Class Reflection

This class has broadened my view on the Sports Culture that we have in America by the analyzing and depicting the all aspects of Sport. Before this class I viewed sports at a very face-value level. I never thought to question why sports are what they are... they just are! But through this class I have learned to interrogate the lessons and ideals that are presented to Americans through sports and how it overlaps into other aspects of culture. I've learned that Sport is not easy to separate from here in America and that that is a very direct outcome of the intentions of the people involved in the higher levels of sports, especially the Big Four. I would highly recommend this class my friends because I think it gives a unique perspective of the analytical process. As an English major I've only been asked to analyze text and this was a great new experience.

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

In the documentary, steroids are looked at in the beginning as an enhancement to the human body that is unnatural, unsafe, and should be regarded as illegal. As the documentary continues, the reality of the changes that the bodies go through with certain substances or changes to the body internally, without substances, is more critiqued and made to not seem so bad. Which, in my opinion, is what reflects the reality of sports and "enhancements."
The men in the documentary are taking and have taken steroids to be better at what they do in a faster manner, with stronger muscles to increase their performance. This is prompted by the role models that they grew up with and perpetuated by American society to be better more quickly. Hulk Hogan is quoted as saying that people need to be "Real Americans" which exemplifies this theory that "Real Americans" are the biggest, baddest, people and that everyone should aspire to be them. Well if every American did just that, we would see the masses using steroids on a daily basis and there would be no concern. It's okay for Hulk Hogan to promote that, while using steroids, but not okay for people to strive for that goal in the same way he reached it?
Bell's research presents the best argument, that all things need moderation, and that there really is no safe drug. Everything has both positive and negative factors and this is shown by the example of the reading off of the side effects of Vitamin C in the documentary. While steroids may have a negative connotation, they also can give some life saving side effects, like to people suffering from AIDS.
This article and the documentary didn't change my view on steroids, I've never thought of them in a negative light because I've had asthma since I was 2 which means that I used to use an inhaler all the time, in-taking steroids just to breath.