A few words before you start...

I have decided to follow this topic because I am actively engaged in sports, I do have a great interest in sports and I generally believe that sport is a significant part of the human experience. Most of the people around me are consuming sports through the media- they do not enjoy to do sports by themselves, they do not have time to do so or whatever is the reason- majority of them agrees that watching the sports on the media is quite exciting and enjoyable occupation. But be warned! Mediated sports do not bring only the fun and entertainment. There are certain negative effects of sports on us and our society. I do not doubt there is also great number of positive effects of mediated sports on our society as well- but that is not what I would like to discuss here. I want to talk about some of these negative effects because I do believe that mediated sports can shape and reflect attitudes of our society. Therefore it is good to realize and identify these effects and observe their impact on the world around us and, in the best case, avoid of them. I hope you will find this blog helpful in this. Have a good time!

Violence in the Mediated Sports

A great article by J. Bryant, D. Zillman and A. Raney talks over the issue of violence presented in mediated sports (see the link at the end of the article). They point out the fact that “Violence in sports has become commonplace in present-day society, and signs of the symbolic nature of sports violence and media are increasingly abundant”. This fact is quite alarming- if mediated sports are really shaping and reflecting our society, doest it mean that our society is demanding violence and mediated sports are covering (or even reinforcing) this demand? To answer this question, part of previously mentioned article will be cited. “Mike Tyson’s return to boxing helped pay-per-view ring up records revenues this year and has punched up big expectations for next year”. Mike Tyson is an embodiment of violence, not only inside the ring. He is a convinced rapist and putative wife abuser who managed to bite off part of the opponent’s year during the boxing match. Still, his comeback to the sport field had more than great response at viewers. And “Iron Mike” did not fail- after his comeback, he spilled more blood in the name of the sport then ever before. At least in this case, media were feeding the viewer’s lust for violence and possibly contributed on the social acceptance of mediated violence (not only in sport) as the real and ordinary reflection of our world. Do you agree or disagree with this conclusion? Feel free to express your opinion at the poll!

To see whole article see following link:
Violence and Media Sports.

Works Cited: Bryant, J. Violence and Enjoyemnt of Media Sports.
Violence and Media Sports