The Observer, January 28, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 15
Film probes link between pro-wrestling, real life violence
What does the term "guilty pleasure" really mean? To me, the words themselves imply some clandestine thing that I find enjoyable against my better judgement, like watching The OC while listening to Christina Aguilera or eating two Chipotle burritos in one sitting. Do you (like me) laugh when you mention your penchant for soapy teen dramas and obscene amounts of food, as if to say "I know I shouldn't like it, but it's harmless; it's entertainment."
But we do. So what does that mean?
The Center for Women at Case, in conjunction with the Cleveland Area Men's Violence Prevention Task Force brought filmmaker Sut Jhally to the CIA Cinematheque on Tuesday to speak on his recent film, Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying, and Battering, which focuses on the popularity of professional wrestling and the contributions it has made to our cultural environment, specifically on cultural representations of gender. Anyone who's ever taken PSCL 101 will recognize Jhally's assertion that "gender," be it male or female, is a result of socialization; "sex" is a result of biology; the extra-curricular activities that end in the pairing of our X and Y chromosomes.
The hour-long film explores the way "masculinity" is tied to violence within the ring of pro wrestling and within our society and culture without ever claiming that violent behavior in "average" men can be directly related to pro wrestling. While introducing the film, Jhally was careful to explain that "there is a relationship between media exposure and our attitudes…. [but] behavior is too complex to be attributed to one thing."
Jhally, a professor of communications at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst and founder of the Media Education Foundation, boasts an impressive resume of critical cultural studies. His film Dreamworlds: Desire/Sex/Power in Music Videos almost got him sued by MTV, presumably because network executives were afraid that disillusioned teenagers would watch the film and immediately stop watching the repetitious video countdowns in favor of attending rallies and protests.
So why make a film about pro wrestling? Because Michael Moore hasn't done it yet? Who even takes pro wrestling seriously? According to Jhally, wrestling's apparent triviality – its status as one of society's guilty pleasures – was exactly why it should be taken seriously; the fact remains that pro wrestling is a billion-dollar-a-year industry. That's great for Vince McMahon, but a little sad for the rest of us. Something popular enough to turn The Rock into an action movie star must obviously have some kind of effect on popular culture. Wrestling with Manhood investigates wrestling's celebration of "conservative masculinity" (i.e. unemotional, intimidating, and homophobic behavior) and how it is tied to violence within the ring, and incorporates some very telling comments from wrestling fans. The film argues that the gender representation within pro wrestling contribute to "normalizing, justifying, and rationalizing" of violence, homophobia, and sexual harassment in society. Jhally's comments while introducing the film really helped to clarify the content; as someone who had never before watched pro wrestling, I was shocked by the raw images, but I could not allow myself to discount it as simply entertainment (though a lot of the moves were clearly faked). Because, even if such displays are just entertainment, the fact that we are entertained by watching speaks volumes.
My personal reactions to the film were mixed. As a woman who has read everything Betty Friedan has ever written, I didn't need Sut Jhally to tell me that such problems exist in our world today, and that the media and pro-wrestling are contributors. But I do think that sometimes we need to be reminded that there is always a reason we crave that second burrito or instinctively reach for the remote at 8 p.m. on Thursdays against our own better judgment. And that there is always a consequence.
