Sunday, May 18, 2008

I Fracking Hope Not

My wife and I have been renting and watching the first three seasons of the new Battlestar Galactica series that's been airing on the SciFi channel over the last few years. We watched the miniseries that began it all when that aired, but then didn't keep up with it and, by the time we got around to trying to watch any more of it, we were lost and we gave up. The jury's still out on what I think of it; we're exactly halfway through Season 2 as I write this and I'll hold off on a fuller opinion until either the series is over (it's set to end with the current season--Season 4) or I at least get caught up to Season 4. However, I did want to comment on one aspect for now:

In recent episodes, we've seen more and more portrayal of a set of media institutions and practices that have developed among the fleet of starships. It seems like the show generally has a critical view of the press. The press are continually a thorn in the side of many of the major protagonists and one of the most prominent members of the press to be featured thusfar turns out to be a Cylon (i.e. the "bad guys")--something we find out at the end of the episode in which she is introduced. Beyond whether the series portrays the press as negative or positive, though, the show certainly portrays the press as almost exactly corresponding with how media institutions, practices, roles, identities, etc. look in the United States in the early 21st century.

This is part of a larger critique of the show, in that it's pretty incredible that a society that apparently shares a common heritage as Earth, but has developed independently of Earth and Earth's many cultures and societies for a long time, looks so remarkably like contemporary Western culture (particularly American culture). Indeed, even the levels of racial and ethnic diversity (including some rather stereotyped characters, such as the black spiritual advisor to the white leader) mirror the contemporary United States. I understand that this is part of the suspension of disbelief that television typically asks of us. I understand that if the show was too different, it might not make sense to most viewers and, thus, would likely not be successful (of course, this tells us something, then, about how capitalism works). I also understand that texts are usually as much, if not more, about the time and place in which they are produced as they are about the times and places that they depict, if those differ. Yet, in this case, the similarities seem to be really heavy--seemingly too heavy -- and one of those similarities, again, is the depiction of the press. A major part of that depiction is that the kind of bickering, sensationalizing form of discussion that occurs on so much contemporary American television and talk radio appears to be dominant in the Battlestar Galactica world.

Perhaps this is part of the show's producers wanting to indict contemporary media practices in some way, in which case, then, maybe I might see some value in this, but ultimately this is a show that both explicitly and implicitly comments on the nature of humanity. Because of that, when the show depicts significant similarities between the practices, institutions, etc. of 21st century American culture and those of the fictional culture that is depicted in the series, these practices, institutions, etc. become part of the show's commentary on humanity. In the particular case of the media practices, institutions, etc., I hate to think that the form of discussion of issues that dominates contemporary American radio and television is as universal as Battlestar Galactica appears to suggest.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

My Fickle Fandom

In the middle of my childhood, I became a fan of New York sports teams for all of the big-time sports except football. For baseball, it was the Mets. For basketball, it was the Knicks. For hockey, it was the Rangers. Only in football did I somehow go in a different direction, becoming a Pittsburgh Steeler fan toward the end of the Steel Curtain years. When I moved to Arizona in the late 1990s, those loyalties were starting to change. I was already starting to switch my hockey allegiance to the Coyotes by the time I moved to Phoenix, mostly because they put up a good fight before losing to (my least favorite team in all of sports) the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the NHL playoffs in 1998. In 1999, I rooted for the Mets over the Diamondbacks in the playoffs, but by 2001, I was fully onboard as the Diamondbacks won the World Series. By 2001, I was also rooting for the Suns to do well and, by the time I moved away a few years later, it wasn’t hard to root for the Suns, with Amare Stoudamire, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and the crew, over the bottom-feeding Knicks, mired in scandal, horrible play, and miserable personnel decisions. Only in football did I maintain my old loyalty. Though I have rooted for the Cardinals to do well, Pittsburgh was still my team (despite the fact that my first year in Phoenix the Cardinals made the playoffs and then beat the Dallas Cowboys in exciting fashion).

Since moving back to Ohio a few years ago, I’ve seen myself squarely splitting my rooting interests in all but football between my former New York loyalties and my newfound loyalties to Phoenix teams. I’ve found myself claiming association with both the Mets and the Diamondbacks. I’m hovering back to the Rangers over the Coyotes (though that isn’t hard the way the two are playing right now). And then there’s basketball … where it’s been near impossible to go back to the Knicks and just as nearly impossible to stop rooting for the Suns. So, over the last couple of weeks, as news was coming out of the possibility of Mike D’Antoni leaving the Phoenix Suns, I was upset to hear about it. I had been holding onto the hope that that team under D’Antoni could win an NBA championship in the next few years. I saw the news about disagreements between D’Antoni and GM Steve Kerr, I saw the news about overtures from the Bulls, and I frowned … but then, I saw that the Knicks were trying to get D’Antoni as coach and instantaneously my feelings changed. I wanted him to go to New York. The idea of him turning around the Knicks and the possibility of the Knicks contending again excited me. So, when the news came on Saturday that the Knicks had signed D’Antoni as coach, I was excited and happy, not caring (at least for the moment) about what might happen to the Suns.

I wonder, then, what this says about my sports loyalties in particular and the ways in which sports loyalties work in general. My loyalties certainly appear to have a certain amount of fickleness about them. Above all, though, I think this illustrates something about how sports identification relates to regional identities. I’ve spent more of my life in Ohio than all other states put together, but I’ve tended to identify with sports teams outside of Ohio. Growing up, I wanted an identity that tied me to the urban space of New York, from which my dad’s side of the family came, over the rural Ohio town in which I grew up. In Phoenix, I could have claimed some sense of outsider identity by rooting for Ohio teams, but in that case I identified with the local teams. And now, back in Ohio, when the Phoenix teams are no longer local, I don’t move toward rooting for the Bengals or the Blue Jackets or the Reds or the Cavaliers (though Cleveland has for years been my favorite American League baseball team, but still behind both the Mets and Diamondbacks. I assume this has to do with how bad the Cleveland teams were when I was growing up. Reds fans were obnoxious and contending; Indians fans had little to celebrate and so I had little issue with them. I also worked for a radio station in high school that broadcast Cleveland Indians games). Instead, I move back to the New York loyalties. I suppose it should tell me something about how I feel about Ohio, though I have the feeling things might be different if I was in Columbus, Cleveland, or Cincinnati. Maybe it says something about how all of these sports work in my life, as well. Hockey seems to be the easiest for me to switch my loyalties. I’m probably most likely to become a Columbus Blue Jacket fan of all of the Ohio professional sports teams. Hockey is also the least of the four that I’ve followed throughout my life. Additionally, the Blue Jackets weren’t around when I was growing up, so there’s little basis for identifying against them there. Why football keeps my most loyal allegiance, though, while baseball is my favorite of the sports, is something that really makes me wonder …

On the collegiate level, there’s little doubt: I’m a BGSU Falcon above all else. I suppose that has something to do with feeling like I choose that identity. Maybe that plays into my Arizona loyalties as well …

Saturday, May 10, 2008

If only Rush was right ...

I remember around 15 years ago, when Rush Limbaugh was building his national recognition, he had a slogan on billboards, etc., that said "Rush is right." It was an obvious play on words. On the one hand, "right" was meant to mean conservative, or on the political right. On the other hand, "right" was meant to mean correct. Well, for once, I wish he was correct ...

The other day, Limbaugh suggested that Obama appeals to "wealthy academics," which was a reference to the many folks in higher education who have supported Obama in this year's Democratic primaries. It was also within the context of comments about how Obama might fair against John McCain in the general election for president in November. The statement was one among a number of characterizations of who would and would not vote for Obama in November.

I was not among the many who voted for Obama in the primary. I voted for Hillary Clinton, who I like for the job a little bit more at this point. It looks, though, like Obama will win the Democratic nomination and I'm very likely to vote for him for president in November if that is the case. So, I assume that I would then fall under the province of Limbaugh's comments. Additionally, since I am an academic, I presume that I am to be included within his characterization of the academics who do or would support Obama. Well ... if that's the case, I really wish his characterization of these academics as wealthy was correct. I could certainly use the money and I'd hope that I'd use such wealth more appropriately than the wealthy man who made these comments.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Learning to Blog

To quote Pink Floyd, "A soul intention, that's learning to fly/Condition grounded but determined to try/Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies/Tongue-tied and twisted just an earthbound misfit, I ..."

Now, despite ruining the rhyme, just change the word "fly" to "blog." That pretty much seems to sum up my current sentiment about my attempt at blogging on this website. I'm learning to do it, trying to do it, getting tongue-tied and twisted at times, particularly as I start circling through the blogosphere ...

What that in mind, I decided to change the title of my previous post from "F--- Horse Racing" to "My Problem with Horse Racing." Initially, I wanted the strong statement in the title because I felt incredibly empassioned about the topic (and I still do). However, after seeing all kinds of discussion on message boards on websites like espn.com and sportsline.com, in which various sides of the issue just insult one another and dismiss one another outrightly, I decided that as much as I liked how that title conveyed my sense of indignation, I didn't like the kind of dismissive and exclusionary sentiment that I felt that title ultimately might convey. I do have a problem with horse racing, but I don't want to stop listening to those who might disagree or who might agree that there is a problem to be addressed, but who don't want to throw away the whole practice of horse racing, which "F-- Horse Racing" would seem to suggest doing. Otherwise, I'm setting myself up to have to take it when people who adamantly disagree with me tell me to go "f--- off" and I feel like I'm contributing to the very kinds of dialogue that were so frustrating me on the aforementioned discussion boards. So, I've changed it, with the feeling that my last few sentences in the post do a pretty good job of conveying my indignation without the need for such a potentially dismissive title.

My change of that title seems like it's reflective of the process of learning to blog. I started this blog back in February after reading the blogs of a couple of people whose opinions I think quite highly of (see the links to The Agon and Mistercellaneous on the right side of this page for these blogs). It seemed like a potentially interesting, entertaining, and rewarding thing to do and so, I began, as I stated in my very first post, "not sure where it will go and where it will take me." And, despite the fact that I try to construct my main posts carefully, nearly three months later, I think I'm experiencing one of my early major lessons along the way: i.e., the need for a greater recognition of the kinds of discourses that my posts may or may not promote and greater recognition of how that aligns or fails to align with my own desires for and sentiments regarding discussion. Like communication itself, blogging (which is a form of communication) is a process ... and, as such, just as I'd argue that studying communication involves a continuing, lifelong process of examining and re-examining one's own understanding of communication, I'd argue that the process of blogging takes a continuing commitment to reflecting upon one's own blogging practices and an ongoing willingness to learn from and change one's blogging practices. I hope that I can effectively maintain those commitments as I continue the process of learning to blog.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

My Problem with Horse Racing

Today, Eight Belles finished second in the Kentucky Derby, fell after the race with two broken front ankles, and was euthanized.

On June 5, 1993, after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and winning the Preakness Stakes, Prairie Bayou fell during the Belmont Stakes with compound fractures in his left front leg. He was euthanized that same day.

On April 8, 1991, Bill Shoemaker, who at the time held the record for most wins as a horse racing jockey, was paralyzed from the neck down as a result of a car accident while drinking and driving. Shoemaker lived for more than 12 more years, before dying in his sleep on October 12, 2003.

Many people know of the case of Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, who was injured in the Preakness Stakes that year and garnered significant media coverage as his owners chose not to euthanize him upon the injury and instead attempted to repair the injury (though, in the end, Barbaro was euthanized, too, following various surgeries and complications). Barbaro was the exception, not the rule, for these kinds of injuries in American thoroughbred horse racing—something that was brought to attention once again today when Eight Belles was killed. Of no particular choice of their own, these horses are bred and raised to become race horses at a young age, they are made to endure significant strain on their bodies as they race, and they are made to parade around and race each other for spectacle and for profit. Then, when these injuries occur, the practice of euthanizing them is justified as something that “had” to be done and as “humane” because it is saving them significant pain.

Some statements from the Associated Press story titled “Runner-up Eight Belles breaks front ankles, euthanized on track” that appeared on espn.com are particularly telling along these lines:

  • Trainer Larry Jones voiced the sentiment that killing the horse was necessary when he said, “There was no way to save her. She couldn't stand.”
  • Veterinarian Larry Bramlage, who attended to the horse after her injury, concurred, stating, “There was no possible way to save her. She broke both front ankles. That's a bad injury.”
  • Bramlage also said of the injury, “Horses really tire. They are taking a lot of load on their skeleton because their muscles are fatigued. The difficult thing to explain with her is it's so far after the wire, and she was easing down like you'd like to see a horse slow down by that point.” This description conveys the kind of physical stress that these horses are forced to endure.
  • And why are they asked to endure this physical stress? A comment by jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose horse, Big Brown, won the race, pretty much says it all: “This horse [Big Brown] showed you his heart and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today.”

The answer to “why” is quite simple, indeed. Eight Belles died for our enjoyment—for the spectacle and thrill that humans derive from thoroughbred horse racing.

So … Bill Shoemaker made the choice to drink and drive, severely injured himself in an accident, and was granted another 12 years of life, despite the fact that I’m sure plenty of pain, discomfort, and misery accompanied his life after the accident. Eight Belles, Prairie Bayou, and tons of other horses have been forced to endure significant physical stress as they race for human entertainment. They have then been killed when they were injured and the killing has been characterized as “humane” because the horses would not have to endure significant pain, discomfort, and misery. I’m not saying Shoemaker should have been euthanized. I am saying much more consideration should go into saving the lives of these horses … or horse racing, as a practice, should be seriously reconsidered.

The practice of racing and then euthanizing these horses like this isn’t my version of humane treatment. It isn’t my version of enjoyment. And it isn’t my version of sport.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Real-Life Quidditch!

This past Saturday, I went to a real-life Quidditch match--the first of the season for the Ohio Qudditich League. The participants obviously can't fly like the characters in the Harry Potter novels do and there are a number of other issues to address in order to conduct the game (including how to make for an effective Golden Snitch), but they seemed to do a reasonably good job of putting it all together. I was asked to be the referee, which proved to be the perfect way to learn the rules and to see everything that was going on. It was enjoyable and it looked like a really good workout for the folks who played.

A Dayton television station came by to film it. The news story that appeared on Columbus television can be found here. (You can even catch a brief glimpse of me patrolling the sidelines toward the end of the clip.) Also, more on this and all kinds of other things for Harry Potter fans in Ohio can be found here.