tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546665963755719151.post6255971226437525820..comments2023-07-15T07:17:49.535-04:00Comments on Professional Wrestling in U.S. Popular Culture: Sunday Morning Values, Monday Night RawSam Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233749268141980625noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546665963755719151.post-64211861493110601292014-09-15T09:57:48.427-04:002014-09-15T09:57:48.427-04:00As we actually watch this depiction of morality ev...As we actually watch this depiction of morality evolve from the era we're watching now to the current day, I look forward to discussing it. How much does it demonstrate the way the wrestling world has changed? Does it demonstrate changes in the society outside the wrestling world? A clear demarcation doesn't necessarily make sense. As we saw in that nonsensical Bruiser Brody/Abdullah the Butcher brawl, there were certainly times in the past where fans might love someone who doesn't "act like a hero," but--on the other hand--there's definitely been a shift in what would be the normal mode of logic in wrestling storytelling. Perhaps there was no more seminal moment in the shift in WWE's treatment of moral logic than this one, BTW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HznErMk97B4Sam Fordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233749268141980625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546665963755719151.post-91120101178175912812014-09-14T15:15:03.852-04:002014-09-14T15:15:03.852-04:00I definitely agree and I believe that pro wrestlin...I definitely agree and I believe that pro wrestling can provide moral lessons for some. Especially back in the day when the line between Good and Evil was very clear-cut. I do believe now though we have entered an age where that line is more blurred. We have people like Dean Ambrose who is technically a "good guy" because he is seeking justice and fighting against the big, bad Authority. However, he acts like a heel in the sense that he interrupts fights and gets in a more than a few punches outside of the ring.<br /><br />I feel like wrestling has undergone it's own moral development. Looking at Kohlberg's stages of moral development, the wrestling world at one point seemed to operate under the stage of conventional morality. The world is black and white -- good and evil. There are rules and laws that maintain order and are to be followed by the good and broken by the bad. However, it feels like we've transitioned into a wrestling world that operates under a post-conventional morality. Rules are no longer absolute and the faces may bend or break these rules for "the greater good." We've seen that a lot over the past few months with John Cena. <br /><br />So I think this moral development within the wrestling universe is definitely interesting and something to look at.Katie Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11698892734914903182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546665963755719151.post-9461672129752498322014-09-14T08:23:49.489-04:002014-09-14T08:23:49.489-04:00Agreed, Tim. That's one thing to keep in mind ...Agreed, Tim. That's one thing to keep in mind in a morality play--is that it always raises the question of, "Whose morality." There are certain moral issues that wrestling will delve into deeply. There are others that may not. "Why don't we resolve this by talking it out instead of with our fists? Might does not make right." That would be a tough narrative to have end in a Texas Death Match. Wrestling seems particularly adept at addressing tensions--workplace tensions, tensions from everyday life and relationships, societal tensions--via over-the-top violence. In some ways, it functions the way horror has sometimes been described to--giving an exaggerated and over-the-top manifestation to the sorts of tensions lying under the surface of our society--and a chance for the audience to work through them.<br /><br />But you're right that the dramatic tensions are key here. I'm an active ignorer of sport as well, other than admitting that I can get into a college basketball game but typically choose not to. Wrestling is the only "sport" that's ever really held interest for me, and it's certainly the drama, the mythology, etc., that has held my interest. For me, part of it has been the intrigue between separating the on-stage from the off-stage when the line is not clearly demarcated...but a lot of it is the dramatic conventions of what happens on stage as well, and the layers of performance taking place.<br /><br />For tomorrow's class, we're talking about the dramatic conventions of professional wrestling more overtly, so this seems a good segue...Sam Fordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233749268141980625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546665963755719151.post-80936358476674409452014-09-13T16:37:45.681-04:002014-09-13T16:37:45.681-04:00Michael, good point. Others have pointed out the m...Michael, good point. Others have pointed out the morality play in wrestling, especially in an area of clear-cut good and bad. I'd be interested to see if there was evidence of variance in these values during the territory days. In other words, was a different set of values being promoted implicitly if not explicitly in promotions in the Northeast vs. the Deep South vs. Texas vs. the Midwest? I would expect so, but admittedly have never looked into this.Timothy S. Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05759704121030358820noreply@blogger.com