The top rope
October 14th 2010 01:34
Sometimes when I’m waiting for a show to start on Fox8, I’ll switch over early because nothing else is on, and catch the end of the weekly World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) program. It’s very melodramatic and sometimes kind of stupid, and more importantly designed primarily for entertainment; but still, any entertainment product usually reflects something about the culture it is aimed at. The WWE is particularly interesting because parts of its key demographic overlap with people who are interested in the Tea Party movement and with people who have been hit hard by the economic crisis, two groups that often feel under-represented in parts of the popular media. It has travelled to overseas bases, mainly in the Middle East and Afghanistan, to put on shows for military personnel, and is heavily involved with the Make A Wish Foundation.
This week’s story concerned the popular heroic wrestler John Cena being forced to join an evil team known as the Nexus. This move was abetted by the chairman of the WWE (or, I guess, the man who plays the chairman on TV), who threatened to fire Cena if he failed to obey the Nexus’ orders. Cena is very much an Everyman figure, in contrast with both the Nexus wrestlers, who wear uniform-like black trunks and t-shirts, and the chairman, who manages the franchise by e-mail. It is possible that this story arc reflects the way many people feel betrayed by institutions that were supposed to look out for the greater good, including a government that they believe has overreached by bailing out banks and corporations while ignoring the plight of ordinary people.
Relying as it usually does on broad brushstrokes, the WWE is often easy to predict. At the end of the episode, the leader of the Nexus viciously taunted Cena, who he knew was obligated not to retaliate, as the latter left the stadium. Since in a world like that of the WWE, good always wins in the end, don't expect Cena to turn his back forever. And given what we’ve been discussing today, don’t be surprised if the turnaround happens about, oh, let’s say, November 10th.
This week’s story concerned the popular heroic wrestler John Cena being forced to join an evil team known as the Nexus. This move was abetted by the chairman of the WWE (or, I guess, the man who plays the chairman on TV), who threatened to fire Cena if he failed to obey the Nexus’ orders. Cena is very much an Everyman figure, in contrast with both the Nexus wrestlers, who wear uniform-like black trunks and t-shirts, and the chairman, who manages the franchise by e-mail. It is possible that this story arc reflects the way many people feel betrayed by institutions that were supposed to look out for the greater good, including a government that they believe has overreached by bailing out banks and corporations while ignoring the plight of ordinary people.
Relying as it usually does on broad brushstrokes, the WWE is often easy to predict. At the end of the episode, the leader of the Nexus viciously taunted Cena, who he knew was obligated not to retaliate, as the latter left the stadium. Since in a world like that of the WWE, good always wins in the end, don't expect Cena to turn his back forever. And given what we’ve been discussing today, don’t be surprised if the turnaround happens about, oh, let’s say, November 10th.
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