Everyone and their Olympics-lovin’ mamma is tittering about the aboriginal costumes worn by Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. And to think, they actually lightened it up and tried to make it look less ethnic. Yeah, that worked. Now it’s totally not insensitive at all!
I happened to be watching NBC that night and was also a little taken aback by the fact that the Canadians did a Spanish-themed number whilst the Americans did an Indian-themed number. Last time I checked the Canadians don’t consider flamenco the national dance and America does not celebrate the 4th of July with Bollywood dance numbers. Somehow their lack of cultural disconnect has not ruffled any feathers though. Isn’t what they did the exact same kind of cultural co-opting? Or am I just being persnickety?
Part of me thinks Domnina and Shabalin did not directly intend to be offensive, they just had no idea how … stupid they looked. It feels like such an old school “the native with the bone through their nose” stereotype, which I know doesn’t justify their choice. That’s just my theory. They were just stupid, not racist, perhaps. Either way, they should sit down and watch Rabbit Proof Fence a few dozen times for their crimes against the world’s eyeballs.
The Canadians ended up winning the ice dancing gold, with the Americans taking the silver. Which makes you wonder if the judges felt their costumes insensitive too. After all, this is only the third time in Winter Olympic history that a Russian couple has not taken home the gold.
Sound off: Do you think the costume controversy threw them off their game? And isn’t ice dancing boring to begin with? Who’s been watching curling!?
Photo via NBC Olympics
Ice dancing boring? If you call creativity, inventiveness and storytelling boring. Singles (especially women’s) skating to me has become pretty rote. Long skates to the jumps, a few typical spins in between, then one or two typical steps to another jump. But I suppose my problem is that jumps don’t impress me as much as creativity. I want to see something unique.
Yes, the costumes were pretty stupid, and unintentionally offensive. But at least the ice dancers (including the other top scorers) were trying to do something outside the norm.