Sport, society and culture Flashcards
Sport has a significant impact on leisure, business and entertainment. Modern day sport has an important part in contemporary culture:
boosting tourism
developing core values
creating a feeling of national pride.
Sport offers a sense of:
National identity, uniting countries nationally and internationally. It can also be used to shape values and morals within society.
Sports can also break down:
Social barriers, stereotypes and prejudices.
Sport and physical activity also:
enhances quality of life
reduces medical costs
increases productivity
The role of sport in socialisation
Socialisation is the way humans adjust to their culture (values, beliefs, heritage); it is the process by which they become participating members of society. Sport and physical education in schools is an important vehicle for transmitting the values of wider society.
Define, within the context of sport, socialisation. [1]
Award one mark for:
Societies:
cultural values
Norms and values
e.g. Members of a group/team following rules / values in sport
e.g. sport used to teach behaviours/attitudes
With physical education on the national curriculum and a statutory requirement, society can foster the values of physical education and sport:
Respect
Competitiveness
Teamwork
Tolerance
Cooperation
Personal effectiveness
Problem solving
Critical thinking
Decision making
Fair play and sportsmanship
Role of commercialisation in sport
The commercialisation of sport allows sportspeople to be bought and sold as a commodity, with figures now soaring to over £100 million per player.
An individual changing their social and economic standing is known as:
Social mobility
At a political level, sport has also been used for various reasons:
the promotion of political ideologies
to promote healthy living
for economic purposes
to promote social integration.
7 strands
National pride
Propaganda
Tourism
Health-NHS
Military strength
Economic regeneration
Social integration
Explain, using examples, why sport may be seen as an important mechanism for
developing national identity. [4]
2x2 marks
Award two marks for understanding of the following points if
examples are used / points developed:
* Patriotism and pride – playing of national anthems and
displaying of national flag.
* By attending and supporting different sporting events, people
reinforce the identity dimension of citizenship eg. what is
means to be British.
* Sport creates a sense of belonging and unity – bringing the
country together (shared experiences).
* ‘Feel-good’ factor associated with success in global games
eg. London 2012 – Super Saturday / Ashes.
* Success in sport is often linked with politics – sport seen as a
shop window (Cold War).
* Creation of national icons eg. Mo Farah, David Beckham
Berlin olympics 1936
At the Berlin Olympics 1936, Hitler planned to show the world that the Aryan people were the dominant race; Jesse Owens proved him wrong and sealed his place in Olympic history by becoming the most successful athlete in the 1936 Games. Owens also became the first American to win four track and field gold medals at a single Olympics (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump).
South africa 1995
Many athletes chose not to compete in South Africa during apartheid, where athletes were picked based upon their ethnicity and not ability. Then in 1995 at the Rugby World Cup Final, Nelson Mandela appeared in a Springbok shirt; that one gesture helped reunite a nation.
Mexico city 1968
Tommie Smith and John Carlos risked their careers as athletes over the ‘Black power salute’ in the 1968 Olympics, drawing the world’s attention to the turbulent time in the USA for Black citizens.
Muhammad Ali 1967
He risked his career by refusing to fight in Vietnam on religious beliefs and was exiled from the ring for three and a half years.
“Unveiling the government’s final quarterly budget update, the sports minister, Hugh
Robertson, said that at a “conservative estimate” the final cost of the London 2012 Games
would be £8.921bn against an overall original budget of £9.28bn.”
(The Guardian, Tuesday 23 October 2012)
Analyse the reasons why governments invest in elite sport and in the hosting of major
global games such as the Olympics. [9]
Social benefits - such sporting success can boost
national pride and morale (concept of the ‘feel
good factor’). Increased social harmony and
cohesion.
* Economic benefits – shop window policy - raising
the profile of country / city. Increased tourism and
business investment. Job creation.
* Infrastructure benefits - building of new transport
links and stadia/venues - the idea of ‘legacy’.
Upgraded amenities.
* Health benefits - higher levels of grass roots
participation will, inevitably lead to associated
health benefits/reduction of strain on the NHS.
* Political benefits - sport as a form of propaganda.
* Sport-specific benefits - can lead to increased
participation (widen the base of the participation
pyramid) as sport is given more media exposure.
* Creation of role models – links with social learning
theory. Lord Coe – everything starts from
emulation and aspiration.
* Increased success at elite level leads to increased
participation which then leads to larger talent pool.
This should, in theory, lead to more elite athletes,
more medals, more role models and,
consequently, increased participation.
Analyse, using examples, the reasons why sport is used as a political tool. [8]
Use for propaganda: e.g. 1936 Berlin
Olympics and cold war
Use for Boycotts and protests e.g. Black
power salute Mexico Olympics 1968 / Munich
Massacre 1972, African nations boycott 1976.
Can also make reference to Moscow 1980 &
1984 LA Olympic ‘tit for tat ‘boycotts.
Use for diplomacy: Ping pong diplomacy
Use for National Identity: Sport offers a
national identity, uniting countries nationally
and internationally, it can be used to shape
values and morals within society
