Your PretÂty Much Pop hosts Mark LinÂsenÂmayÂer, Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al BakÂer talk through the ups and downs of this nine-film franÂchise that startÂed with Rocky, the highÂest grossÂing film of 1976 and winÂner of that year’s AcadÂeÂmy Award for Best PicÂture. We’re espeÂcialÂly conÂcerned with this year’s Creed III, directÂed by its star Michael B. JorÂdan, which is the first entry in the franÂchise that’s entireÂly free of Sylvester StalÂlone.
How can such an apparÂentÂly simÂple forÂmuÂla (start as an underÂdog, train, and win at least a moral vicÂtoÂry) stay fresh? Why was there a robot in Rocky IV? Is there any ratioÂnale for an extendÂed, conÂtinÂuÂing Rocky-verse? Does enjoyÂing these films involve approvÂing of boxÂing as a sport, or the gloÂriÂfiÂcaÂtion of ficÂtionÂal sports heroes over real-life ones?
For varÂiÂous artiÂcles about things going on in the franÂchise, check out totalrocky.com. Sarahlyn menÂtions the NPR podÂcast The StatÂue.
Before Super Bowl LVII fades too far into the backÂground (being an Eagles fan, it can’t fade fast enough for me), it’s worth flagÂging this great ASL perÂforÂmance of Rihanna’s Super Bowl HalfÂtime Show. Above, you can watch JustiÂna Miles, a nursÂing stuÂdent at HBCU Bowie State UniÂverÂsiÂty, become “the first female deaf perÂformer for the Super Bowl’s halfÂtime show,” notes CNBC. Before this, Miles went viral when her ASL perÂforÂmance of Lil’ Kim’s “Crush on You” explodÂed on TikÂTok. As one comÂmenter notÂed on YouTube, this may be the best Super Bowl perÂforÂmance since Prince.
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We know that Neil deGrasse Tyson was someÂthing of a wunÂderkind durÂing his high school years. If you’re an OC regÂuÂlar, you’ve read all about how Carl Sagan perÂsonÂalÂly recruitÂed Tyson to study with him at CorÂnell. DeftÂly, politeÂly, the young Tyson declined and went to HarÂvard.
There’s perÂhaps anothÂer side of the preÂcoÂcious Tyson you might not know as much about. The athÂletÂic side. While a stuÂdent at The Bronx High School of SciÂence, Tyson (class of 1976) wore basÂketÂball sneakÂers belongÂing to the KnickÂ’s Walt “Clyde” FraÂzier. He ran an impresÂsive 4:25 mile. And he capÂtained the school’s wrestling team, durÂing which time he conÂjured up a new-fanÂgled wrestling move. In proÂfesÂsionÂal wrestling, Ric Flair had the dreadÂed FigÂure Four Leg Lock, and JimÂmy SnuÂka, a devÂasÂtatÂing SuperÂfly Splash. Tyson? He had the feared “DouÂble Tidal Lock.” He explains and demonÂstrates the physics-based move in the video below, origÂiÂnalÂly recordÂed at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of IndiÂanapoÂlis.
The first rule of Medieval Mixed-GenÂder Fight Club is: you do not talk about Medieval Mixed-GenÂder Fight Club.
The secÂond rule of Medieval Mixed-GenÂder Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Medieval Mixed-GenÂder Fight Club!
Why?
The PubÂlic Domain Review’s manÂagÂing ediÂtor, Hunter Dukes, wiseÂly argues that it’s because we have so litÂtle to go on, beyond these starÂtling images of “judiÂcial duels” between men and women in GerÂman fencÂing masÂter Hans TalÂhofÂfer’s illusÂtratÂed 15th-cenÂtuÂry “fight books.”
The male comÂbatÂant, armed with a woodÂen mace, starts out in a waist-deep hole.
The female, armed with a rock wrapped in a length of cloth, stands above, feet plantÂed to the ground.
Their matchÂing uniÂsex garÂments wouldn’t look out of place at the Met Gala, and proÂvide for maxÂiÂmum moveÂment as eviÂdenced by the acroÂbatÂic, and seriÂousÂly painful-lookÂing paces TalÂhofÂfer puts them through.
Dukes is not alone in wonÂderÂing what’s going on here, and he doesn’t mince words when callÂing bullÂshit on those responÂsiÂble for “hastiÂly researched artiÂcles” eagerÂly proÂnouncÂing them to be action shots of divorce-by-comÂbat.
Such bruÂtal methÂods of forÂmal uncouÂpling had been renÂdered obsoÂlete cenÂturies before TalÂhofÂfer began work on his instrucÂtionÂal manÂuÂals.
In a 1985 artiÂcle in Source: Notes in the HisÂtoÂry of Art, AlliÂson CoudÂert, a proÂfesÂsor of ReliÂgious StudÂies at UC Davis, posits that TalÂhofÂfer might have been drawÂing on the past in these pages:
I would sugÂgest that no records of judiÂcial duels between husÂbands and wives exists after 1200 because of both changes in the realÂiÂty and the ideÂal of what a woman could be and do. Before 1200, women may well have batÂtled their husÂbands. Women underÂstood and defendÂed the imporÂtance of their ecoÂnomÂic and adminÂisÂtraÂtive roles in the houseÂhold. After the twelfth cenÂtuÂry, howÂevÂer, law, cusÂtom and reliÂgion made marÂiÂtal duels all but unthinkÂable.
Why would TalÂhofÂfer bothÂer includÂing archaÂic mateÂrÂiÂal if the focus of his FechtÂbuchs was givÂing less expeÂriÂenced fightÂers conÂcrete inforÂmaÂtion for their betÂterÂment?
We like the notion that he might have been seekÂing to inject his manÂuÂscripts with a bit of an erotÂic charge, but conÂcede that scholÂars like CoudÂert, who have PhDs, research chops, and actuÂal experÂtise in the subÂject, are probÂaÂbly warmer when reckÂonÂing that he was just covÂerÂing his hisÂtorÂiÂcal bases.
For now, let us enjoy these images as art, and posÂsiÂble sources of inspiÂraÂtion for avant-garde cirÂcus acts, HalÂloween couÂples cosÂtumes, and ValenÂtines.
Explore more images from the 15th-cenÂtuÂry FechtÂbuchs of Hans TalÂhofÂfer here and here.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Ever since Qatar won the rights to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010, its treatÂment of migrant workÂers has made interÂnaÂtionÂal headÂlines. News stoÂries and human rights orgaÂniÂzaÂtions revealed migrant workÂers who built the staÂdiÂums, hotels, and all the new infraÂstrucÂture required for the World Cup were being forced to work, not getÂting paid, unable to leave, and in some casÂes, dying.
At the heart of the abuse faced by migrant workÂers is the kafala sysÂtem. A sysÂtem prevaÂlent in Gulf states that ties workÂers to their sponÂsors, it often gives sponÂsors almost total conÂtrol of migrant workÂers’ employÂment and immiÂgraÂtion staÂtus.
Due to all the scrutiÂny Qatar has been under, some reforms have been put in place, but the kafala sysÂtem is more than a law — it’s a pracÂtice. And while these reforms exist on paper, human rights orgaÂniÂzaÂtions say there’s still a long way to go.
To underÂstand how hunÂdreds of thouÂsands of migrant workÂers were stuck in an exploitaÂtive sysÂtem while buildÂing the staÂdiÂums for the World Cup, watch our 10-minute video above.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Here’s a vinÂtage footÂball [aka socÂcer] post in celÂeÂbraÂtion of the World Cup…
Albert Camus once said, “After many years in which the world has affordÂed me many expeÂriÂences, what I know most sureÂly in the long run about moralÂiÂty and obligÂaÂtions, I owe to footÂball.”
He was referÂring to his colÂlege days when he played goalie for the RacÂing UniÂverÂsiÂtaire d’AlÂger (RUA) junior team. Camus was a decent playÂer, though not the great playÂer that legÂend latÂer made him out to be.
[T]here is someÂthing approÂpriÂate about a philosoÂpher like Camus staÂtionÂing himÂself between the sticks [that is, in goal]. It is a loneÂly callÂing, an indiÂvidÂual isoÂlatÂed withÂin a team ethÂic, one who plays to difÂferÂent conÂstraints. If his team scores, the keepÂer knows it is nothÂing to do with him. If the oppoÂsiÂtion score, howÂevÂer, it is all his fault. StandÂing senÂtinel in goal, Camus had plenÂty of time to reflect on the absurÂdist nature of his posiÂtion.
And perÂhaps the absurÂdist nature of life itself…
Camus — who appears in the picÂture up top, wearÂing the dark colÂor jerÂsey in the front row — conÂtractÂed tuberÂcuÂloÂsis when he was only 18 years old. His lungs too damÂaged to conÂtinÂue playÂing sports, the young man turned to phiÂlosÂoÂphy. When Camus moved from AlgeÂria to France, he learned that phiÂlosÂoÂphy was a rough and tumÂble game too — someÂthing his socÂcer days preÂpared him for. He once quipped, “I learned … that a ball nevÂer arrives from the direcÂtion you expectÂed it. That helped me in latÂer life, espeÂcialÂly in mainÂland France, where nobody plays straight.”
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
I will admit it: I’m one of those oft-maligned non-sports peoÂple who becomes a footÂball (okay, socÂcer) enthuÂsiÂast every four years, seduced by the colÂorÂful pageantry, cosÂmopoliÂtan air, nosÂtalÂgia for a game I played as a kid, and an embarÂrassÂingÂly senÂtiÂmenÂtal pride in my home counÂtry’s team. I don’t lose all my critÂiÂcal facÂulÂties, but I can’t help but love the World Cup even while recÂogÂnizÂing the corÂrupÂtion, deepÂenÂing poverÂty and exploitaÂtion, and host of othÂer seriÂous sociopoÂlitÂiÂcal issues surÂroundÂing it. And as an AmerÂiÂcan, it’s simÂply much easÂiÂer to put some disÂtance between the sport itself and the jinÂgoÂisÂtic bigÂotry and violence—“sentimental hooliÂganÂism,” to use Franklin Foer’s phrase—that very often attend the game in varÂiÂous parts of the world.
In ArgentiÂna, as in many socÂcer-mad counÂtries with deep social divides, gang vioÂlence is a rouÂtine part of futÂbol, part of what ArgenÂtine writer Jorge Luis Borges termed a horÂriÂble “idea of supremaÂcy.” Borges found it imposÂsiÂble to sepÂaÂrate the fan culÂture from the game itself, once declarÂing, “socÂcer is popÂuÂlar because stuÂpidÂiÂty is popÂuÂlar.” As Shaj MathÂew writes in TheNew RepubÂlic, the author assoÂciÂatÂed the mass mania of socÂcer fanÂdom with the mass ferÂvor of fasÂcism or dogÂmatÂic nationÂalÂism. “NationÂalÂism,” he wrote, “only allows for affirÂmaÂtions, and every docÂtrine that disÂcards doubt, negaÂtion, is a form of fanatiÂcism and stuÂpidÂiÂty.” As MathÂews points out, nationÂal socÂcer teams and stars do often become the tools of authorÂiÂtarÂiÂan regimes that “take advanÂtage of the bond that fans share with their nationÂal teams to drum up popÂuÂlar supÂport [….] This is what Borges feared—and resented—about the sport.”
There is cerÂtainÂly a sense in which Borges’ hatred of socÂcer is also indicaÂtive of his well-known culÂturÂal elitÂism (despite his romanÂtiÂcizÂing of lowÂer-class gauÂcho life and the once-demiÂmonde tanÂgo). OutÂside of the hugeÂly expenÂsive World Cup, the class dynamÂics of socÂcer fanÂdom in most every counÂtry but the U.S. are fairÂly uncomÂpliÂcatÂed. New RepubÂlic ediÂtor Foer summed it up sucÂcinctÂly in How SocÂcer Explains the World: “In every othÂer part of the world, soccer’s sociÂolÂoÂgy varies litÂtle: it is the province of the workÂing class.” (The inverÂsion of this socÂcer class divide in the U.S., Foer writes, explains AmerÂiÂcans’ disÂdain for the game in genÂerÂal and for elitÂist socÂcer diletÂtantes in parÂticÂuÂlar, though those attiÂtudes are rapidÂly changÂing). If Borges had been a North, rather than South, AmerÂiÂcan, I imagÂine he would have had simÂiÂlar things to say about the NFL, NBA, NHL, or NASCAR.
NonetheÂless, being Jorge Luis Borges, the writer did not simÂply lodge cranky comÂplaints, howÂevÂer politÂiÂcalÂly astute, about the game. He wrote a specÂuÂlaÂtive stoÂry about it with his close friend and someÂtime writÂing partÂner AdolÂfo Bioy Casares. In “Esse Est PerÂcipi” (“to be is to be perÂceived”), we learn that socÂcer has “ceased to be a sport and entered the realm of specÂtaÂcle,” writes MathÂews: “repÂreÂsenÂtaÂtion of sport has replaced actuÂal sport.” The physÂiÂcal staÂdiÂums crumÂble, while the games are perÂformed by “a sinÂgle man in a booth or by actors in jerÂseys before the TV camÂeras.” An easÂiÂly duped popÂuÂlace folÂlows “nonexÂisÂtent games on TV and the radio withÂout quesÂtionÂing a thing.”
The stoÂry effecÂtiveÂly illusÂtrates Borges’ criÂtique of socÂcer as an intrinÂsic part of a mass culÂture that, MathÂews says, “leaves itself open to demÂaÂgoguery and manipÂuÂlaÂtion.” Borges’ own snobÂberies aside, his resÂolute susÂpiÂcion of mass media specÂtaÂcle and the cooptÂing of popÂuÂlar culÂture by politÂiÂcal forces seems to me still, as it was in his day, a healthy attiÂtude. You can read the full stoÂry here, and an excelÂlent critÂiÂcal essay on Borges’ politÂiÂcal phiÂlosÂoÂphy here. For those interÂestÂed in explorÂing Franklin Foer’s book, see How SocÂcer Explains the World: An UnlikeÂly TheÂoÂry of GlobÂalÂizaÂtion.
Note: An earÂliÂer verÂsion of this post appeared on our site in 2014.
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