The art of storytelling: Danny Boyle's London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony

That wasn't good enough for columnist Andrew Bolt (Herald Sun, July 30). Where were images, he demanded, of; "the church, military, royalty - some of the pillars that kept he roof from falling in on this Britain that had been shaken by terrorism and the 2011 riots?"

I would argue that Boyle's ceremony was subversive - not for its focus on the National Health Scheme - but for its gentle mockery of the adulation of the perfection of the human body that is, after all, the reason for the Olympic Games.

We had physically challenged Mr Bean tripping over the iconic Chariots of Fire runners to win the race. The aging monarch skydiving from the James Bond helicopter, and a long dance sequence involving bed ridden sick children. Boyles' opening ceremony wasn't a glory of physical prowess, it was a tribute to the enduring power of creative imagination, and a Great Britain that gave the world J.M. Barrie and J.K. Rowling, the Beatles and David Bowie, the industrial revolution and the world wide web.

Just maybe, what Boyle is saying is that despite our obsession with the Olympic Games and the gold medal tally, what actually builds worlds, binds communities and fuels progress isn't the glory of the human body at all, but the power of the human mind, creativity and imagination. Now, that's a story worth telling.