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Ok here is the essay I did for my society class. Big thanks to Ryu for giving me some tips. I also did a presentation for my paper and got an A+ on it as well. The teacher especially liked the interview with Mark Kerr on the PRIDE 12 show. She remarked that he was VERY eloquent. But she sort of cringed when I showed them the Inoue VS Hearing fight (she didnt like the keylock LOL) Its funny how the words flow when you are talking about something you love...anywayz here it is!
Mass media is a large part of today’s role in society. Every mundane judgment we make such as choosing what to eat for dinner is partially influenced by what media has deemed to be attractive and right. More pressing issues are imposed on us from the gigantic corporations that control the flow of media to our lives, issues like judging what is right or wrong. Morals and values, basic interpretations of how and why our lives are in a particular way are virtually dictated to us. Before the invention of the television, people relied on their elders and their own life experiences to see what was accepted in their society. Now it is our government and the media who force us to bend to their ideals. Government officials and politicians experience a never-ending battle to keep their position and power base. How do you keep such a prestigious post, you ask? Simply by gaining the public’s approval. They perform many tasks to remain in the good eye of the public; acts such as passing popular bills and performing acts of “humanity” are WELL documented and publicized by the media. The government and media are hand in hand with control over public perception. A prime example of media’s power to influence the masses is simple as looking at the past and current history on Mixed Martial Arts, otherwise known as MMA. Grappling, kicking, punching and wrestling is all encompassed into a dynamic and exciting sport.
“It does get pretty dark here in America. I really think for this industry to become more of mainstream America that it has to revolutionize in a way that it incorporates [violence], but it is not that, violence. It incorporates that in a way that it is men fighting. But it is not men fighting because he called your mother fat and your wife a bitch. It is a sport! These are professional athletes here.” Mark Kerr former U.S. Olympic Wrestler.
The ongoing overzealous push by local, and federal authorities to ban MMA is akin to the 1980's crusade against child molestation, which led to 200 convictions, 140 of which have been overturned since. The cable companies and politicians view NHB events as barbaric and morally reprehensible. Yet boxing, a blood sport much more dangerous than Ultimate Fighting with over 500 deaths since 1884, is considered socially acceptable. Senator John McCain of Arizona is a prime example of a hypocrite. He is a crusader against Ultimate Fighting since its 1993 inception. He claims to fight for the moral causes of the people. The same man was present at ringside during the Garcia/Ruelas fight in Las Vegas. Jimmy Garcia later died despite the best of medical foresight, including a ringside neurosurgeon who had him in the operating room within 35 minutes of his collapse in the ring (AP, 1995). The UFC had started as a gimmick in 1993 and it was originally billed as a human cockfight, an oddity. But soon it began to shed its primitive roots and rightfully fought for its rightful place among legitimate sports. But it was simply too different and culturally it was frankly too different for the public to enjoy at a casual glance. North Americans whose origins of government come from England fall to a cultural determinism about what a fight is. Brazil and Japan have a long history of having MMA in their countries; therefore it is not a controversial subject. But North Americans adhere to the Marquis of Queensbury rules. A fight consists of an exchange of upper-body blows that halts when one fighter falls. In other words, boxing is the only “honorable” way to fight.
The irony is boxing is often compared as the more gentle cousin of MMA. Mixed Martial Arts is safer and less cruel than boxing, North America’s blood sport. Critics pilloried ultimate fighting because competitors fought with bare knuckles. To culture that is accustomed to boxing gloves, this seemed revolting. But it's just the reverse: The purpose of boxing gloves is not to cushion the head but to shield the knuckles. Without gloves, a boxer would break his hands after a couple of punches to the skull. Mixed Marital Artists cannot afford to through such damaging blows to the opponent’s skull for fear of damaging their hands. As a result, they avoid the concussive head wounds that kill boxers--and the long-term neurological damage that cripples them. Also the boxing ring that we all have been exposed to carries no phobia of brutality to us. This is simply because the media has often showed the masses that the boxing ring is simply a place where people box, nothing more. The chain link fence that most MMA competitions are held in are seen as grotesque and very unpleasant. As a result, many critics demand a ring be used. What people do not recognize is that the ropes are a cause of frequent injury. Fighters hyperextend their necks when they are punched against the ropes, because nothing stops their heads from snapping back. The chain-link fence prevents hyperextension. Another prime example of “judging a book by its cover.” Injures are another argument for critics.
We as a society are too blunted in perspective to see Hundreds of blows being thrown at ones head, yet see MMA as appalling. High incidence of chronic brain damage occurs all because of repeated blows, often over 12 rounds of 3 minutes each. MMA events have none of these characteristics. There are no rounds; therefore, combatants cannot take a break every round to come out fresh and swinging repeatedly again at their opponent’s head. This single factor is enough to reduce the risk of serious injury by a wide margin. In most cases, even the fittest athletes cannot muster up enough strength to be a serious threat after a few minutes of continuous action. Moreover, a hard punch landed by a bare knuckle can easily open up a cut sufficient to terminate the fight. Again, this bias is brought up from the public from being conditioned for a certain type of behavior to be acceptable, but see other breaches of conduct to be breaking a folkway. To judge a sport or actions as “right” from our cultural perspective is ethnocentrism at its worst.
“The Japanese fans are REALLY educated fans. They appreciate a good fighter. The Brazilians are also pretty educated. In America they like the blood and violence aspect of it. Think about the movies in the fifties. They were not about murder and mayhem back them. Now it has slowly progressed to what it is today. What is it, the average action movie, 90 people killed? When did that become popular? Understanding culturally that Japan and Brazil have more of a culture root then what we do. We are a melting pot. Japanese understand from a very fundamental standpoint. They really root their own fighters also. With Brazilians, it is more of a nationalism thing, they are very proud of their fighters that way. Here in the US the fighters compete with all of the other major sports for heroes.” Mark Kerr.
More and more rules were instated to ensure the media’s satisfaction. Promoters began with doctors at ringside, ambulances on standby, and a referee who was stopping fights early. The media and politicians had a field day portraying the sport as “the most brutal thing since the days of the Roman empire when prisoners were fed to the lions.” The UFC and other MMA was banned and denounced from most of the major states and in provinces. Almost all the cable operators refuse to show any type of MMA, due to pressure from a select few politicians. The pay-per-view audience has plunged from 300,000 per show to 15,000. Perhaps people need to look past cultural bias and the media must also stop encouraging such behavior and start become more objective when passing judgments upon others. Though it can be argued that the media sensationalizes events to a point where the truth is no longer the truth, can it also be the media is also encouraging their views to view what is right on wrong from our own cultural standpoint? Citizens in society and the media go hand in hand. We demand and the media responds. The sport of Reality Fighting is still in its infancy and facing the same opposition boxing encountered during the late part of the 19th century. Like anything, time heals all wounds. The battle that we as a whole suffer is struggling to make the right decisions for the right reasons. The media must learn how to balance between the truth and on passing judgment.
Mass media is a large part of today’s role in society. Every mundane judgment we make such as choosing what to eat for dinner is partially influenced by what media has deemed to be attractive and right. More pressing issues are imposed on us from the gigantic corporations that control the flow of media to our lives, issues like judging what is right or wrong. Morals and values, basic interpretations of how and why our lives are in a particular way are virtually dictated to us. Before the invention of the television, people relied on their elders and their own life experiences to see what was accepted in their society. Now it is our government and the media who force us to bend to their ideals. Government officials and politicians experience a never-ending battle to keep their position and power base. How do you keep such a prestigious post, you ask? Simply by gaining the public’s approval. They perform many tasks to remain in the good eye of the public; acts such as passing popular bills and performing acts of “humanity” are WELL documented and publicized by the media. The government and media are hand in hand with control over public perception. A prime example of media’s power to influence the masses is simple as looking at the past and current history on Mixed Martial Arts, otherwise known as MMA. Grappling, kicking, punching and wrestling is all encompassed into a dynamic and exciting sport.
“It does get pretty dark here in America. I really think for this industry to become more of mainstream America that it has to revolutionize in a way that it incorporates [violence], but it is not that, violence. It incorporates that in a way that it is men fighting. But it is not men fighting because he called your mother fat and your wife a bitch. It is a sport! These are professional athletes here.” Mark Kerr former U.S. Olympic Wrestler.
The ongoing overzealous push by local, and federal authorities to ban MMA is akin to the 1980's crusade against child molestation, which led to 200 convictions, 140 of which have been overturned since. The cable companies and politicians view NHB events as barbaric and morally reprehensible. Yet boxing, a blood sport much more dangerous than Ultimate Fighting with over 500 deaths since 1884, is considered socially acceptable. Senator John McCain of Arizona is a prime example of a hypocrite. He is a crusader against Ultimate Fighting since its 1993 inception. He claims to fight for the moral causes of the people. The same man was present at ringside during the Garcia/Ruelas fight in Las Vegas. Jimmy Garcia later died despite the best of medical foresight, including a ringside neurosurgeon who had him in the operating room within 35 minutes of his collapse in the ring (AP, 1995). The UFC had started as a gimmick in 1993 and it was originally billed as a human cockfight, an oddity. But soon it began to shed its primitive roots and rightfully fought for its rightful place among legitimate sports. But it was simply too different and culturally it was frankly too different for the public to enjoy at a casual glance. North Americans whose origins of government come from England fall to a cultural determinism about what a fight is. Brazil and Japan have a long history of having MMA in their countries; therefore it is not a controversial subject. But North Americans adhere to the Marquis of Queensbury rules. A fight consists of an exchange of upper-body blows that halts when one fighter falls. In other words, boxing is the only “honorable” way to fight.
The irony is boxing is often compared as the more gentle cousin of MMA. Mixed Martial Arts is safer and less cruel than boxing, North America’s blood sport. Critics pilloried ultimate fighting because competitors fought with bare knuckles. To culture that is accustomed to boxing gloves, this seemed revolting. But it's just the reverse: The purpose of boxing gloves is not to cushion the head but to shield the knuckles. Without gloves, a boxer would break his hands after a couple of punches to the skull. Mixed Marital Artists cannot afford to through such damaging blows to the opponent’s skull for fear of damaging their hands. As a result, they avoid the concussive head wounds that kill boxers--and the long-term neurological damage that cripples them. Also the boxing ring that we all have been exposed to carries no phobia of brutality to us. This is simply because the media has often showed the masses that the boxing ring is simply a place where people box, nothing more. The chain link fence that most MMA competitions are held in are seen as grotesque and very unpleasant. As a result, many critics demand a ring be used. What people do not recognize is that the ropes are a cause of frequent injury. Fighters hyperextend their necks when they are punched against the ropes, because nothing stops their heads from snapping back. The chain-link fence prevents hyperextension. Another prime example of “judging a book by its cover.” Injures are another argument for critics.
We as a society are too blunted in perspective to see Hundreds of blows being thrown at ones head, yet see MMA as appalling. High incidence of chronic brain damage occurs all because of repeated blows, often over 12 rounds of 3 minutes each. MMA events have none of these characteristics. There are no rounds; therefore, combatants cannot take a break every round to come out fresh and swinging repeatedly again at their opponent’s head. This single factor is enough to reduce the risk of serious injury by a wide margin. In most cases, even the fittest athletes cannot muster up enough strength to be a serious threat after a few minutes of continuous action. Moreover, a hard punch landed by a bare knuckle can easily open up a cut sufficient to terminate the fight. Again, this bias is brought up from the public from being conditioned for a certain type of behavior to be acceptable, but see other breaches of conduct to be breaking a folkway. To judge a sport or actions as “right” from our cultural perspective is ethnocentrism at its worst.
“The Japanese fans are REALLY educated fans. They appreciate a good fighter. The Brazilians are also pretty educated. In America they like the blood and violence aspect of it. Think about the movies in the fifties. They were not about murder and mayhem back them. Now it has slowly progressed to what it is today. What is it, the average action movie, 90 people killed? When did that become popular? Understanding culturally that Japan and Brazil have more of a culture root then what we do. We are a melting pot. Japanese understand from a very fundamental standpoint. They really root their own fighters also. With Brazilians, it is more of a nationalism thing, they are very proud of their fighters that way. Here in the US the fighters compete with all of the other major sports for heroes.” Mark Kerr.
More and more rules were instated to ensure the media’s satisfaction. Promoters began with doctors at ringside, ambulances on standby, and a referee who was stopping fights early. The media and politicians had a field day portraying the sport as “the most brutal thing since the days of the Roman empire when prisoners were fed to the lions.” The UFC and other MMA was banned and denounced from most of the major states and in provinces. Almost all the cable operators refuse to show any type of MMA, due to pressure from a select few politicians. The pay-per-view audience has plunged from 300,000 per show to 15,000. Perhaps people need to look past cultural bias and the media must also stop encouraging such behavior and start become more objective when passing judgments upon others. Though it can be argued that the media sensationalizes events to a point where the truth is no longer the truth, can it also be the media is also encouraging their views to view what is right on wrong from our own cultural standpoint? Citizens in society and the media go hand in hand. We demand and the media responds. The sport of Reality Fighting is still in its infancy and facing the same opposition boxing encountered during the late part of the 19th century. Like anything, time heals all wounds. The battle that we as a whole suffer is struggling to make the right decisions for the right reasons. The media must learn how to balance between the truth and on passing judgment.
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