“In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation.”
- Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle (1967)
While Debord was writing during the tumult in France in the late 1960s, speaking to the increasing importance of television and consumer culture in Europe, the foundational situationist text may well have been written today with no lessening of its significance. There could be no stronger vindication of Debord than the Paris Olympics, which demonstrated the spectacular hegemony of the image.
The very opening of the Olympics stoked controversy when its representation of the Feast of Dionysus was misinterpreted (by self-proclaimed defenders of western civilisation) as a parody of the Christian Last Supper with performers in drag. This obsession with an impending collapse of ‘western civilization’ (peppered with incoherent comparisons of the collapse of the Roman Empire) is actually an animating force of contemporary fascism in Europe and America.
Keeping with the theme of transphobia that seems to have gripped right-wing discourse, the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif became its victim after her opponent Angela Carini tapped out after a short bout. Transphobes like author J.K. Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk immediately claimed that Khelif was a ‘biological’ man allowed by the IOC to compete as a woman. The fact that she was born with female genitalia did not save her from allegations, nor the fact that she had been defeated in the boxing ring several other times by women. The sole criteria for the allegation was her disqualification by the Russian IBA after an unspecified eligibility test after she defeated the previously undefeated Russian prospect Azalia Amineva. Social media platforms were inundated with purported ‘manly’ images of Khelif, repeated the allegations.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç also became a sensation when his casual attire and minimal gear approach to shooting when he won a silver medal in the 10 meter air pistol mixed team event alongside his teammate Şevval İlayda Tarhan. Many started speculating humorously if Dikeç was a hitman recruited by the Turkish team. One internet rumour claimed that he had taken to shooting after an argument with his wife. This obscured misogynistic discourse however was simply untrue. Dikeç had been a shooter for a long time being a non-commissioned army officer. He had been participating in the Olympics since 2008.
Another image that gripped conversatives was the podium selfie taken together by Chinese, North Korean, and South Korean Ping-Pong teams. Given that the Korean peninsula is famously divided, this showed the connecting power of sports. Some online commentators speculated with an orientalist lens however that the North Korean players might be punished by their government for this display of amicability.
Hosting the Olympics itself has increasingly become an expensive affair with little benefit going towards the host cities. Fewer and fewer cities have been bidding to host the Olympics with only two bids for 2024, from Paris and Los Angeles (LA was granted 2028 as the IOC was worried there would be no bids for 2028). This is also the condition for other major sporting events like the FIFA world cup.
France itself has been gripped by political uncertainty as weeks before the Olympics the French President Emanuel Macron called for snap elections to the French national assembly after the fascist RN had a strong showing in the European Parliamentary elections. While the left-wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire won a plurality, actual government formation was put on hold till after the games.
Moreover the actual organisation of the Olympics with its accompanying disruption and displacement incensed ordinary Parisians to no end. Hundreds of homeless people in Paris were evicted in what was condemned as ‘social cleansing’ by critics. Students housing were requisitioned for the Olympic teams leaving students to fend for their own or look for housing outside the city. 1.5 billion USD was spent to clean the river Seine and President Macron along with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to go swimming in the cleaned up river. Yet the effort became so reviled by ordinary Parisians that many threatened to defecate in the river just to disrupt any plans for swimming Macron may have had. Macron has quietly stood down from his earlier proclamation though a minister in his cabinet did go swimming.
The injustice suffered by Vinesh Phogat as she was deprived of a medal on a technicality despite actually winning on the mat resonated with crores of Indians. Vinesh along with her fellow wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia had led the struggle against former BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of sexually harassing at least seven wrestlers. She even suffered a knee injury when the police attacked the protesters at Jantar Mantar.
In August 2023 Phogat suffered another knee injury in training that required her to undergo surgery and prevented her participation in the Asian Games in Hangzhou. In February 2024 she won the 55kg event at the National Wrestling Championship. However she was denied her usual position in the 53kg category despite her request for trials, forcing her to qualify for the 50 kg position in the qualifiers at Bishkek in April. Vinesh has a natural weight of 57kg and had to drop 7kg in a little over 2 months. For context Sarah Hildebrandt, the gold medallist in the 50 kg category in the Paris Olympics had been competing in the 55kg category, had 2 years to drop her weight.
Vinesh’s run at the Olympics were nothing less than an absolute inspiration. She defeated Japan’s 2020 Olympics champion Yui Susaki, handing her the first international defeat in 95 matches. She then defeated Ukrainian Oksana Livach 7-5. Finally she beat Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba to secure her final slot and seemed poised to win gold. Despite the extreme weight cutting measures taken, Phogat was finally defeated by a mere 100gms of additional weight.
Conspiracy theories naturally arise when one takes into account that the BJP had spent the past year vilifying Vinesh for her protest, and her victory would be PM Narendra Modi’s loss of face. But even if we are to discard every conspiratorial angle, the plain and simple fact is that she was defeated, not by a worthy opponent, but a hostile system that refused to offer her a fair fight. Indians have proclaimed her a champion in their hearts nonetheless.
Another inspiration, not only in overcoming adversity, but in the hope for a better future in the South Asian subcontinent. Arshad Nadeem, who won gold in Paris, had long struggled against financial odds and lack of support from the Pakistani authorities. Neeraj Chopra had expressed support for Nadeem in March, when the latter requested the national federation for a new javelin as his eight years old equipment had been damaged. Incidentally Neeraj had also shut down right-wing hate against Nadeem in 2021, when footage showed that he had been using the former’s javelin to practice (which is perfectly acceptable by Olympic rules).
The heart-warming reactions by Saroj Devi and Raziah Parveen, Neeraj and Arshad’s respective mothers calling them both their sons were widely hailed. Neeraj himself had won a silver and Arshad had won the gold showing a rare South Asian dominance on the podium. Despite geopolitical clashes India and Pakistan, and the BJP’s stoking of anti-Muslim hate in India, such shows of solidarity and love preserve the idea that the two nations may one day co-exist without hate or animosity.
India had other victories to celebrate with Manu Bhaker being the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal by winning a Bronze. She also won the 10m air pistol bronze with Sarabjot Singh. Swapnil Kausale’s Bronze in Men's 50m rifle 3 positions, made shooting the richest haul in India’s Olympic score. Aman Sehrawat became India's youngest Olympic medallist when he won bronze in wrestling. India’s bronze in Men’s Hockey also revived hopes that Hockey would come to reoccupy a place of pride in India’s Olympic roster.
