, the famous painting of The Last Supper is recreated, but Jesus is replaced with an obese woman, while queer and trans figures (including a child!) depict her apostles,” Jenna Ellis, former 2020 campaign attorney to Donald Trump, told her 1 million followers on X.

She described the ceremony as containing “overt pagan and satanic symbolism.”

Bishop Emmanuel Gobillard, a spokesperson representing the Holy See for the 2024 Paris Olympics, told NBC News that the depiction of the Last Supper left him “deeply hurt.”

“The fact that our religion should be mocked is usual and we are used to blasphemy in France, but the context isn’t the same,” he said. “In an event that brings together all or part of the population, I found this staging hurtful and out of place.”

Far-right French politician Marion Marechal-Le Pen said in a post on X that the performance was “not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”

Elon Musk responded to and amplified several memes decrying the “wokeness” of the event. And Kyle Becker, a former Fox News producer with more than half a million X followers, said the Games had “gone full Woke dystopian.”

It appeared to be “much ado about nothing,” however, like the comedy by William Shakespeare. Sometimes it might be better to be “woke,” than not, lest you make a fool of yourself.

Scholars pointed out on social media that the art scene was not The Last Supper.

The Feast of the Gods (Le Festin des Dieux, Oil on Canvas, by Jan van Bijlert, 1635–1640: NAJ screen shot

It was this: Jan van Bijlert, The Feast of the Gods (c 1625) in the Musée Magnin, Dijon. The gods have assembled on Mount Olympus for a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. On the left are Minerva, Diana, Mars and Venus accompanied by Cupid. Flora, the goddess of spring, stands behind them. Apollo, wearing his crown, and identifiable by his lyre, presides at the centre of the table. Further away, we can see Hercules with his club and Neptune with his trident. On the extreme right, Eris has placed the apple of disorder on the table.

Certain gods are absent, hinted at by the presence of Juno’s peacock, probably because the canvas was cut away on the left-hand side.

Biljert was in Rome in the early 1620s, and like his fellow artists from Utrecht – Ter Brugghen, Honthorst, Baburen – he was impressed by Caravaggio’s art.

Of course the German Nazis tried to use Jesse Owens in the 1936 games to show racial inferiority and prove “Social Darwinism,” also known as euginics. But how that backfired? Owens embarrassed Adolph Hitler and his Nazi pals by winning four Gold medals. So much for white racial superiority, eh?

A depiction of Hitler and Jesse Owens from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin: NAJ screen shot

Jesse Owens at the 1936 Summer Olympics, where he won four gold medals: NAJ screen shot

Individual athletes have also used the Olympic stage to promote their own political agenda. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, for one notable example, two American track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished first and third in the 200 meters, performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand. The second-place finisher, Peter Norman of Australia, wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in support of Smith and Carlos.

Gold medalist Tommie Smith (center) and bronze medalist John Carlos (right) showing the raised fist on the podium after the 200 m race at the 1968 Summer Olympics; both wear Olympic Project for Human Rights badges. Peter Norman (silver medalist, left) from Australia also wears an OPHR badge in solidarity with Smith and Carlos: NYT/NAJ screen shot

Related: Project 2025: The Author and Head of the Heritage Foundation’s Ties to Radical Catholic Group Opus Dei

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