What do pro-wrestling, CNN, social media and the American president have in common? More than you might think.
This the first in a short series of videos which explore these connections in detail. You can watch the full 57 minute video now, at Patreon http://bit.ly/2kY3uH7. If you have any questions, come say hi on Twitter https://Twitter.com/MoaVideos.
Part One: https://youtu.be/g74xi650rlc
Part Two: https://youtu.be/jbVjjc-qJAA
Part Three: https://youtu.be/W9jTjv0PWMg
Part Four: https://youtu.be/pV3tpT8RYiY
There is a wealth of wrestling knowledge in a book, called The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling, by David Shoemaker. It goes into detail about how Vince McMahon built his empire.
I read the Barthes book, Mythologies, when I was at university. His World of Wrestling essay sprang to mind when I saw the Trump tweet, and found the book hidden in a box in my garage. Another Barthes aficionado also saw the Donald Trump connection, so I have to give a shout -out to Judd Legum who made a similar observation last year, in his article for Think Progress. http://bit.ly/2ysJ1zx. I loved the imagery he used in his article, of Trump decking his opponents with a chair, so have included that in an upcoming episode.
Barthes' essay is written in a flowery French manner. When he talks about 'the perfect bastard', he refers to French wrestling, as opposed to American wrestling, and he calls it 'amateur wrestling'. In this video, I make no distinction. One can read his essay with American wrestlers in mind, and I think it applies just as well.
Part Two is coming shortly, which goes into much greater detail, about how wrestling has evolved for the past three decades in parallel with cable news and technological advances.
