Analysis of The World of Wrestling by Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes's essay on "The World of Wrestling" draws
analogically on the ancient theatre to contextualize wrestling as a
cultural myth where the grandiloquence of the ancient is preserved and
the spectacle of excess is displayed. Barthes's critique -- which is
above all a rewriting of what was to understand what is -- is useful
here insofar as it may be applied back to theatre as another open-air
spectacle. But in this case, not the theatre of the ancients, but the
Middle English pageant presents the locus for discussing the sport of
presentation, or, if you prefer, the performance of the sport. More
specifically, what we see by looking at the Harrowing of Hell -- the
dramatic moment in the cycle plays that narratizes doctrinal redemption
more graphically than any other play in the cycle -- as spectacle offers
a matrix for the multiple relationships between performance and audience
and the means of producing that performance which, in turn, necessarily
produces the audience.
The implications of the spectacle could sensibly be applied to
the complete texts of the cycle plays, and perhaps more appropriately to
the full range of the pageant and its concomitant festivities. The
direction of pseudo-historical criticism, especially of the Elizabethan
stage, certainly provides a well-plowed ground for advancing the festive
and carnivalesque inherently present in the establishment and event of
theater. Nevertheless, my discussion here is both more limited and more
expansive: its limits are constructed by the choice of an individual
play recurrent through the four extant manuscripts of what has come to
be called the Corpus Christi plays; its expansion is expressed through a
delivery that aims to implicate the particular moment of this play in
the operations of a dominant church-state apparatus, which is,
ostensibly, a model of maintaining hegemony in Western culture. The
Harrowing provides a singular instance in which the mechanisms of
control of the apparatus appear to extend and exploit their relationship
with the audience (i.e. congregation). The play is constructed beyond
the canonized operations of the sacred, originating a narrative beyond
(yet within) the authorized vulgate; it is constructed only through
church authority yet maint...
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...thorizing. It seems we are not merely to claim, as Hardin
Craig does, that the plays are "a theological intelligence motivated by
structural imagination that lasted from age to age in the development of
a great cycle of mystery plays." Instead, we should interrogate the
multiple dimensions of artistry and artificiality of the play; our task
is to ask how these plays operate as a performative moment coming
directly from the dominant arms of orthodoxy while still being
influenced by the severely limited mass culture. We may find, then, at
the center of the controlling mechanisms of the church-state apparatus,
the necessitated desire for community that even Satan validates and
proclaims:
Nay, I pray the do not so;
Vmthynke the better in thy mynde;
Or els let me with the go,
I pray the leyffe me not behynde!
The desire, of course, extends past Satan's plea, for the homogenized
desire of the congregation ultimately -- which is in history written and
yet to be -- is directed toward a different answer from Jesus: one that
affirms salvation and again confirms the church's orthodox pageantry of
performance.
In Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport, Heather L. Reid presents a discussion of how ethics is treated in the arena of Olympism and some of the struggles of defining and how or if the ethical guidelines should be enforced. Reid notes, “Some would say that ethical principles are always the product of a particular culture, so there can no more be universal ethical principles than there can be a universal culture” (Reid, 22). I disagree with the notion that there cannot be universal ethical principles for athletes to follow in sport because even across cultures there are general morals that shape the lives of people from all over the world. For example, murder and cheating are inherently immoral actions, no matter where someone comes from;
A spectacle can be defined as ‘an unusual or surprising sight or situation that attracts much attention’ and also carries the connotations of an event made public. In Titus Andronicus Lavinia is nothing if not public. In the patriarchal Roman society she is an object, with value, to be traded. Saturninus voices his intentions to ‘make Lavinia his empress ’ (I.I.244) and clarifies this with Titus rather than Lavinia. Bassianus then stakes his claim ( the alliterate ‘this maid is mine’) and the dynamic stage direction ‘seizes Lavinia’ (I.I280). While it is inferred that Lavinia and Bassianus are betrothed, Legatt argues that this is less about ‘[Lavinia’s] wishes, but Bassianus’ rights ’. Bassianus is less taking Lavinia as his love, but as his property and in this we see that Lavinia is already a spe...
Designed by Jonathan Hoeffler, the type family Knockout has been around since 1994. Rising from the typeface Champion Gothic, Knockout is an extended version that includes not only additional widths, but weight axis as well. Knockout comes in nine widths ranging from Flyweight to Sumo with respects to its four-weight classes; junior, regular, full, and ultimate.
groups of people apart from others only fuel the inequality as each group fights over control of the available resources (Vahabi, 2009). As it applies to sport, conflict theory can be observed in the colossal stadiums built by society elite to house the equally expensive teams used for monetary benefit that is without equal reward (Woods, 2011). This theory is furthered by the unobtainable participation of both athletes and spectators in respect to economic and social status.
I am part of a subculture, as are many people, even if they aren’t aware of it. A subculture is a group of people who operate based on shared values, norms and practices within a larger culture (Brym and Lie 2012). I work for Sport Chek as a sales associate and we have our own subculture, not only as a corporation but as a staff. As a staff, we are expected to have a certain set of values based on sports, but mainly on the lifestyle of an athlete. We are expected to be active and have an athletic background, whether it is an individual or a team sport. Since we are a sporting good retailer we are all expected to have some background knowledge when it comes to athletics. As a corporation, we are expected to work towards a common goal based on
Actions sports have always been interesting to me. The way the athletes perform their tricks, how judges score them, and how the camera operators keep up with such a fast paced competition. The more I thought of my interest in this subject, the more I wanted to know. The growth of action sports on television follows the same pattern of any other type of show genre in its early stages. Documentaries, themed shows or movies, and especially the coverage on live television would be good places to start looking into. The impact on cable television and sports channels could further delve into other questions that comes to mind, like how the public viewed them. When did corporate sponsorships begin to move the funding along to keep such events growing in the public eye? When did extreme/action sports become a “regular” in sports programming?
In 1992, the newly formed rap duo, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of the Insane Clown Posse, started a movement within the music industry without knowing it. Their outwardly explicit lyrics and clown gimmick somehow touched the souls of the community that started calling themselves "Juggalos." The music of the Insane Clown Posse brought this group of misfits and scrubs together within the Juggalo community, which can best be described as a family. However, in 2011 the FBI classified Juggalos as a "loosely organized hybrid gang" ("2011 National Gang Threat Assessment"). Due to this classification by the FBI, the Juggalo community has been in distress. The members of ICP, Violent J (Joe Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joey Utsler,) decided to sue the
In today’s world, nothing is impossible when it comes to technology, but one can see some of the advantages and disadvantages of science and technology throughout Jekyll and Hyde and modern day baseball. Biogenesis was an anti-aging clinic in Miami, which supplied PED’s to several MLB players. Anabolic steroids “Promote the growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects) in both males and females”(Anabolic Steroid Abuse). When reports came out showing the names of the players who were using the steroids it was easy to see the many statistical changes prior to and after taking the enhancer. Jekyll and Hyde compares and contrasts with the use of steroids through the enhancement of oneself, especially with the use of science and technology and the contrasting agendas for taking these enhancers between Jekyll and MLB players.
In this article the Authors want to say that now a day’s sports event are increasing rapidly in a society. In this research the authors says that wild state of people increasing. In this research the author express the violence of past and present. The sports physiologist has attempted to read the spectacular violence by focusing on individual person. The sports sociologist used theories to see the determinant of people violence. This research is necessary to understand the violence. In the past certain reports are recorded of spectacular violence. The case of spectacular violence is to study the concept of physiology and sociology.
UFC, Pride, Strike Force, and all other Mixed Martial Arts programs should be banned from the Media. These programs feature men and women exchanging harsh words followed by, violent, 15 minute fights. The vigorous fighting displayed can cause severe injuries, and or death. Contenders of UFC and Strike Force are not the only ones participating in fight clubs; children and teens are starting their own fight clubs in their local schools. As a result to these programs, a rise in the assault rate has surfaced. These programs are causing severe issues in our society that are in need of our attention.
Sport Analyst John Cooper has spent the last seven years examining the behaviour of professional rugby players on field. The hostile- aggressive acts particularly evident in 21st century rugby league have caused increasing concern amongst industry heavy weights with commissions being authorized in Australia to investigate borderline violence on the field. Violent behaviour in the community is naturally treated as socially unacceptable, however, it is considered entertaining once a punch is thrown on a football field.
The spectacle of this play is limited which is why there is such weight put on the actors themselves. Their scene and ensembles never show signs of change yet they develop and grow. There is a huge stress on the statue, which whom the Learned Ladies bow
Judas Iscariot tells the story of a tumultuous court case to decide whether Judas Iscariot should go to hell. The play opens with Judas’s mother describing having to bury her only son alone and in “empty, acrid silence”(Guirgis, 2). The scene shifts to a twenty-first century courtroom in downtown Purgatory. We are introduced to Fabiana Cunnigham, Judas’s defense lawyer and to Yusef El-Fayoumy, the prosecutor. The judge denies Fabiana’s writ from Saint Peter and aruges
The sports world places an emphasis on the an athlete's appearance. The typically athlete strives to appear lean and fit. Because of the added emphasis, studies have shown that, an athlete has a higher risk of developing an eating disorder that that of other non-athletes.
"Theatre." Chambers Dictionary of World History. London: Chambers Harrap, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 18 November 2011.