"It's no secret that many of the modern countries of the world were built through a combination of conquest and slavery. Whole books have been devoted to the Age of Discovery, i.e. the time in world history when the European countries decided to annex more land to their empires, whether or not there were already people living on those lands. The atrocities committed in each country's history is often glossed over or swept under the rug, especially during an event like the Olympics, which is meant to be a time to celebrate and showcase your country.
But Brazil seems to say that you can celebrate and showcase your country and acknowledge the atrocities that your country committed. That you need to take the bad with the good in order to get a true and complete picture of a country. And that anything less would be doing a disservice to the same history they are sharing with the world. The Rio opening ceremony seems to be Brazil saying that they aren't perfect, that it's impossible to look far into their history without seeing some truly awful things, but that they're learning, they're growing, and they've come this far to produce some really beautiful buildings, performers, and people who are a blend of all the cultures that have ever set foot on this land."
I'm not that into the "melting-blending" language (do white people have to melt/blend?) but I like this interpretation of the Brazilian Opening Ceremony.
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