Rollerball takes place in a seemingly perfect future. The absence of war, racism, and poverty stand out, especially in comparison to other sci-fi movies, such as Blade Runner. In Rollerball, there has been some sort of vague war, resulting in a city-state like governing system where every major city in the world is controlled by a corporation specializing in one product or service. For entertainment, these city-states created a sport called rollerball, which I can only describe as a mix between roller derby, hockey, and combative motorsports, and much more violent than any sport we could compare it to today. The game evolves as well, becoming more and more violent with rule changes instated by the corporations. It is implied that the corporations …show more content…
He is also the most popular by a fair margin. We know this because throughout the movie we see that he is admired by the masses, and even most of the executives. This point is driven further when, before the game against New York, it is implied that the entire world is cheering him in (01:49:10), starting from the just the stadium, and then likely spreading to the people watching the game on their strange televisions. Mr. Bartholomew, a high-level executive at the Energy Corporation, which controls Houston, is threatened by Jonathan's skill with the sport and popularity amongst the people. He tells Jonathan to retire, gives him incentives to retire, gives no reason for his retirement (which is unusual, as most players have contracts where they are not allowed to retire), and tells him to tell the world how great the corporations are (00:23:00) on a television show. The reason Bartholomew wants Jonathan to leave the game is because, as he describes, he is a threat to the "social purpose" of the game …show more content…
He loves to play the sport, and knows he plays it well, so, he refuses to retire. Most of the rest of the story involves Jonathan trying to figure out why the corporation wants him to retire, and it's never really made clear whether or not he discovers the real reason behind the creation of and increasing violence in rollerball. As viewers, we are only given slightly more information than Jonathan, as the story follows him for the most part. The information we are given turns out to be very important. There is a scene where Bartholomew describes the purpose of the game to other executives, which is a little strange, since you would think they would know its purpose quite well already. Anyhow, He says "the games were created to demonstrate the futility of individual effort" (01:28:50). The game is designed to have people die in it, meaning that a fan-favorite could die in any game. This was supposed cause people to focus less on the players, since they are all extremely temporary, and to focus more on the game. Jonathan, having played for ten years and being extremely good, presents an obvious problem for the corporations. If people watching Jonathan see that he is more than just a player in a sport, but as a symbol that everyday people do have
People accumulate different feelings throughout the average day, yet there are usually no ways to adequately and legally let out those pent up frustrations. Dodgeball, luckily provides a solution. The author of an article named “The Weak Shall Inherit the Gym”, Rick Reilly, believes that “Dodgeball is one of the few times in life when you get to let out your aggressions, no questions asked (Reilly 2)”. In other words, this game is a unique and rare way to let out your daily emotions with a simple activity of throwing a ball at others. The effect of this game is only positive. You can throw balls at other people, relieve yourself of stress, and not injure them since the ball is made of a very soft material. There are in fact, much worse ways to release stress. One example is a school shooting. People who hold the opinion of banning dodgeball in order to keep everything safe and fair are being hypocrites since the frustrations which cannot be let out anymore can still be let out in ways that are significantly more detrimental to the school and it’s
Can cheating be an excuse for the phrase; survival of the fittest, or is it an epidemic moral corruption? Since the advent of modern competitive sport, winning has always been the bottom line. Honesty, honour and fair play have taken the backseat. The purpose of the essay May The Best Cheater Win, by Harry Bruce, is to inform how cheating has become widespread and accepted in America. Sports are an integral part of American culture and indeed an entire industry exists because of these competitive sports. The result of these competitive sports has led to the moral corruption of most athletes, as they would do anything to win. Harry Bruce discusses the distortion of right and wrong that has penetrated all levels of sports, from children's league to regional division. He confidently informs his reader that organized sports not only "offer benefits to youngsters" but "they also offer a massive program of moral corruption".
Professional sports, like most of our popular culture, can be understood only partly by through its exiting plays and tremendous athletes. Baseball and football most of all are not only games anymore but also hardcore businesses. As businesses, sports leagues can be as conniving, deceitful, and manipulative as any other businesses in the world. No matter what the circumstances are, it seems that Politicians are always some how right around the corner from the world of sports. These Politicians look to exploit both the cultural and the economic dimensions of the sports for their own purposes. This is what is known in the sports industry as “playing the field”.
Ralph Ellison 's "Battle Royal" portrays a young, African American man, in a post slavery era, dealing with the oppression of racism. "Battle Royal" actually became the first chapter in Ellison 's book, Invisible Man. Ellison 's book concentrates on the social issues African Americans faced during the time period of segregation. Ralph Ellison 's specific use of setting, symbolism and the idea of "humility" help to illustrate the theme of identity and social equality in this story. In this paper I argue that these writing techniques drive the story 's plot and help define the purpose and characters of the story.
“I was crying and all, I don’t know why, but I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (53), Holden says. As humans, we have a hard time belonging in society. This is the same case for Holden Caulfield, the main character from the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the rye, a novel by J.D Salinger, is about Holden, a lost boy in desperate need of help. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded by the world around him. He continually attempts to try and belong in a world in which he is isolating from. In this novel, Salinger uses symbols such as the red hunting hat, the ducks and Allie’s glove to support the theme, belonging and isolation.
The books “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and “The Kite Runner” are both written by Khaled Hosseini. The setting of both of the book is in the capital of Afghanistan, which is Kabul. Both books express the themes of betrayal, discrimination, and also redemption; but both novels depict the themes and characters in different ways. Even though the main characters are very much alike.
March 8th, 2004 was supposed to be nothing more than a competitive and action packed regular season hockey game between feuding rivals, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks. The game slipped away from the Canucks, with the Avalanche up 6-2 heading into the third period. The heated contested already had its fair share of fighting majors, but an incident that happened late in the third period shocked the more than 18,000 fans in attendance at Rogers Arena, the hockey community, and North America. After failing to instigate a fight with Avalanche forward Steve Moore, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks grabbed the back of Moore’s jersey, landed a vicious punch to the back of Moore’s head, before slamming him face first on the ice and falling on top of him. Moore had to be helped off the ice on a stretcher, and has never returned to the NHL. Bertuzzi, on the other hand, was suspended for 20 games by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and is still playing in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings. This is one of many examples of deviance in sports, and how a win-at-all costs mentality can drive athletes to act in extreme manners. As a result of the growing commercialization of sports, athletes are socialized at young ages to believe that winning is everything, and that stopping at nothing will help you succeed. Athletes will do almost anything to gain the upper hand in their respective sports, whether it is through engaging in excessive on-field violence or through the use of performance enhancing drugs, excessively committing themselves to their sport, or by violating league rules and policies. In sports, deviance is viewed in a different light than in the outside world. As professional athletes strive towards conforming to spor...
Labels are a product of too many ideas that describes a field. Cyberpunk fiction is a genre that has only recently received its due respect as an art form. This label is the cause of great controversy when it comes to actually defining cyberpunk. To any definition, there are arguments to its validity and consistency, but there are some generally accepted traits of Cyberpunk (CP). CP is a reflection of the pop-culture of the eighties, an extension of Science Fiction that entangles hard and soft technology, and its stories contain realism.
After first reading the essay “Sports Should be Child’s Play,” I believe David Epstein made a valid point when discussing the issue of children participating in competitive sports at a too young of an age. He effectively delivered his argument by giving an appropriate amount of evidence without crowding the piece and losing the reader. There were certain sections of the essay that would have been difficult to understand without context, however Epstein was able to guide the reader and explain the evidence and situation when necessary. The title of the essay drew me in because “child's play” coincides with something that can be easily accomplished and is enjoyable. However sports, at the higher level, are challenging and are required to be taken seriously. If children are playing at competitive level too early in their life, it can cause a loss of enjoyment and be detrimental to their physical and mental health.
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
The Veldt, A short story by Ray Bradbury uses symbolism and repetition to show the thoughts inside our head are the most powerful thing on earth. The sun is the burning glare of the children. The sun is uncomfortable for the parents and they want to leave, but can’t. Other people say that the main craft is the mood or tone. The story does set a scary tone. The lions also show the anger of the children. The lions were big and scary and predators in the story. The nursery and the house itself are a big part of the story as well. They symbolise that technology can take over our lives and make them worth nothing. The purpose of using symbolism and repetition in the story is to show that our minds can be one of the most evil places on earth.
Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports. These sports often govern society's way of life. People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends. Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends." Parents use sports as a teaching tool for their children. Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and sports have also helped many students with their grades. Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games. Adults have been affected by sports in their bank accounts. Tax increases for funding a new stadium, golf course and even school programs have hurt the middle class Americans. Sports have taken control of small communities and soon will take control of society
In the short-fiction story, “The Runner” by Don DeLilo is about is about a young man out for a jog in his local park. It is told in a third objective point of view. He and other people in the park witness what appears to be a kidnapping. He only sees some of it when a man’s car runs into a curb and runs rapidly. There is another woman who is a witness. She tells the man that the kidnapper took the son away from his mother, and the father is the one who did it. The runner asks how does she know and she replies with, “It’s all around us, isn’t it? They have babies before they’re ready. They don’t know what they’re getting into. It’s one problem after another. Then they split up or the father gets in trouble with the police. Don’t we see it
Broadcasted competitive gaming has been around since the beginning of arcade games when people were competing for the highest score on shows like Starcade back in 1982(Bell). However, in the past couple of years the competitive gaming world has exploded in growth with more games, more tournaments, more players, and bigger cash prizes. During this most recent November there were eight major tournaments for a multitude of games including League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive and some less competitive games such as Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, and Street Fighter. With over a five million people watching these tournaments it is clearly visible that there is a passionate and large group of people that want this competitive gaming scene to expand. With all the activity going on in only a month and with smaller tournaments running all the time it is clear to see that competitive gaming or more formally called eSports has become in such a small time. However, the important question is whether or not eSports should be considered an actual sport like Football, Soccer, or Basketball. According to a ruling by the Olympic Committee, League of Legends already is, and will be taking a place in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with other games being considered for the 2020 Olympics. Although there are those out that would like to dispute this ruling and say that eSports don’t meet the requirements of a traditional sport. A big argument has been conceived from the committee decision, but not all the arguments being used is valid and then there are those that.
Sports have been around for thousands of years. The history of sports in United States began back in the 1840s. United States is a very unique country when we look at its sports, just like every country has a different structure of sports so does US. This paper will be taking about the Sports Organizations and Governance, the sports industry, sports organizations, and Structure of sports in the United States. It will also cover the Sport in the United States vs. Other Western Democracies by taking a look at the State Political, historical context, team objectives, and sports organizations. It will also cover the uniqueness of American sport as well as cover the mass participation and give recommendations on how to increase participation and success.