FIU Performance with Several Elements of Orientalism Questions – Description
Please answer questions:
1- Choice of wrestler (type here):
2-You have probably noticed that your wrestler’s actual ethnic identity is different from that of his gimmick. How do the wrestler and his manager perform the gimmick identity?
3-What evidence do you see of primitivism and/or orientalism in this performance?
4-How do the crowd, the announcers, and the opponent challenge or support the primitivism/orientalism within the performance?
5-What differences do you notice between the wrestler’s real persona and his kayfabe persona?
6-Why do you think this wrestling gimmick was selected for a heel (bad-guy) character as opposed to a face (good-guy) character?
7-What do you think the existence of these gimmicks says about people who watch professional wrestling specifically or American society generally? Be sure to explain your answer
.Primitivism- The depiction of some cultural groups, particularly Africans and Native Americans, as exotic, simple, highly sexual, potentially violent, and closer to nature.
Orientalism- The depiction of some cultural groups, particularly people from the Middle East and Asia, as exotic, irrational, fanatical, and sensuous.
Now that we’ve established those concepts, we’re going to look at how orientalism and primitivism play out in professional wrestling in the United States. Before we get to that, let’s start with some important vocabulary words: kayfabe, gimmick, and heel. From an etic (outsider’s) perspective, professional wrestling is often called “fake”. From an emic (insider’s) perspective, though, professional wrestling is referred to as kayfabe. In kayfabe performances, unlike in competitive sports, match outcomes and rivalries are staged. However, kayfabe also requires that the wrestler’s performance extend beyond the confines of the wrestling ring, as wrestlers are supposed to remain “in character” whenever they interact with fans, even during their personal time. Wrestling characters generally rely on some sort of gimmick, which is a persona taken on by the wrestler. A gimmick could be based on size (“Andre the Giant”), the supernatural (“The Undertaker”), profession (“Brutus ‘the Barber’ Beefcake”), or whatever the wrestler finds captivates the crowds. It is not uncommon for gimmicks to be based on ethnicity or origin, particularly when the wrestler is a heel, or the “bad guy” against whom the crowd cheers. It is also not uncommon for professional wrestlers to be assigned managers. While in kayfabe the ostensible purpose of a manager is to arrange matches and help the wrestler with training, in reality the manager mostly serves to highlight and enhance the gimmick.
For this assignment, you are going to choose one of three professional wrestling heels (Yokozuna, Kamala, or Muhammad Hassan) and analyze these characters from an anthropological perspective. Below are very brief descriptions of the three heels; you can pick the one that sounds most interesting to you. Again, choose one of the three. (If you nerd out on this kind of stuff, you’re more than welcome to look into your heel in more detail using other Internet sources. This is not a requirement, however.)
Heel One: Yokuzuna
Heel Two: Kamala
Heel Three: Muhammad Hassan
Gimmick
Japanese sumo wrestler
Ugandan headhunter
Arab-American
Real name
Rodney Anoa’i (Samoan American)
James Harris (African American)
Marc Copani (Italian American)
Years Active
1984-2000 (died in 2000)
1978-2010 (died 2020)
2004-2005 (brief return in 2018); currently a middle school principal
Manager
Mr. Fuji
Kim Chee
Daivari
Video clip of wrestling match
Interview with wrestler outside of keyfabe
Yokozuna
Kamala
https://youtu.be/MqzxJ741sZg
Muhammad Hassan
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