This a guest post by Ashley Souther aka Sausaa of the Dove Pro Wrestling Crew.
Photo © Malachi
As a wrestler here in Hiroshima, I often find myself in the position of defending wrestling. And it’s a hard sell.
Why?
Because most American pro-wrestling fans never leave America; probably never leave their state. That is probably also true of many other countries where many of us ex-patriots originate.
But to the doubters I say this, of wrestling much to learn you still have.
As an educated person, you should be able to appreciate the phenomenon of catharsis that occurs in wrestling when the fans really get into it. The physical struggle in the ring becomes the embodiment and outlet of every single member of the audience's own struggles in daily life. When you throw someone through a table, or jump on someone from great height, you can veritably feel release of stress from the audience. They are with you - they are you. In a way, I take the plunge for them, and the thrill I feel, the complete abandonment of societal rules and norms, the return to something more ... visceral, they all share in that, too. In pro-wrestling the fans don't just watch, they are participants. They feel the pain, frustration, outrage, and adulation - all by proxy - and their energy drives us to a greater and greater pitch.
People who don't know, mock wrestling. "Oh, that fake sh*t?" They see it at best as retrograde and anachronistic, at worst as moronic and uncivilized. However it is exactly the type of relief of aggression and symbolic violence that allows us to be civilized, to harmlessly bleed off our naturally occurring abrasion at being stuffed into cubicles, into stifling social hierarchies.
And this is just the least of what wrestling can achieve. In Mexico, wrestling has been the catalyst for social movements for tenants rights, the poor, and the environment (see
Super Barrio). The mask of the
Luchadore is a symbol of solidarity and struggle.
Yes, wrestling is not always used for such laudable goals, and if you are American, you can be forgiven for knowing it as nothing more than the province of racist stereotypes and misogynistic melodrama. But American wrestling is perhaps the worst example; the whole genre is not like that. And there are even some good American wrestlers:
Sputnik Monroe, a white wrestler, refused to wrestle in the segregation-era South unless black fans were allowed to sit anywhere in the arena (not just the 'colored' sections, way in the back). And that is where the simple binary way of thinking of wrestling as "real" or "fake" falls short - it is not just boxing or MMA, it is social commentary. It is a venue for a story to be told physically.
So, there is more to wrestling than many think. But you don't have to know the history - all you have to do is show up and take part - root for the good guy, give the bad guy hell, or vice versa! It’s an ancient thing that we humans do, have always done, since the days of Greek Drama or the Roman Coliseum. It’s a part of our civilization. It’s powerful, and it can be used for good or bad - and as the audience you are the most important actors in terms of determining which story lines or characters succeed and which don't. I started wrestling in Palestine, in a refugee camp, with the children of
Jenin. I have a lot that I want to do with wrestling, but I can’t do it alone. It takes a village. And that is real. It couldn't be any more real.
Ashley Souther
ashley.souther@gmail.com
You can see Ashley in action along with the rest of the
Dove Pro Wrestling crew at the Sangyo Kaikan on Sunday, July 19.
Click here for more details.
