A Sociological View
Why should we care about professional wrestling? What relevance does it have to society? Coming from a background in anthropology, sociology and art, I view this question through two different lenses, a behavioral science one and an artistic one.
Why should we care about professional wrestling? What relevance does it have to society? Coming from a background in anthropology, sociology and art, I view this question through two different lenses, a behavioral science one and an artistic one.
Wrestling is considered “sports entertainment.” Vince McMahon Jr., owner and operator of World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly WWF), coined the term back in the early 1980’s. [1] As I understand sports entertainment, wrestling combines the skill and athleticism of the sports world with scripted theatre [2] of the entertainment world. So when we ask why should we care about professional wrestling, we are really asking two different questions: why do we as a society care about sports and why do we as a society care about the entertainment industry?
So why do we care about those things? In a very broad sense, we care about entertainment (sport included) because we like to be entertained. When we as humans have free time we want a pleasurable diversion, we want to be entertained. Wrestling fills that need for many people. This raises many interesting questions. Why does wrestling fill that need? What type of people find wrestling entertainment? What are the elements of wrestling that are appealing? Are these the same elements that make sports in general appealing? What about the scripted element of wrestling? Does this attract a different person that just the sport element? In a sociological sense, wrestling is important and relevant because it raises so many questions.
An Art Perspective
As and artist I care about wrestling the way I care about any to do with pop culture. I want to know and understand wrestling in order to pay homage to it, or subvert it. I want to study the old styles and characters of wrestling in order to blend them in with my art. I care about wrestling because it is on TV. I care about wrestling because wrestlers are in movies. I care about wrestling because wrestlers are in the music industry. I care about wrestling because wrestlers are in US Weekly. I care about wrestling because I love camp [3], and I love kitsch [4], and I love cartoons. Wrestling is a gold mine of popular culture.
Bonus Argument: Wrestling as an historical lesson of friends and foes of the people of the United States.
Wrestling paints it characters in very broad strokes. As a child in the 80’s I learned, through wrestling stereotypes, which people were good and bad. England (The British Bulldogs) was good. The Middle East (The Iron Sheik) was bad. Canadians were good (Bret Hart)and bad (The Mountie). French Canadians (The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers) were worse. Australians (The Bushwackers) were crazy but good. Mexico (Tito Santana) was good. Cuba (Razor Ramon) was bad. Native Americans (Tatanka) were good. Asians were good (Ricky the Dragon Steamboat) and bad (Mr. Fuji). Inner city African Americans were good (Junkyard Dog) and bad (Slick Rick). Russians (Nikolai Volkoff) were bad, until the fall of communism, and then they were good. Really rich people (Million Dollar Man) were bad. Cops (Big Boss Man) were corrupt. Really smart people (Bobby the Brain Heenan, The Genius) were bad.
Though as politically incorrect as all of this was, I would argue that it is a pretty accurate reflection of the general feelings of people of the United States and its government during the 1980’s. I would also argue that studying the heels, the bad guys, of any generation of wrestling could illuminate parts of the general consciousness of the time.
[1] "Sports Entertainment" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_entertainment> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[2] "Professional Wrestling" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[3] "Camp (Style)" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_%28style%29> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[4] "Kitsch" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[1] "Sports Entertainment" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_entertainment> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[2] "Professional Wrestling" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[3] "Camp (Style)" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_%28style%29> (accessed June 7, 2011)
[4] "Kitsch" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch> (accessed June 7, 2011)
I like how you justify wrestling as entertainment by comparing it broadly to the concept of entertainment. It's an effective way to argue its legitimacy.
ReplyDeleteFrom the artistic perspective, you should probably distance yourself from the argument and give proof why many viewers watch professional wrestling instead of just why you do (it helps remove bias from the argument).
I might argue about the historical value of wrestling. Is supporting blatantly incorrect stereotyping ever really a good thing? People shouldn't determine allies and foes of a nation just because these stereotypes idealize it. While it might be correct, people should base their decisions in dedicated research if they are truly curious. The world certainly doesn't need more ignorant zealots out there (that is not to say Professional Wrestling fans are zealots).
Overall, it was an interesting article. A few grammar errors here and there, but you got your point across. You also had astute observation on how it reflects the general public's feelings; I wouldn't say that reflects well on the general public, but it's certainly there. In conclusion, a surprisingly thought provoking article.