Erin

Monk's First Lady

My media english teacher gave me a list of 5 topics to do a 20 minute presentation on. As i scanned the list, the fifth one stood out, and the topic was "What is the appeal of wrestling to it's mass audience" Needless so say, i choose this one. I am also to discuss the conception of reality in wrestling (ie how real is it?), the mass marketing machine, wrestlers in mainstream media, and how it appeals to different groups of people.

I have access to most things such as DVD players, VCR's, viewsonic (i can show something on the screen from the computer), and i am to bring in props as well.

Some of my ideas for the presentation are to:
- outline the main demographic, as well as introduce new rising demographics (ie young female audience)
- show some clips of wrestlers on talk shows, rock in a movie etc...
- show some clips from Tough Enough to show the actual training, and how hard it is
- bring in a steel chair to show they're not 'props'
- explain some basic terms (angle, heel, face etc...)
- show different characters appealing to different groups of people (women becoming more athletic, handicapped Eugene, Zack Gowen)
- How wrestling is evolved- both in womens and mens catigories
- bring in props to show the merchindising aspect (t-shirts, books, cds...)

Any other ideas?

AudioSavior

Hahaha, how perfect to get that as a topic. I would also use a clip of Vince on OTR talking about the business side of it and after all he is the charman of the WWE and his input would be gold for your presentation.
As for the conception of reality in wrestling (ie how real is it?), I would simpley say, when people watch a movie or a Soap opera do they say, man this is so fake. That would be a perfect point to make about the reality of it. Then spin it off to all the injuries and politics that are involved behind the scenes to show the real side, not whetehr it is real or not.

Dreds

hey ida are u telling me that The Terminator was fake??????? :eek: :eek: :eek: ........at least days of our lives is real......... 8)
and the footage of Mick Foley falling of HIAC would be perfect, to show that this people do get hurt and that is not that fake........the video Behond The Mat would also be good..........

BackLash

You can talk about how hard that buissness really is. For those who spend seemingly like decades in the buissness and never get over. Those who get over and can't handle the resposibility. Those who can't even get out of the indies and are jobless otherwise and poor.

Also how much of a toll wrestling takes out ones body. How if moves and spots are botched it could cost someone their life. That's all I got for now.

Papa Shango

God god.. you could be writing for years.

I would personally go on the marketing route. you could describe how the WWF was always a family orientated source of entertainment until the attitude era.. and how it because a programme full of sexual innuendo and bloody matches... yet they STILL sold childrens merchandise. You could compare it to the likes of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' which carried an adult rating.. yet they still sold freddy T Shirts to kids.

Thats the route I would take anyway.


Or you could go off on another tangent and go into how the PTC came crashing down on the WWF for showing violence on TV , and holding it responsible for kids killing other kids etc.

whichever route you take.. it will certainly illustrate that there is alot more to wrestling than two overweight men sitting on each other

Creature of the Night

Id say youve gotta stick to the topic, and the key word in that topic is MASS audience.

Wrestling used to be a niche sport that people watched purely for the athletic content of it and its demographic was mostly the older male who was interested in the fights taking place.

Sports-entertainment and its rise and fall are the key to making it a 'mass' audience demographic gainer. Its soap-opera like properties, hiring of Hollywood based scriptwriters and flashy video packages (you could use a particularly suspenseful and well-produced package from todays PPVs and contrast it with something from say WrestleMania Is backstage skits, or an old NWA unplanned skit to set up a feud) and say how much more emotion is involved in a match. Matches involve far more than the actual physical confrontation in the ring nowadays, and the appeal comes from both sides in that women and most men are into the over-the-top cartoon character like personalities of professional wrestlers.

Draw on people like SCSA fulfilling every frustrated worker's fantasy and kicking his bosses ass (adds to the working man/women demographic), Hulk Hogan being popular also. The Hollywood crossover (Hulk going into movies, Rock going into movies, various wrestlers doing drama work out of kayfabe) all adds to mass market appeal, because they see the wrestlers as personalities outside of the wrestling domain. Thats what id stick to. Its all very well including how much you know about wrestling and its ins and outs but at the end of the day its mass appeal comes from its escapist nature. Its just like a feature film, its an escape from reality with a tinge of realism just to make it seem credible, and thats where its mass appeal lies. Its given real credibility because of the physical end product.

Erin

Monk's First Lady

Wow you guys Rock!

I present on Thursday so i'll let you know how i did.

AudioSavior

Let us know what you present as well.

Erin

Monk's First Lady

So i presentated today. My Dvd player and projecter screen went down, so i didnt get to show half my clips or images.

I still got 100%, and he told me it was the best presentation he has ever seen from a grade 11 student in his 35 years of teaching.

Papa Shango

What was your chosen approach?