Douglas Edwards - Philosophy Smackdown

1 Cover

2 Front Matter Philosophy Smackdown Douglas Edwards polity

3 Preshow1. Origins 2. Rundown 3. Thanks 4. Glossary

4 1 Reality: Work vs Shoot 1. Three Layers of Reality in Pro Wrestling 2. Reality Intrusions 3. Dirt Sheets, Podcasts, and Total Divas: The Quest for Reality 4. The Co-Dependence of Reality and Appearance 5. Pro Wrestling, News Media, and Democracy

5 2 Freedom: Scripting vs Spontaneity 1. Scripts and Freedom 2. Scripting and Coaching in Sports 3. Degrees of Scripting 4. The Wrestling Stoic 5. Know Your Role 6. Flipping the Script: Women’s Wrestling 7. Pushing the Script: Intergender Wrestling

6 3 Identity: Person vs Gimmick 1. Where’s Razor? 2. Working Yourself into a Shoot 3. The Real Me?

7 4 Morality: Babyface vs Heel 1. The Classic View 2. Virtues and Vices 3. Turns 4. The Classic View Disrupted 5. Reflecting on the Disruption

8 5 Justice: Prejudice vs Progress 1. Race and Jingoism in Pro Wrestling 2. LGBTQ Issues in Pro Wrestling 3. Reflecting Culture vs Changing It 4. Commodification and Social Justice 5. How to be a Socially Responsible Pro Wrestling Company?

9 6 Meaning: Sport vs Monster 1. Philosophy and Definition 2. Pro Wrestling as Sport 3. Pro Wrestling as Sports Entertainment 4. Pro Wrestling as a Monster

10 Dark Match: Pro Wrestling vs Philosophy 1. Philosophy and Wrestling 2. Narrative Structures 3. Matches and Symposia 4. The Pro Wrestling of Philosophy 5. What’s Your Gimmick? 6. Philosophy: Work or Shoot?

11 Credits 1. Wrestling Shows Discussed 2. Wrestling Podcasts 3. Wrestling News Websites 4. Wrestling Documentaries/TV Shows 5. Books about Wrestling 6. Articles Referred To 7. Philosophy Works Referred To 8. My Other Books

12 Index

13 End User License Agreement

1 Chapter 1 Figure 1. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Figure 2. Plato’s Allegory applied to Pro Wrestling

1 Chapter 4 Table 1. Aristotle on the Virtues Table 2. John Cena from 2010 onwards Table 3. Ric Flair in the 1980s Table 4. Austin in 1999

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To Theo and Lola

Douglas Edwards

polity

Copyright © Douglas Edwards 2020

The right of Douglas Edwards to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2020 by Polity Press

Polity Press

65 Bridge Street

Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

101 Station Landing

Suite 300

Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3767-9

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Edwards, Douglas, 1958- author. | Polity Press.

Title: Philosophy smackdown / Douglas Edwards.

Description: Medford, Massachusetts : Polity, 2020. | Summary: “Hulk Hogan and Socrates wrestle with the big ideas”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2019038633 (print) | LCCN 2019038634 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509537655 (Hardback) | ISBN 9781509537662 (Paperback) | ISBN 9781509537679 (ePUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Wrestling. | Sports--Philosophy.

Classification: LCC GV1195 .E39 2020 (print) | LCC GV1195 (ebook) | DDC 796.812--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038633LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038634

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

For me, it started with videotapes when I was about 10 or 11 years old. My younger brother Glyn would borrow them from his friend, and we would watch enraptured as these giant characters in colorful costumes grappled and slammed each other in the ring. Mostly World Wrestling Federation (WWF) WrestleManias, we watched Hogan beat Savage, Warrior beat Hogan, and then Warrior return to save Hogan. Growing up in the south of England, we had little idea where this was happening (apart from that it was in America), but we watched as much as we could. Action figures and posters followed – I remember marveling at my friend Justin’s Legion of Doom poster, with Hawk and Animal snarling in their face paint and spiked football shoulder pads.