The World of Wrestling
Response 3
English 201
December 19, 2000
In The World of Wrestling by Roland Barthes, he takes the sport of wrestling and turns it into a modern day myth. He talks of the French wrestling scene describing the spectacle, the venues, and the wrestlers themselves. It is well known that wrestling itself isn't real, just acting but it is still fancied by many people. The wrestler personalities are typically categorized the bastards and the good guys often having good fighting evil. The role a particular wrestler plays might also change from time to time as in the case of Hulk Hogan. This man changes faces more often then someone would change their socks, having his alliances and enemies changing from week to week. The entrance music of a wrestler can be very important in reflecting the character of the performer. Music in wrestling helps to set the atmosphere. A few examples of this would be these. First, Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan, or whatever he is calling himself these days, enters the ring to Jimi Hendrix's enduring classic "Voodoo Chile". This medium-paced guitar masterpiece exudes power, strength and authority, characteristics that the wrestler would like to portray to his audience. Another example would be Sting, a personal favorite of mine. Back in the 80s during his blonde hair, multi-color face painting days his entrance theme could be described as corresponding with his attitude, energetic, fast. As Sting evolved as a wrestler eventually changing his appearance to resemble Brandon Lee's character in The Crow, so did his music change into a slow mystical melody which accentuates the elusiveness of his new character. He is now a man who hides in the rafters, stalking adversaries and making surprise attacks. This goes on for about a year until he joins the Wolfpac. The Wolfpac was a group of four guys that broke off from the tyranny of their group the NWO. Stings face paint changes from black and white to black and red in support of
English 201
December 19, 2000
In The World of Wrestling by Roland Barthes, he takes the sport of wrestling and turns it into a modern day myth. He talks of the French wrestling scene describing the spectacle, the venues, and the wrestlers themselves. It is well known that wrestling itself isn't real, just acting but it is still fancied by many people. The wrestler personalities are typically categorized the bastards and the good guys often having good fighting evil. The role a particular wrestler plays might also change from time to time as in the case of Hulk Hogan. This man changes faces more often then someone would change their socks, having his alliances and enemies changing from week to week. The entrance music of a wrestler can be very important in reflecting the character of the performer. Music in wrestling helps to set the atmosphere. A few examples of this would be these. First, Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan, or whatever he is calling himself these days, enters the ring to Jimi Hendrix's enduring classic "Voodoo Chile". This medium-paced guitar masterpiece exudes power, strength and authority, characteristics that the wrestler would like to portray to his audience. Another example would be Sting, a personal favorite of mine. Back in the 80s during his blonde hair, multi-color face painting days his entrance theme could be described as corresponding with his attitude, energetic, fast. As Sting evolved as a wrestler eventually changing his appearance to resemble Brandon Lee's character in The Crow, so did his music change into a slow mystical melody which accentuates the elusiveness of his new character. He is now a man who hides in the rafters, stalking adversaries and making surprise attacks. This goes on for about a year until he joins the Wolfpac. The Wolfpac was a group of four guys that broke off from the tyranny of their group the NWO. Stings face paint changes from black and white to black and red in support of