London 2012 Closing Ceremony: Absolute rubbish

The 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony are in the progress - and it is a shameful and tragic display of British cultural decline. The "celebration" of so-called British pop culture is akin to the ancient Romans staging  antics from the northern barbarians and claiming it as their own, and their culture. Thankfully, H.M. the Queen decided not to attend. 

Firstly, the vast majority of the acts are not of the British culture. Culture derives from cultus. It was not cultivated by the British nation by any stretch of the imagination. Nor was it "popular" in the sense of populus or deriving from the people.  This pop "culture" did not, and does not derive from the British nation organically, but, is an imposed near universal form of commercialism - the exact opposite of a truly popular culture. 

The "Spice Girls": a corporate invention that does
not derive from the British peoples

Another aspect for consideration was the selection of "artists". This cheap imitation of a bread and circuses fiasco included the sociological phenomena of endorsing and promoting "artists" who not a few decades ago would have brought the British feelings of shame and embarrassment.  As I write, an individual named "Fatboy Slim" is "performing". A total embarrassment to British culture. He was then followed by an assortment of  tarts getting out of taxis. Unbelievable... what a national tragedy. Other acts followed - including an insulting mock-up of Christian nuns. 

Even more tragic was the fact that real British culture and artistry does exists. I ask you to consider the angelic voice of Scottish soprano Shuna Scott Shendall. One can only imagine the reaction to this closing ceremony by the Russians, who, at the nearly equally pathetic closing ceremony in Vancouver in 2010, informed the world that at Sochi, they intend to showcase the superiority of Russian culture (e.g. the genius of Tschiakovsky, the Ballet Russe, and perhaps more contemporary Russian brilliance such as Prokoviev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Kabalevsky et al.). In answer to the Russian challenge, could the British only muster eccentric "singers", a video of a totally self-destructive dead man making strange noises, and off-key crooners? Evidently, the organizers did know of (or more likely distain) the real native genius of Vaughan Williams, Tavener etc. Oh yes, a brief nod may be  thrown toward the masters - e.g. so-called newspaper cuttings, a few odd musical measures -  but what of it?

British genius : Sir Edward Elgar
the musical embodiment of the nation

Ironically, this closing ceremony does answer the question raised by the hymn, "Jerusalem" sung at the Opening Ceremony. Yes, the "dark satanic mills" are real, they do exist. Most frightfully, they are a state of mind existing in contemporary Britain. Artificial, contrived, illusionary... In fact, the aging Roger Daltrey  admitted in an earlier interview that The Who's "performance" will be in fact all pre-recorded. In essence, a sham. 

Forgive them Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton,  Spenser, Marvell and Dunstable, Purcell, Handel, et al., they know not what they do.