Because lately I've been inspired by Matt Morris's blog (but not enough to start my own)
I turned in my critical essay proposal today for my Communication and the Body class. Here it is:
When Beijing was awarded the Games of the XXIX Olympiad by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001, the stage was set for a coming out party on an international scale. The pageantry and spectacle of the Games provided an opportunity for China to showcase its technological advancement and massive economic growth. Also at stake were billions of dollars in advertising revenue, as well as an uninterrupted focus on China at center stage. However, this opportunity came with an important caveat, namely that China would actively work to improve its human rights record (Bradsher, 2008).
As is usually the case with the Olympic games, the event is not merely about sports. Though athletic competition occupies the bulk of the viewership during the Olympics, the event itself is often marred by political struggle. The Beijing Olympics were no different. In the run up to the games, the excitement and anticipation of the athletic spectacle took a backseat to protest. The Olympic Torch Relay, normally a symbol of international unity and cooperation, became a brutal site of contestation when Chinese riot police cracked down on Tibetan protesters during the torch’s journey through western Asia (Liu, 2008). China’s insistence on suppressing dissent and their reluctance to seriously address their human rights record as the Olympics neared (Bradsher, 2008) created tension with many Western nations, with many foreign leaders initially considering a boycott of the opening ceremonies. In the United States, tensions surrounding China’s relationship with oil-rich Sudan and the ongoing crisis in Darfur prompted similar discourses.
Not to be outdone at their own event, the Beijing Organizing Committee levied massive restrictions on attendees to the Olympics regarding demonstrations and protests, culminating in a document issued to foreign visitors to Beijing (Bradsher, 2008). During the games, protests were remarkably absent, or at the very least subdued. At the same time, the initial proposal by foreign leaders and dignitaries to boycott the opening ceremonies remained a bluff. On the surface, China seemed to have effectively obtained the upper hand.
China’s success in skirting the recommendations of the IOC while at the same time suppressing seemingly widespread protest and criticism of their human rights stances raises some pivotal questions. What happened to the protests? How did they shift as Beijing increased its security during the Olympics? For American audiences, how was public outcry managed and reconstituted in light of these restrictions? For the purposes of this analysis, I will focus on the latter question, as I believe it provides insight into answering the other two. In order to locate a more specific artifact, I choose not to focus on the broader discourses surrounding protest and dissent in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Rather, I argue that the protests played out in very specific ways on some very specific texts, namely the bodies of Olympic athletes. Specifically, I contend that U.S. opposition and dissent to China’s rise as an international power played out during the Olypmics on the competing bodies of American swimmer Michael Phelps and the Chinese women’s gymnastics team.
As mentioned previously, the Olympics represent a sporting event that often blatant political ramifications. As journalist David von Drehle (2008) explains, “the games have often been symbolic wars dressed in short pants.” During the Olympics, athletic bodies often stand in for larger political struggles, creating a space to reflect dominant cultural views regarding foreign policy, national identity, and globalization (Farell, 1989; Riggs et al., 1993; Nielsen, 2002; Butterworth, 2007). They become the iconic symbols allowing these social and political dramas to play out in more socially acceptable ways. In this essay I argue that U.S. political concerns surrounding the Beijing Olympics were manifested in the bodies of Michael Phelps and the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. I contend that these athletes embody larger messages of protest and contestation of not only of China’s refusal to address their human rights record before the Olympics, but also the country’s international rise to power.
The selection of both Phelps and the Chinese gymnasts is not an arbitrary one. From the perspective of U.S. media coverage, these athletes came to exemplify their respective nations in various ways. First, the Chinese women’s gymnastics team won the all-around gold medal despite numerous allegations of falsifying documents regarding the age of the athletes, a criticism similar to charges of China’s suppression of dissent and insistence on secrecy. Conversely, American swimmer Michael Phelps became regarded as not only the greatest Olympian ever, winning an unprecedented eight gold medals, but also the quintessential American hero, gracing the cover of three issues of Sports Illustrated in the span of one month. Coincidentally, American television coverage of these athletes were broadcast during the same week, often in direct confrontation of one another for ratings. As such, they serve as an ideal way to examine how the protest rhetoric of the Beijing Olympics was reconstituted in the bodies of athletes. In order to remain focused on U.S. perceptions, I will examine American mainstream media sources as texts, including NBC broadcasts of the Olympics, newspaper and newsmagazine reports, and Sports Illustrated. These texts provide keen insight into the larger conversation surrounding U.S. and Chinese relations as well as the nature of international protest.
When Beijing was awarded the Games of the XXIX Olympiad by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001, the stage was set for a coming out party on an international scale. The pageantry and spectacle of the Games provided an opportunity for China to showcase its technological advancement and massive economic growth. Also at stake were billions of dollars in advertising revenue, as well as an uninterrupted focus on China at center stage. However, this opportunity came with an important caveat, namely that China would actively work to improve its human rights record (Bradsher, 2008).
As is usually the case with the Olympic games, the event is not merely about sports. Though athletic competition occupies the bulk of the viewership during the Olympics, the event itself is often marred by political struggle. The Beijing Olympics were no different. In the run up to the games, the excitement and anticipation of the athletic spectacle took a backseat to protest. The Olympic Torch Relay, normally a symbol of international unity and cooperation, became a brutal site of contestation when Chinese riot police cracked down on Tibetan protesters during the torch’s journey through western Asia (Liu, 2008). China’s insistence on suppressing dissent and their reluctance to seriously address their human rights record as the Olympics neared (Bradsher, 2008) created tension with many Western nations, with many foreign leaders initially considering a boycott of the opening ceremonies. In the United States, tensions surrounding China’s relationship with oil-rich Sudan and the ongoing crisis in Darfur prompted similar discourses.
Not to be outdone at their own event, the Beijing Organizing Committee levied massive restrictions on attendees to the Olympics regarding demonstrations and protests, culminating in a document issued to foreign visitors to Beijing (Bradsher, 2008). During the games, protests were remarkably absent, or at the very least subdued. At the same time, the initial proposal by foreign leaders and dignitaries to boycott the opening ceremonies remained a bluff. On the surface, China seemed to have effectively obtained the upper hand.
China’s success in skirting the recommendations of the IOC while at the same time suppressing seemingly widespread protest and criticism of their human rights stances raises some pivotal questions. What happened to the protests? How did they shift as Beijing increased its security during the Olympics? For American audiences, how was public outcry managed and reconstituted in light of these restrictions? For the purposes of this analysis, I will focus on the latter question, as I believe it provides insight into answering the other two. In order to locate a more specific artifact, I choose not to focus on the broader discourses surrounding protest and dissent in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Rather, I argue that the protests played out in very specific ways on some very specific texts, namely the bodies of Olympic athletes. Specifically, I contend that U.S. opposition and dissent to China’s rise as an international power played out during the Olypmics on the competing bodies of American swimmer Michael Phelps and the Chinese women’s gymnastics team.
As mentioned previously, the Olympics represent a sporting event that often blatant political ramifications. As journalist David von Drehle (2008) explains, “the games have often been symbolic wars dressed in short pants.” During the Olympics, athletic bodies often stand in for larger political struggles, creating a space to reflect dominant cultural views regarding foreign policy, national identity, and globalization (Farell, 1989; Riggs et al., 1993; Nielsen, 2002; Butterworth, 2007). They become the iconic symbols allowing these social and political dramas to play out in more socially acceptable ways. In this essay I argue that U.S. political concerns surrounding the Beijing Olympics were manifested in the bodies of Michael Phelps and the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. I contend that these athletes embody larger messages of protest and contestation of not only of China’s refusal to address their human rights record before the Olympics, but also the country’s international rise to power.
The selection of both Phelps and the Chinese gymnasts is not an arbitrary one. From the perspective of U.S. media coverage, these athletes came to exemplify their respective nations in various ways. First, the Chinese women’s gymnastics team won the all-around gold medal despite numerous allegations of falsifying documents regarding the age of the athletes, a criticism similar to charges of China’s suppression of dissent and insistence on secrecy. Conversely, American swimmer Michael Phelps became regarded as not only the greatest Olympian ever, winning an unprecedented eight gold medals, but also the quintessential American hero, gracing the cover of three issues of Sports Illustrated in the span of one month. Coincidentally, American television coverage of these athletes were broadcast during the same week, often in direct confrontation of one another for ratings. As such, they serve as an ideal way to examine how the protest rhetoric of the Beijing Olympics was reconstituted in the bodies of athletes. In order to remain focused on U.S. perceptions, I will examine American mainstream media sources as texts, including NBC broadcasts of the Olympics, newspaper and newsmagazine reports, and Sports Illustrated. These texts provide keen insight into the larger conversation surrounding U.S. and Chinese relations as well as the nature of international protest.