The World of Wrestling

Barthes examines wrestling in light of the theatre, and wrestling being a theatrical act.
- Like theatre, wrestling is based upon a sign system.
- Each element of wrestling, whether the wrestler’s physique or his gestures indicate an “absolute clarity,
since [the spectator] must always understand everything on the spot”.
- In the theatre, the private becomes public; in wrestling this “Exhibition of Suffering […] is the very aim
of the fight”.
- Like the theatre, the public watches wrestling for the “great spectacle of Suffering, Defeat, and Justice.
As in the theatre, “wrestling presents man’s suffering with all the amplification of tragic masks”.

Wrestling is not a sport but a spectacle one in which the audience is not concerned with “what it
thinks but what it sees”.

- Compare wrestling to boxing and judo (sports), wrestling, has no winner.

- It is not the function of the wrestler to win, “it is to go through the motions which are expected of him”.
- Boxing is a Jansenist sport.
- Demonstration of excellence.
- One can bet on the outcome of a boxing match.

The bastard or villain is usually the sufferer in wrestling.

- The body of the bastard sums up all of his “actions, his treacheries, cruelties and acts of cowardice”.
- The physique of the wrestlers therefore constitutes a basic sign, which like a seed contains the whole
fight”.
- The costumes, like those of the theatre, represent the tragic play of wrestling.

The repulsiveness of the wrestler, his ugliness and the crowd’s reaction to that reflect on the
characteristics of the wrestler. Even the wrestler’s commentary reflects upon his character, the gestures he
engages in only further represent the character he is meant (assigned) to be.

According to Barthes, Defeat and Justice go hand in hand. Defeat is not an “outcome”, but a
“display”.

- Defeat of the bastard “is a purely moral concept: that of justice”.

- The defeated must deserve the punishment which is why the “crowd is jubilant at seeing the rules
broken” as long as it is just.
- The spectator just accepts what is presented to them as the way it is and should be.
Barthes describes how wrestlers take on tragic or comic “stock” personas for the benefit of their fans and
how their exaggerated gestures, drama, and Good vs. Evil conflicts provides a psychological relief
(through open expression of strong emotion) for the audience, a venue through which frustrated emotion
can find a release.
“... wrestlers are gods because they are, for a few moments, the key which opens Nature, the pure
gesture which separates Good from Evil, and unveils the form of a Justice which is at last intelligible”.

Toys
Toys by, Roland Barthes is a short essay that compares and contrasts French toys, or in other words,
modern toys to those of back in the day which were made of wood. Roland uses literary devices, figures
of speech and components of style to support his thesis that modern toys introduce the struggles of the
adult world to the children, while old toys sustain the innocence of their childhood.

 Old French toys promote a sense of creativity and increases the children’s sense of individualism
and control. On the other hand, modern French toys brainwashes the kids into following society’s
guidelines.
 Old French toys allows kids to discover things on their own using their imagination rather than
what the world has imagined for them such as in the case of modern French toys.
 it shows the author’s negative attitude towards the modern toys in which they condition the kids
to the struggle of adult life tearing them away from the innocence and joy of their childhood.
 The author has chosen this word order so he can emphasize the fact that children are conditioned
to accept the rules of the adult society by accepting what society has offered them rather than
what they chose for themselves.
 These toys conditions the little girls to their limited role in society which is restricted to taking
care of their kids and homes.

The word “demiurge” has the denotation of an originator, inventor, and creator. It has the connotations of
originality and uniqueness.

Effect: It shows how the old toys revives the joy of discovery, imagination and creation within a child’s
mind.

The word “ user” has the denotations of an exploiter or abuser while it has the connotations of
commonness and lack of creativity.

Effect: The author shows how the modern toys represses the child’s ability to think, imagine, and
create and that diminishes his individuality.
"French toys are like Jivaro heads..."
Effect: It provides an image resembling late adult hood and the old age which then disturbs the children's
childhood since they are traumatized by sudden reality of aging and death.

"These toys die.... "

Effect: Giving toys the human trait of death give significant importance to a child's life because it shows
how the modern toys have little effect on the children's lives and are easily forgotten in contrast to old
toys.