SportCult

About this book

Although sport is pervasive in our society, its significance as a cultural phenomenon remains largely misunderstood, and its singular ability to entertain, inspire, and unite is frequently taken for granted. Sporting metaphors abound in politics and business, and communities, from neighborhoods to nations, see in sport the embodiment of their values. So what do the popularity and ubiquity of sports tell us about the world? How do sport{u2019}s stories of victory and defeat reflect the society that narrates them? This volume offers a variety of perspectives on the cultural politics of sport. Looking at such diverse examples of sport culture as aerobics, bodybuilding, Mexican pro-wrestling, golf-course design, the basketball documentary Hoop Dreams, women sportscasters, sports-related trademarks, martial arts in Tanzanian youth culture, and cricket in Sri Lanka and post-apartheid South Africa, SportCult deftly explores sport as a cultural frame of reference for such critical issues as national identity, the idea of the body, global capitalism, and the politics of representation.