We’ve come too far to give up who we are

Towards a new individualism starting at Sochi

In the context of the spectacle of sportsmanship and achievement that are the Olympics, where whole nations are represented by extraordinary individuals, something as ordinary as a song mightn’t have much relevance. But the Russian Police Choir’s opening night performance of their cover of Daft Punk’s grammy-winning Get Lucky is singularly representative of the triumph of individual expression over the communist state. Its headline is clear: we’ve come too far to give up who we are.

As enforcers of any state, let alone a communist one, police aren’t trained to be expressive; their purpose is to control their own and others’ expression, and keep individuals (and therefore society) in check. So it is merely seeing some of the uniformed choir members swaying and shaking their окурки to a disco beat that begins to lighten up any kind of oppression or homophobia.

In their rehearsal video for their performance, the dichotomy of oppression vs expression is played out in the dynamic between the critic and the performer (similarly: the state vs the individual). The stoic, unamused “audience” in this case are the selfsame members of the “performing” choir. In both the video and the performance, not all of the members of the chorus are enjoying themselves, but you can see genuine smiles in the faces of those who are. They met the enemy, and he is a way more colorful us.

Progress towards equality has achieved its own inertia, especially for gay rights. There’s still much work to be done, but we’ve reached a point that there’s no turning back. It’s feels like it’s everyone’s time to get lucky.