Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-143). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-143).

The aim of this thesis is to examine representations of masculinity in the activities of a local professional wrestling promotion. After briefly outlining what professional wrestling is, the study draws on a body on feminist and intersectional theory which critiques the notion of gender as a binary and essential category. The material comprises 10 recorded shows and oth- er material published on Sthlm Wrestling’s website between 2010 and 2013, and is analyzed using a qualitative methodology derived from cultural studies. The thesis argues that there are many different types of masculinities in the narrative, which are constructed in relation to different power hierarchies such as ethnicity, class, sex and sexuality. The few female wrestlers are marginalized, but not sexualized as in the U.S. context. The heels (rule-breakers) are found on the borders of social and cultural categories, and there is an explicit SM-narrative present.

This paper provides a brief historical outline of wrestling, some mention of the form's vast popularity in current American culture, and a discussion of the theoretical bases of myth and ritual which give wrestling its basic form and account for much of its durability of appeal. It relates wrestling to two of its closest cousins, theater and sports, and attempts to touch on a few of the most important connections and diversions. The paper also provides a brief overview of American cultural heritage which provides a more contemporary context for wrestling's current appeal, and discusses certain particulars of form, process, and production as they express wrestling's purpose, appeal, and uniqueness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a subject from a broad cultural, artistic, and historical perspective, and determin the origins, appeals, and significances inherent in the form. / Typescript. / "August, 1982." / "Submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Douglas R. Fowler, Professor Directing Thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-69).

<p>Barbeque Man Unleashed consists of two chapters. Chapter 1 is an original musical score, Barbeque Man Unleashed: The Greatest Professional Wrestling Work Of All Time. Chapter 2 is an article entitled "Prelude To a Fist" concerning the subject of musical depictions of morality in the practice of professional wrestling entrance themes.</p> / Dissertation

Denna uppsats intresserar sig för professional wrestling och då specifikt bolaget World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur nationalitet representeras i World Wrestling Entertainments produkt. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk består utav tre olika författare. Dessa tre är Michael Billig, Stuart Hall och Roland Barthes. Från Michael Billig används begreppen 'hot and banal nationalism' för att definiera nationalism. Från Stuart Hall hämtas teorier om 'representation', vad det är och hur det fungerar samt olika perspektiv på varför det är intressant att studera 'olikhet'. Slutligen använder sig uppsatsen utav Roland Barthes artikel Le monde où l'on catche, the World of Wrestling i den engelska översättningen, som analyserar wrestling på ett semiotiskt vis. Många av de teorier som Barthes presenterar i denna artikel är relevanta än idag trots att han skrev artikeln på 1950-talet. Uppsatsens frågeställning kommer att undersökas genom en multimodal analys. En multimodal analys lämpar sig väl för ett så visuellt fenomen som wrestling. Det möjliggör även för studier av de rent textuella elementen i programmen och inte bara det visuella. Materialet består utav de inledande videomontagen från två olika wrestlingmatcher. Båda matcherna är hämtade från WWEs största årliga pay-per-view Wrestlemania som gått av stapeln varje år sedan år 1985. Den ena matchen är hämtad från Wrestlemania 29 år 2013 och den andra är hämtad från Wrestlemania 31 år 2015. Båda matcherna inkluderar icke-amerikanska karaktärer. Den första matchen ser amerikanen Jack Swagger möta mexikanen Alberto Del Rio och den andra matchen ser amerikanen John Cena möta den ryske Rusev. Efter analysen kunde slutsatsen dras att vad gällde de matcher som analyserats framställdes de ickeamerikanska karaktärerna varken positivt eller negativt. Vad analysen lyckades komma fram till var att de icke-amerikanska karaktärerna var där för att reproducera en bild av den amerikanska nationella identiteten och att de icke-amerikanska karaktärernas nationaliteter egentligen inte var relevanta. Det relevanta var det faktum att de var just icke-amerikaner. Deras faktiska nationaliteter behandlades inte i någon större utsträckning i materialet. Materialet verkade mest kretsa kring USA och dess nationella identitet.

This project explores luchador Rey Mysterio’s cultural figure and the way it is formed institutionally via ringside commentary and through the WWE’s approach to its media market; through his dialogue and performance of body; as well as the myriad ways his performance is interpreted by U.S. fans and around the world. Through the content analysis of four primary WWE texts, this thesis works to better understand how tropes of geography, space, and body interact with underlying (and sometimes very overt) themes of race, U.S. racial hierarchy, ethnicity, and nation presented via the spectacular theater of WWE performance. Important over-arching questions that this project strives to explicate upon focus on how embodiment and racial difference are presented in the U.S. historically and how Mexican American diaspora are represented through U.S. professional wrestling. / text

This study was concerned with the perceptions of the members of a college wrestling team which was oganized and operated according to a theory of personal processes. The setting of the study is Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona. A personal processes theory was derived from the literature of democratic processes as one of two frames of reference. This frame of reference was used to organize the dissertation, develop the questionnaire, and present the data. It included the following categories: (1) contact; (2) consult; (3) find; (4) share; and (5) accompany. A perceptual psychology theory was also derived from the literature as the second frame of reference. This frame of reference was used for the purpose of analyzing the data. It included the following categories: (1) perceptual field; (2) perceptions; (3) needs; (4) self-perceptions; and (5) behavior. Each category of the personal processes theory was organized and presented as follows: (1) a statement concerning the category under examination; (2) certain category related questionnaire statements displaying composite quantitative findings; (3) representative respondents' comments to each questionnaire statement; and (4) an examination of respondents' comments employing the perceptual framework. According to the theory of personal processes used in this investigation: (1) contact is the very beginning of person-to-person relationships; (2) consult is the next step in contact. It constitutes the efforts of one person to learn about another through dialogue; (3) find is the possible outcome of contact and consult. It suggests the discovery of some of the other person's needs, interests, concerns, aspirations, etc.; (4) share is the culmination of the contact, consult, and find categories. It constitutes that stage of the process where the involved persons exchange ideas regarding the identified needs, interests, concerns, aspirations, etc.; and (5) accompany is the final action phase of the process. In this stage, the involved persons actually do things together in pursuing the identified interests of the person. The theory of personal processes utilized by the wrestling coaches at Pima Community College was found to be highly regarded by most of the respondents. Although certain respondents commented that they were at first reluctant to accept this approach, the majority of the team members had little or no difficulties in adjusting to it. They felt that it served their needs, interests, and feelings more nearly than their previous wrestling experiences. The respondents commented that they perceived the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process and the warm, friendly, and supportive atmosphere created by the coaches as major factors in their respective decisions to attend Pima Community College and wrestle. For the wrestling coach who desires to employ an alternative to the coach-centered, traditional approach to coaching, the use of the theory of personal processes is recommended. It is immediately applicable to the following concerns of wrestling team members and their coaches: (1) recruiting; (2) financial aid; (3) housing; (4) enrolling in school; and (5) the acquisition of wrestling skills.

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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 25, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.