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(Dart) Some aspects of wrestling entertainment have remained unchanged for decades. Barthes states that wrestling shows were a "spectacle of excess." Yet they also deal with issues of suffering, defeat and justice. (Barthes 19)
But what of the performers/athletes, what is their own feeling about it and their participation in it? In the Movie, "The Wrestler" this question is certainly addressed. Darren Aronofsky's film gives the audience a more in depth look into the participants of the sport. The main character is Randy "the Ram" Robinson, as portrayed by Mickey Rourke. He was a sensation in the 80's, which he often dwells both musically and stylistically, but in the present is now a "has been" in most respects. He has no money and his health is fading, the only gigs he can find is local school auditoriums holding bush league matches, all completely staged of course, but, at least he is allowed to win these. We also see some young participants in the local towns as well of other, like the Ram, going to wrestling conventions and making money signing autographs and hamming it up for the fans.
The grand expanse of good and evil is certainly exaggerated in the wrestling arena, and just as entertaining writers do they create stereotypical characters that can represent the extreme of both of these, God and the Devil and so on throughout time have represented the internal moral dilemma between our own internal conflict of good and evil. "the Ram" is essentially one of the god guys and...
In the microcosm of his world, however, he has fallen far from grace it would seem.
In a sense, not much has changed, save that the grand spectacle of wrestling has become grander on the outside, but as Araonfky's film shows us, the players are merely actors. While they may represent good or evil, in real life they are merely human beings. Randy in real life is estranged from his daughter and has no real stable relationship in his life. However, he also is caught up in the hype of his character and he appears to be alive only in the wrestling ring. The adoration of the fans certainly supports his euphoria in this zone . A heart attack forces him to try and "get real" but hs still cannot separate himself from the spectacle, and at the end, despite his girlfriend pleading for anew life, Randy "the Ram" Robinson returns to the ring. At the peril of his own life, another epic.
Works Cited
Barthes Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers. New York: Hill & Wang, 1989.
Dart, John. "Taking God to the Mat: The Biblical World of Pro-Wrestling." The Christian Century 19 Sept. 2006: 10-15
Tamborini, Ron, et al. "The Raw Nature of Televised Professional Wrestling: Is the Violence a Cause for Concern?." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49.2 (2005): 202-210
Twitchell, James B. Preposterous Violence: Fables of Aggression in Modern Culture. New York:…
Works Cited
Barthes Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers. New York: Hill & Wang, 1989.
Dart, John. "Taking God to the Mat: The Biblical World of Pro-Wrestling." The Christian Century 19 Sept. 2006: 10-15
Tamborini, Ron, et al. "The Raw Nature of Televised Professional Wrestling: Is the Violence a Cause for Concern?." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49.2 (2005): 202-210
Twitchell, James B. Preposterous Violence: Fables of Aggression in Modern Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989
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