So, snowboarder Scotty Lago wins an Olympic bronze medal, and simulated oral sex ensues. If sport is a pillar of popular culture, and pornography has become more mainstream, as many cultural critics have argued, then why the feigned moral outrage? Tasteless? Some might say, though I have personally seen far worse in public...ok, years ago in college, but nevertheless! Numerous comments were directed at the fact that he was wearing his Team USA t-shirt at the time, since...you know, the US Olympic Committee is the paradigmatic example of all that is good and pure. It is a fact that numerous positive doping tests have been covered up or otherwise ignored by the various US national sporting organizations over the decades, and yet this relatively harmless act caught on cellphone celluloid somehow besmirches the valued brand name of Team USA? Young people around the globe are "sexting" until their fingers (among other things) are blue, and somehow this photo is shocking? Several of the US female Olympians posed in playboy-style pictorials for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, althoughthe swimsuit was clearly absent in parts of the shoot. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/winter/) All this leaves me on my knees now too...mouth wide open, and gagging...on double standards, sanctimonious outrage, and hypocrisy.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Faux Fellatio, Faux Pas, and Faux Outrage
So, snowboarder Scotty Lago wins an Olympic bronze medal, and simulated oral sex ensues. If sport is a pillar of popular culture, and pornography has become more mainstream, as many cultural critics have argued, then why the feigned moral outrage? Tasteless? Some might say, though I have personally seen far worse in public...ok, years ago in college, but nevertheless! Numerous comments were directed at the fact that he was wearing his Team USA t-shirt at the time, since...you know, the US Olympic Committee is the paradigmatic example of all that is good and pure. It is a fact that numerous positive doping tests have been covered up or otherwise ignored by the various US national sporting organizations over the decades, and yet this relatively harmless act caught on cellphone celluloid somehow besmirches the valued brand name of Team USA? Young people around the globe are "sexting" until their fingers (among other things) are blue, and somehow this photo is shocking? Several of the US female Olympians posed in playboy-style pictorials for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, althoughthe swimsuit was clearly absent in parts of the shoot. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/winter/) All this leaves me on my knees now too...mouth wide open, and gagging...on double standards, sanctimonious outrage, and hypocrisy.
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The all so powerful snow boarder gets caught for innapropriate beahvior wearing his USA olympic shirt. What's the big deal here? He is out celebrating his medal like people do. I'm sure he was out boozin a bit to celebrate. I have DEFINITELY seen worse, I think its quite funny actually. It looks like the woman is holding his medal in her teeth and pretending to hang it on his putter. Well that's what America is portraying these days anyway, right? Look at Hannah Teter in that ad, she is in her underwear holding her breasts, I bet she could hang some medals on her rack too and wouldn't be criticized for it. O wait, how about that pole dancing for olympics? I guess it's okay for women to swing around a pole to get a medal of sexual honor! There really is no need to make a big deal about a guy celebrating his win, he is having fun which he deserves. I'm sure he busted his ass off for that medal, he deserves to go out.
ReplyDeleteI am also gagging on the double standards, righteousness, and hypocrisy from the media in reporting this 'story', now making the rounds in US Weekly and other tabloids. But, ok. This guy is a snowboarder who won a bronze medal - let him celebrate - because in a few weeks he'll be forgotten anyway, and winning a bronze medal is like wearing an enlarged penny around your neck. Bronze, really?.. doesn't mean so much in our society which values winning and being #1 over everything else - reflected nicely in a current Audi commercial about BMW and the shame of coming in second.
ReplyDeleteBut what strikes me more is the aspect of surveillance that cell phones cameras and videos have on our society. Foucault's use of Bentham's 'Panopticon' comes to mind, and that cell phones and other technologies police us to the point that, in public, we are being watched, recorded, and if interesting (or not), our actions are being posted on the Internet. Oh but wait. Isn't that what we want? As Dr.Ted's blog from Aug.30 reflects, that, yes, in fact, we do - our experiences, our lives are more meaningful if captured, posted, and seen by others. Our mediated selves (as seen on facebook,etc) reflect our 'ideal' selves. Our mediated self is much more engaged and fascinating than perhaps we feel in our small, mundane lives. Our projected self is essentially a nice PR campaign for ourselves, relentlessly updated - making us seem and feel much more interesting than we really are. While it seems we want the freedom to live our public lives without being watched and policed, we want our technologies and mediated lives more. So I suppose at this intersection, the question is, how public or private do you want YOUR life?..
And as for soon-to-be-forgotten Scott Lago, I suppose now he will now be known more for his celebratory indiscretions than his third place Olympic performance. But any publicity is good publicity, right? ..
I guess i thought that every positive drug test was publicized but maybe not...wow. People here are crazy and do all kinds of wild things to get attention or just for the hell of it...if i were the girl on the pic i'd be embarrassed but then again i wouldn't do it and about the athlete...he's just having a good time and bringing attention along by wearing the shirt but anyway it's nothing out of this world...it's nothing exciting to look at..
ReplyDeleteLike you have stated in class before, pornography is becoming mainstream and this is clearly just another example of just that. I am not surprised about the outrage for this picture. There still are a lot of people in the U.S. that are offended by these gestures and feel that this is a horrible way to represent team U.S.A. as he clearly is with his t shirt. While I am not one of the persons that is offended, it just doesn't surprise me that some people are. My personal opinion on this, is who the hell cares? The guy just won an Olympic medal, he is an adult, and as far as i know, adults are allowed to do what they want as long as they are not breaking the law, which he clearly isn't. The ironic thing about this, is that the people who condemn this type of behavior are the same people that are putting this out for everyone to see. If they had just ignored it from the beginning, i'm sure no one would even know about this picture.
ReplyDeleteInteresting,...I wonder what sort of pictures would be taken if he won a gold medal. I do find it hypocritical that a picture like this would cause people to talk, but at the same time, there are US female athletes posing in magazines and doping is being covered up. Sometimes I think all the fuss created is only meant to hype up certain athletes or scandals and have them exposed in order to make people tune in and watch and be consumed, and ultimately to make money.
ReplyDeleteYup, that is the very definition of "hypocrisy" and it is ingrained very deeply in US culture. Just look at our own school, the faculty and staff get their pay cut in the name of saving costs and the board didn't. It is amusing to see that for a country that displays such excessive amounts of chest beating, it is unwilling to admit that it have a flawed system such as the US Olympic Committee and also that it obtained through underhanded means some of the winnings over the years. If you have the intestinal fortitude to commit unethical and immoral acts, you should dare to admit it. Thus by inference, cowardice prevails.
ReplyDeleteSo this situation doesn't bother me so much being the fact its just a guy out celebrating a win as others have mentioned. Granted he has had more publicity than the typical person but it is predictable behavior from our culture. I don't see how you avoid being broadcasted like this in the media when everyone has a cellphone/videophone/or doodad these days. Privacy is to the point it is almost nonexistent. About the whole ordeal of wearing his USA shirt while he was doing that...well that is his decision. He knows what hes representing by wearing that tshirt in public. I can relate as in when I wear my SJSU cross country apparel anywhere. I'm expected to act a certain way and be responsible because that reflects on my team. It was his choice or "my bad" for wearing what he wanted.
ReplyDeleteI could understand why this picture would be so controversial. He is after all, a renowned Olympic athlete and is under constant watch by the media and by an entire nation. Lago is held to a higher standard by our society because he is famous. As a Nation, we want to be represented is a positive way and Lago is a representation of the USA. I can imagine that it is probably frustrating being under constant supervision, but that is one of the consequences of being a media figure along with the benefits. Lets be honest, no one is perfect and occasionally we slip up here and there from society's standards. It's sad to say that what he did happens constantly all over the US. There are far worst things that people do when they are "celebrating" and supposedly living out their youth. I'm not saying I agree with what he did openly in public, but I would be a liar if I said that I never participated in obscene behavior openly in public. The only difference between me and Lago is that I'm not famous; well not yet. Society will never get rid of the "double standard." It is too convenient for us to point out flaws in a person that we all have, but do not want everyone else to know about.
ReplyDeleteNim Baylon (MW 10:30)
This picture is kind of funny and immature...why would you do this? I guess attention seekers these days would do anything for the attention. I agree with Tania's blog and would also be embarrassed to be the girl. The snowboarder is just seeking the attention by trying to be funny and immature, but the girl is just doing too much for nothing.
ReplyDeleteIf the Olympic team is suppose to be an example of everything pure, than they need to rethink things over a bit, with athletes taking performance enhancing drugs or doing things that are unnatural to their bodies, I hardly think that is pure. So what is wrong with taking one of the most natural things on Earth, sex, and displaying it semi-publicly. Not to mention these athletes that get yelled at for doing "normal" things, are usually caught on cellphone pictures and by tabloids, it isn't like they are going on NBC wasted off their minds, smoking a joint while humping the air, slurring obscenities. They did their part in the olympics, showed to the world they are some of the best athletes ever, and are now celebrating. Is it their fault the tabloids and nosy neighbors are trying to name them unpure and immorally fit for the olympics?
ReplyDeleteKaitlin Lynch 164