When they said that the table was big enough, I never knew that there were a few Terms and Conditions added to the clause. The table is big enough and accommodating only if you are ‘white’ Jesus and twelve of his ‘heterosexual, cis-gendered’ disciples. I am, of course, talking about the fiasco that enveloped the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On 26th July 2024, the Olympics committee paved a well-deserved, albeit too-late space for drag artists (including Drag Race France’s Nicky Doll and Paloma). During the televised runway show segments, France decided to come out with guns blazing to describe the culture and individuality of the nation. This resulted in 18 performers (including three drag queens) recreating Jan van Bijlert’s 1635 painting, titled, ‘The Feast of Dionysus,’ which many conservatives called blasphemous and drew parallels with ‘The Last Supper.’
In the tableaux vivant, a barely clothed Dionysus (portrayed by singer-actor Philippe Katerine) stole the limelight as soon as the giant cloche was lifted, Served on a platter of fruits, he broke into a dance performance. The smurf-lookalike did say Diony-sis. The rendition also included a woman (portrayed by DJ Barbara Butch) flanked by her contemporaries on either side. She wears a silver headdress, representing the otherworldly halo, which embalms both Jesus and the sun god Apollo, further adding to the confusion that the practitioners of organised religion might have.
Butch poses with her hand forming a heart, celebrating the inclusivity and welcoming the viewers into an inconspicuous dance routine. The performers around her depict the various gods and goddesses of the Pantheon including Artemis, Venus, and Poseidon. The scene titled ‘Festivity,’ according to Thomas Jolly, the show’s director was not inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, even though the feasting table might suggest otherwise. What clears the air is the presence of the flower-studded Dionysus. Dionysus, the god of wine and erotic pleasure was the father of Sequana, the goddess of River Seine. The same Seine, which served as the venue of this impeccable performance.
The hate parade against the mostly LGBTQ panel was joined by the Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, Kansas City Chief’s Harrison Butker, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, French European parliament member Marion Maréchal, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburgand, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and now, the Vatican. Within this chaotic hate train, we did find some unexpected allies, such as Cardinal, François-Xavier Bustillo, who acknowledged similarities between the Pagan festival.
Even though I can comprehend what got these conservatives fuming, I have no clue why this episode out of them all was the most infuriating. We all have access to popular culture and popular media. Where were the conservatives, when ‘The Last Supper’ was parodied by network television, including ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘South Park,’ ‘The Expendables 2,’ ‘House MD,’ and more? To me, this seems like a perfect moment to villainise the LGBTQIA+ community and shoo them out of the spaces that they’ve manicured over years of subservience and later protests.
While the Olympics have now issued a statement, apologising to those hurt by this camp (and harmless) portrayal of a biblical/Graecian event, I believe it is a crucial time where we draw the line between hypocrisy and general disgust. The officials have stated that the performance was meant to celebrate “community tolerance,” but why does one have to apologise for spreading the message of (if not welcome) tolerance?
Historically, queer artists and performers have not been given sufficient resources or for that matter respect to take up spaces, which does continue to date. To me, the 2024 Paris Olympics, a converging point of talent, valour, and artistry, seems to be the right space to take up and showcase queer pride. As they said in ‘The View,’ if they have an issue with the programming, just “turn the TV Off.” Nonetheless, we are excited to see Nicky Doll, Miss Martini, and Minima Gesté; each an excellent representative of the queer community flailing the Olympic Torch designed by Mathieu Lehanneur.
Image Courtesy – The Daily Beast
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Sub Editor at Abir Pothi
