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LONDON (AFP) - A celebration of free healthcare, the trade union struggle, the battle for women's rights and a fleeting lesbian kiss: the Olympics opening ceremony Friday did not shy away from weighty social issues.
Unsurprisingly, the show devised by Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle drew accusations from the British political right that it had strayed into "leftie" issues.
Aidan Burley, a lawmaker from Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative party, tweeted: "The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen -- more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?"
He followed that with: "Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multi-cultural crap."
Several people tweeted their support for his comments.
Alastair Campbell, former British Labour prime minister Tony Blair's communications chief, retorted on Twitter: "Brilliant that we got a socialist to do the opening ceremony."
Others, including British Paralympian skier Kelly Gallagher, lauded the ceremony's "socialist" values.
Cameron's Downing Street office distanced itself from Burley's comments, tweeting a message from the premier reading: "The opening ceremony has been a great showcase for this country. It's more proof Britain can deliver."
Burley was removed from his job as aide to the transport minister last month after attending a Nazi-themed stag party in a French ski resort.
Ahead of the show, Boyle -- whose film "Slumdog Millionaire" won eight Oscars in 2009 -- denied he was pushing a political agenda.
"The sensibility of the show is very personal," he said.
"We had no agenda other than... values that we feel are true.
"Not everybody will love that but people will be able to recognize (it) as being honest and truthful really. I felt that very strongly. There is no bullshit in it, and there is no point-making either."
The show began with sections showing idyllic rural Britain being overtaken by the Industrial Revolution, before a 10-minute sequence celebrating the state-run National Health Service.
Boyle said nobody from the government had expressed any reservations about the NHS section.
"We are presenting it as representing values that we believe in. We believe as a nation in universal healthcare," he said.
"We thought that is a great thing to celebrate, and I defend that."
Britain's first televised lesbian kiss -- from a 1993 episode of soap opera "Brookside" -- was shown in a fast-moving montage of film and television clips.
Dancers formed the shape of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament badge and other performers represented the struggle of trade union movements.
Post-World War II Caribbean immigration to Britain was also highlighted.
Burley later said: "Seems my tweet has been misunderstood. I was talking about the way it was handled in the show, not multiculturalism itself."
<한글 기사>
개막식 놓고 때 아닌 '이념논쟁'
무상의료.동성애.노동운동 부각에 우파인사 볼멘소리
(런던 AFP=연합뉴스) 27일(현지시간) 세계의 이목을 집중시킨 런던올림픽 개막식이 때아닌 '이념논쟁'을 몰고 왔다.
대니 보일 감독이 연출한 개막식 공연은 무상의료제도(NHS), 노동운동, 여성권익, 동성애, 다문화주의 등 영국 사회가 안고 있는 '뜨거운 감자'들을 건드렸는데, 우파 진영은 이것들이 주로 좌파에 편향된 어젠다라며 볼멘 소리를 하고 있는 것이다.
집권 보수당 소속 애이단 벌리 의원은 트위터에 올린 글에서 "내가 본 것 중 가장 좌파적인 올림픽 개막식"이라고 썼다.
그는 이어 공연 중 무상의료제도를 묘사한 대목이 10분 이상 지속된데 대해 "공산당 국가인 중국보다 더 하다"며 "복지에 대한 헌사인가?"라고 비야냥거렸다. 이 글을 지지하는 댓글도 여러건 올라왔다.
심지어 노동당 출신인 토니 블레어 전 총리의 언론 담당자였던 알래스터 캠벨도 보일 감독을 겨냥, 트위터에 "사회주의자가 개회식을 연출한 것은 훌륭한 일"이라고 비꼬았다.
이에 대해 보일 감독은 "모든 사람이 공연을 좋아할 수는 없다"며 공연에서 묘사된 것들은 "우리가 옳다고 느끼는 가치들이며 그 이상의 어젠다는 없다"고 말했다.
그는 특히 비중있게 묘사된 무상의료 제도에 대해 "우리가 예찬할 만한 훌륭한 일이라고 생각하고, 그것을 지지한다"는 소신을 밝혔다.
개막식 공연에서는 실제로 좌파 진영의 관심사들이 많이 다뤄졌다고 볼 여지가 없지 않았다.
평화롭던 농촌이 산업혁명에 압도당하는 듯한 장면 전환, 투쟁하는 노조와 카리브해 출신 이주민의 모습을 연출한 대목이 대표적인 예다.
또 영국 TV에 여성 동성애자간의 키스신이 처음 등장한 1993년작 드라마 '브룩사이드'의 한 장면을 보여준 것과 무희들이 비핵화 캠페인 배지의 디자인을 형상화한 대목 등도 진보진영이 반길만한 것들이었다.
