Most of our readers agreed that the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games presented an accurate view of Britain’s industrial heritage, with a few dissenters selecting the options expressing a view that Danny Boyle overemphasised the ‘dark satanic mills’ view of the Industrial Revolution. What did you think of Boyle’s presentation of engineering and industry?
If you have been directed to this page while trying to fill in this week’s poll on CCS, please return to the homepage and complete the poll on the panel at the left-hand side of the page.
I watched the ceremony on tv, and whilst it was a most enjoyable spectacle it did seem focused on the past as far as engineering was concerned. IKB was a great engineer, but surely James Watt was more infuential. Ironbridge gorge started the Ind. rev. and onward through time, with our great universities barely mentioned. I understand it had to remain watchable, but sadly no, it did not highlight British ingenuity at its best. What was ingenious was the mechanisms used to put the ceremony on. Like others, I hope this will be the subject of a series of documentaries showing us how it was done.
Notwithstanding the above. The Olympics so far seem to have been extremely well organised and run.
Just noticed I clicked to review Carbon Capture and got Danny Boyle instead.
SNAFU?
As with JohnK I clicked to review CCS but got to Danny Boyle. Checked on Editor’s comment and the ‘Have your say’ link leads here to Danny Boyle. Link to Danny Boyle is inactive.
John K was right with SNAFU.
Great show, but totally over-idealised the pre-industrial era. For a more true reflection of life before modern technology he should have added some plague, a few cripples and had no-one over the age of 45.
All roads (links) lead to Danny Boyle I’m afraid. And why not; his opening ceremony was a tele-visual tour-de- force…!
SNAFU! I keep getting Danny Boyle. Whose show was spectacular
I thought it was astounding, and loved the steel making and ring forging sequence.
I have even read a comment from an Aussie news paper praising the POM’s for having the “humour and ingenuity to lay this on, but not taking themselves too seriously” “A masterpiece”!. Would have loved to see a Frank whittle and James Starley section.
The Industrial Revolution was these islands greatest contribution to mankind’s progress – he got that right.
But – starting around 1750, it was over by the time Brunel started work in the 1820s and the Victorians built on it but it was ancient history to them.
Brunel could not have built a steam driven ship if had first of all to invent the first steam driven (static) engines.
It wasn’t all about the Victorians; he did get Tim Berners-Lee in there as well. Nice to see a living inventor given their due.
As Americans believe that they designed/invented the WWW the TB-L bit was edited out by NBC