The Olympic games are not solely for sports. While the Olympics does showcase the world’s finest athletes in the largest sporting event to occur every four years, the Games also represent the politics, economy, and people of each nation. Every hosting country is expected to put its “best foot forward” in hopes it can make a good impression on the thousands of eyes watching (Politics always an issue). With this comes the question of which countries should be allowed to host said Olympic games. Countries that are developing come across as being corrupt and/or not suitable to host the Games. However, the consequences of hosting the Games cannot be predicted – there can be positive or negative outcomes for countries regardless of political or social stance (Stump and Kim).
Opposing views on holding the Olympics in lesser nations include the potential harm that visitors and athletes could endure whilst in the country. The athlete may be discriminated if he or she is gay depending on the country’s views, if he or she shows religious ties or is a Jew or anti-Nazi, or if he or she is affiliated with any race or nation the hosting country opposes. Therefore human rights are greatly shown and debated during this event (Hoberman, 24). Also, the Olympics can be seen as a waste of money – money that should be used for education and health is spent on new architecture and even manmade mountains, as seen in Sochi, Russia (Hosting Olympics). Because of this waste of money, the hosting country can fall into an economic depression, as seen in Greece after hosting the Games in Athens (Stump and Kim). This shows that holding the Olympics in developing or in corrupt countries could be a risk towards those visiting the country and towar...
... middle of paper ...
.... 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. .
"Politics Always an Issue at Apolitical Olympics - WNCN: News, Weather for Raleigh. Durham, Fayetteville." WNCN. N.p., 15 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. .
Schwarz, Cassandra. "Human Rights and the Olympic Games: The Role of International Sporting Events in the Promotion of the Rights of First Nations." Communication and Culture. Dr. Caesar Apentiik, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. .
Stump, Scott, and Eun Kyung Kim. "What Happens to Olympic Venues after the Torch Goes out." TODAY. N.p., 22 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. .
The controversy in Berlin Olympic Games was that the some of the Jews excluded from the Olympic team were actually world class athletes. The athletes left Germany, along with other Jewish athletes, to resume their sports careers abroad.The Nazis also disqualified Gypsies.The Olympics were intended to be an exercise in goodwill among all nations emphasizing racial equality in the area of sports competition. But the Nazis thought that only the Aryans should participate in the Olympics games to represent Germany.Then after that controversy then the committee of the Games wanted to move the Olympic Games to another country.This was because usually the U.S. got the most medals because they sent the most athletes.
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
When we are young, we are taught to treat everyone equally. Naturally, as children you learn and apply and hope that another person does the same. Rights, they are basic and unalienable to all humans upon entering a foreign or country of citizenship. Fighting for equal treatment to the prominent race has created history that is left for future activist to involve themselves with past history, and revive movements. Equal treatment amongst the different cultures is necessary for the social and political success for this country. As citizens of a country, we expect that the melting pot of cultures to be civil with one another and the representation of cultures be positive. But what happens when a native from the North American country is targeted through sports? Sports: physical active games, fan filled, entertaining to the public, and usually represented by an object. The typical sports mascot varies between an animal, historical figures to a fictional character. To the public, some mascots that have a positive outlook since they are just “things” representing a game; to the observational public there are some mascots that have a demeaning aspect. In the case of the use of Native Americans to represent a team, it is offensive and controversial due to the accumulated years of racism and violence against them, and there must be a change for the progressive society. This dissection of the negative history, the controversy of the issue, the opposing defense, and how this affects the Native American community are important to further analyze the problem.
Theme: Many events of The Nazi Olympics surround this sporting festival to make it one of the controversial events in sport history. Not only does Mandell cover the 1936 Olympic Games themselves but he gives insight to the history of the modern games, participation by the United States, the role of the games in the Nazi propaganda efforts and portrays heroes and key figures. Mandell wrote about the intersection of sport and politics and how world leaders set the agenda, not the athletes. The Nazi’s used the 1936 Olympic Games as a way to reinforce their political and racial goals. Although they were founded as part of a vision of world peace, the 1936 games became a stage for political disputes. The Nazi Olympics takes an in depth look at the efforts the Germans made to show the rest of the world that they had again become a powerful nation under the leader of Adolf Hitler. The events that followed the games in Germany, mainly the Holocaust and World War II overshadowed the Berlin games. However, it is very important to note that a world gathering like the Olympics took place in a country that was in the process of eliminating an entire race of people. The games were a huge success in regards to the Nazi regime, they were able to fool the world and prove to Germany that they were a peaceful and stable nation.
Bachrach, Susan D. The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Company, 2000
Brady, Anne-Marie. “The Beijing Olympics as a Campaign of Mass Destruction”. The China Quarterly. 197. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2009. Web. 26 Jan., 2011.
Most people would classify the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 as just another Olympics, and they would be right because the Games did have the classic triumphs and upsets that occur at all Olympic Games. What most people did not see, behind the spectacle of the proceedings, was the effect the Nazi party had on every aspect of the Games including the results. Despite Nazi Germany’s determination to come off as the superior nation in the 1936 Olympics, their efforts were almost crushed by the very people they were trying to exclude.
Close, Paul, David Askew, and Xin Xu. The Beijing Olympics the Political Economy of a Sporting Mega-event.. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis, 2006.. 34-35
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
"Politics has come to be considered not only inappropriate in the arena of sports, but actually antithetical to it," Zirin says. "We want so much to see sports solely as an arena of play, not seriousness. But here's the thing, this can cheapen not only the greatness and relevance of sports to us as a society, but also the courage of the athletes" (The Nation). The pursuit of fame, wealth and status can blind the human conscious, which is why it is important for us to encourage athletes to speak their minds. As a nation, we should not silence the athletes, because it is the truly courageous athletes who have the audacity to stand up when it’s not popular. Sports should be used as a platform for a certain kind of politics: militarism, nationalism. There is a rich tradition of resistance to politics in sports, but their actions have been integral to country’s struggle for racial and gender equality; sports are a safe place to discuss these difficult topics.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The Olympic Games is an event held every 4 years, which includes a variety of sporting activities in which different countries compete against one another. “Sport is frequently a tool of diplomacy”. By sending delegations of athletes abroad, states can establish a first basis for diplomatic relations or can more effectively maintain such relations” (Espy 3). One might think that politics and the Olympics have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, they do have a lot in common.
The Olympics is a mega sport event which is presented once every four years and it has become a golden opportunity for hosts to emerge as a strong country. Hosting the Olympics is a big thing for every country and they receive worldwide attention from the preparation period until the actual event. However, hosting the Olympics comes with heavy stakes and experts tend to argue about the appropriateness for the countries to host it. There may be people who oppose with hosting the Olympics, however, the country rebranding, the economy hike and also the pride and patriotism of citizens just demonstrate the need of hosting the Olympics for the development of the country.
In every major sports event, like the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics, there’s always a huge celebration and a positive vibes surrounding such events. Hosting these events are usually a great honor to the selected countries and bring a lot of favorable consequences with it. However, no one realized that whenever these big sporting events occur and are hosted, brings as much negative consequences which counterbalances all the good things that comes with it. So, the question remains, is the Olympics a Cash Cow or a Money Pit to the hosting countries? In my opinion, the Olympics could actually bring more benefit that loss to the selected countries to host it, which are to bring positive economic and cultural benefits, either a Legacy or a Money pit for the hosting countries, hosting this event could promote development for the educational legacy and finally eradicating poverty throughout the citizens.
...ing and honorable events in world history. There were four crucial parts in the Olympic history that change the games forever. Meaning it changed in all equality from the origin in 766 B.C.E all the way to modern day today which is the latest games in 2012. These games always kept running because it gave people a new way of living by seeing all the different types of countries competing and showing off the skill. This was what most athletes worked for. These games set honorable meaning as the modern day games begun they would light a torch that would symbolize the games had begun. These games weren't just games to some people these games were ways to get a worldwide message across no matter if it was about race, gender, or even life. These games shifted in a way that no one could really explain but it gave everyone a sense of what's really out there in this world.
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.