Sports as pop culture

I recently read an article title "The Gulf War TV Super Bowl" by Jim Castonguay. The article is the first one that pops up when you Google "Gulf War Super Bowl". As a huge sports fan, I have become intrigued by the prominent place the Super Bowl has taken in our culture. If I were not such a sports fan, I think I would actually be more likely to not watch the game. It seems like it is so over-hyped and it is given such a prominent and unrealistic place in our culture. I think American Idol is an interesting example. I've heard enough sound clips over the years to understand what it's about although I've never seen a show. Yes, William Hung was funny in a sad, pathetic kind of way. I've listened to Fox 9 news in the morning because I like a few members of the broadcast team. When they talk about the latest contestant to leave the show as part of the news cast, I become a little irritated. I don't see that as news! When a speaker at an in-service at school took time to discuss his favorite American Idol participant, again I was a bit irritated. So, I completely avoid any reference of talk of American Idol as much as possible. I have the same attitude towards auto racing. I could see why people would become disillusioned with the Super Bowl. I intentionally avoid the two weeks of hype leading up to the game.

In the Gulf War/Super Bowl piece, Jim Castonguay describes how the broadcast of the game was used as propaganda. The article is filled with many assertions that I think are controversial. For example, he talked about the many troops of color fighting the war in Iraq. He said they were killing in the interest of establishing the New World Order, the immediate beneficiaries of these performances were white men whose economic and political interests these performances served. The televised Super Bowl thus unwittingly reflected the demography of US soldiers who, left with few economic and institutional alternatives were coerced into fighting on the front lines in the middle east. I think it is important to offer counter views to something like the Gulf War Super Bowl broadcast, however, the example I described above seems to me an extreme assertion. It made me think of the controversial Reverend Wright who has been in the news recently.

Another example of an asserti0n that I would consider to be a debatable point was when he discussed Ramsey Clark's letter. In that letter, Clark said that US led sanctions against Iraq have now killed more than 750,000 human beings, perhaps twice that many..... I'm not sure if it was Castonguay or Clark who put the blame on those who imposed the sanctions for the killing of so many people. Although it is a tragic situation, should the blame be placed on those who impose the sanctions? What are some alternatives to sanctions?

Castonguay talked about a soldier who said she would go back to watching the game if a Scud attack happened and if it wasn't too bad. He comment about the strength the religious conviction of someone willing to risk their lives to watch the Super Bowl. I felt he took a fairly innocent comment and took a leap as to what that particular soldier said. Castonguay also asserted that during the gulf war, the media coverage became complicit in killing by adopting an uncritical, self-censored position toward the conflict which facilitated the slaughter of Iraqis. In addition, there are other examples of terminology and opinions that could generate a lot of interesting discussion.

Although this particular article takes place before most current students are born, it may be an effective example to use. If anything, the Super Bowl has grown to an even bigger medial event so students today could certainly identify with that aspect. You can consider the article in so many ways. Is it a good thing to tie a military operation so closely to sporting event? Do you share similar feelings about some of the author's points? The topic provides an excellent opportunity to teach some history about Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Given what we know now, did the first President Bush make a mistake by not going after Saddam back in the first gulf war?

I feel like the article would be most useful as an opportunity to debate how media events like the Super Bowl should or should not be used to promote a cause.

Example lesson plan: Where politics and pop culture meet.

Split students up into groups of four or five. Each group is given a topic and side that they must argue. For each group there would be another group with the same topic but arguing the opposite point. For example, Group 1a would argue that playing Super Bowl 25 with a patriotic theme was the right thing to do. They could use some of Castonguay's ideas but should also try and come up with their own. Group 1b would argue that either the game shouldn't have been played or that some sort of anti-war message be part of the broadcast. There would be room for each group to develop the best arguments possible as long as they were in opposition to the other group.

Group 2 - Super Bowl in 2002 after 911 where the government purchased time for Super Bowl commercials to promote fighting the war on drugs.

Group 3 - Acceptance speeches during the Academy Awards that deal with opposition to the war.

The lesson could be structured differently depending on the size of the class and time available. In general, I would allow 10 to 15 minutes to discuss the topic and come up with bullet points to support their argument. The next part of the lesson would be where each group summarized their points, first group a and then group b. Depending on the maturity level of the group, an opportunity to debate and ask each other questions could be added.

In summary, it be would meaningful to discuss how it felt to argue a point that you may be opposed to, are there times when it is alright to only present one side to an issue that may be controversial?, what are some other media or popular culture events that students are aware of where controversial messages are presented?