Extreme Sports: A Reaction to Extreme Technology
Many people in America work at jobs where they are separated from Nature and other people, sectioned off in cublicles, plugged into a machine, doing work which neither challenges their intellect nor is fulfilling personally. As a result, a separation forms not only between others and from Nature itself, but from themselves, and their purpose in life. A feeling develops that are not living life to the fullest. Much of our interaction these days is "virtual interaction", taking place between us and a screen. We are capable of doing just about anything virtually: shopping, sex, even skiing. Our lack of contact with genuine, hands on experience, however, leaves a nagging feeling of unsatisfaction with the lack of physical control that we possess over our lives, and a fear that life is slipping away, untouched. Extreme sports are an extreme reaction to this dillema - they put one as close to Nature as possible, literally flush with the forces, be it gravitational or otherwise. The urge to push oneself against nature is similar to one of those "every action has an equal and opposite reaction" equations. These sports put one "up against the line", so to speak, testing our will to survive and forcing a connection with nature, with ourselves. There is a paradox here: in placing our life in the hands of natural forces, we take back responsibility and regain control, in a sense, over our existence. We are making a conscious choice to place our lives at risk, and thus taking on the ultimate responsibility, in a sense. Nature may be acting in opposition against us, but, the goal, according to Michael Bane, author of Over the Edge: a regular guy's odessey in Extreme Sports, is really to be i...
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...ogy has set an example by continually outdoing itself and moving at a faster and faster pace - we have to keep up, and in doing so, have made our lives more and more frantic. We must constantly strive after "the most". By the same vein, technology has also sapped some magic out of our lives, some immaterial spirtiualism due to it's heavy base in reality, in laws, in science, and in the concrete. People engaged in extreme sports talk about pushing the body to a degree that you "get into a flow", or a place where "magic" happens. In doing so, they giv e their lives meaning; by reaffirming their mortality, a purpose in life is gained. A degree of control is taken back in the action of putting it all on the line - of risking complete lack of control. This is the other side of the coin of having too many things cushioned, too much home delivery, too many buttons to push.
Blood pressure rising and testosterone dropping are good symptoms (that is, to someone who is a sports enthusiast); nail biting, heart pounding, and barn burning games are bread and butter to sports enthusiasts such as me. Rivalry, unity, and relaxation help me bond with other individuals who share a common interest as I do. Within the article “Are Sports Fans Happier?”, author Sid Kirchheimer gives his bias reasoning over sports and its social, health, and psychological effects on sports enthusiasts, which elaborates and aligns concisely to why I passionately enjoy lacrosse and soccer. Fundamentally speaking, sports initially bequeath an array of positive benefits besides good health and mental stability; sports allow individuals to indulge
Stereotypes are dangerous in today’s society as they force individuals to compromise safety in order to meet society’s want for entertainment. In “It’s Time to Think About Visors,” Ken Dryden explores the idea that society has pressured athletes to sacrifice safety for performance. Furthermore, he uses first hand experience to warn the public of the consequences that can occur when safety is neglected. Dryden’s experiences show a stunning fact that is people will focus on pleasing others stereotypes of risk in entertainment and inevitably reduce the barriers that separate the individual from danger. Ultimately, resulting in an increased rate of preventable injuries due to the influence of the world around them. In the essay
The presence of activity and sport is found within cultures and societies all over the world, and throughout history. Activity in the form of sport can often be the purest form of expression for a society or individual. The sporting world is often thought to be a microcosm of the actual world with the problems and issues of society still being ever present in the sporting community. Since sport can be used as an expression of self, it is no wonder that sport is often a reflection of the society that it occupies. One such society that was deeply impacted by the role of sport is that of Native American boarding school students in the 1800’s and 1900’s. These students lived tough lives but just like how it had helped other cultural societies, sport was able to provide these students with basic needs of autonomy and pride.
Poe, Edgar Allan. Annabel Lee. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 691. Print.
"US Government Should Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Education: Virginity Pledge Ineffective." Reproductive Health Matters Nov. 2009: 223. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
"Child Soldiers." BBC World Service. BBC World Watch, 12 Jun 2006. Web. 18 Nov 2013. .
If conventional ideas of “toughness” are allowed to be celebrated in our society, then it should be no surprise that athletes continue not to speak up about their injuries. If we make athletes feel ashamed of being weak, they’ll be more likely to struggle with mental health issues and long-term physical issues. I’m sure that the Dusseldorf Panthers chose to use this advertisement because it works for their purposes, but the fact that it works says a lot about what society values. In this case, the advertisement shows that society values sport and entertainment over the players. When we justify putting a person in danger of being permanently injured for our own entertainment, the idea of what’s “tough” has gone too far. It’s time to find a new way to encourage allegiance to a sport team, one that doesn’t risk the health of the people playing for
In modern society, the outstanding technology has brought human to a bright new age that people are more likely to value the materiality. Then more problems are raised from the technological development and further implicated with human emotions and basic desires. For example, in Don Delillo's novel "White noise", the fear of death is emphasized and given a new definition that fits into this lopsided modern society, which is overwhelmed by all kinds of information from mass media. People unconsciously dedicate more onto the stories that media made up for them, distracting the awareness of death by focusing on the mass media culture that as a ramification from this modern society. Eventually, people are swamped by those "plots" of mass media for getting away from something that are ironically weaken their basic abilities in life.
One of the assumptions Statsky makes is that, “One readily understandable danger of overly competitive sports is that they entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies” (627). This statement rests on the assumption that children would not perform any “physical actions that are bad for growing bodies” (Statsky 627) without organized competitive sports. This is simply untrue. Children jump from swings, climb trees, skateboard, “pop wheelies” and otherwise put themselves in physical peril with alarming regularity. Children’s free and unorganized play often results in broken bones and stitches, even for the most timid children.
athletes negatively present off of the playing field. As athletes train to become more aggressive,
Walker, N., Thatcher, J., & Lavallee, D. (2007). Psychological responses to injury in competitive sport: a critical review. The Journal of The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 174-180.
Taylor, Rupert. “The Plight of Child Soldiers.” Suite 101. Media Inc., 11 May 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .
Gender barriers have always existed in the field of sports. I will be focusing specifically on women in the field of bodybuilding and men who enter synchronized swimming in order to illustrate the social and cultural costs and benefits of these individuals entering their given sports.
Across numerous sports in the world, helmets are a staple of safety. Assumed to be a benefit, most athletes do not consider the risks of a helmet; both mental and physical risks. Society tells us that no matter what; a helmet will be safer than being exposed to harmful elements. There is also the idea that helmets are beneficial, but the way athletes use them causes more injuries than if a helmet had not been used at all. This culture, using your helmet as a tool, encourages more risky behavior for helmet wearers. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace argues that football culture is to blame for current helmet use, and that helmets are beneficial in her article “Do Sports Helmets Help or Hurt?” In his article “Disposable Heroes”, Neurologist David Weisman reasons that the worst helmets might be a better solution than better helmets.
As a result, the society of this scary inhumane, Brave New World is full with technology that is destroying humanity form us. Yes it is a perfect world and there no war, disease, crisis but also there is no emotions, feeling, love and especially any hope which are some of the necessary part of human nature. As a conclusion, technology controls the life of everyday people from the day they were born till the day they die in this Brave New World.