Media and Society

Paper Summary:

This paper describes a memorable Olympic media event in which two American track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, took advantage of global media coverage of their medal awards ceremony to make a dramatic political statement. The author rpoints out that this famous media event from the 1968 Olympic Games is an example of human reaction to the emergence and social construction of culture. The paper relates that, in this ritual of defiance and sorrow, Tommie Smith and John Carlos reflected their basic ethics and values because they were angered by their country economic and political systems in which economic relations were governed by the dominance of an elite class.

From the Paper:

"In "The Media and Popular Culture", the author describes a memorable Olympic media event in which two American track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, took advantage of global media coverage of their medal awards ceremony to make a dramatic political statement. As millions of people around the world watched, they raised their black-gloved fists and bowed their heads as the Star Spangled Banner was played. (Edles) Obviously, Tommie Smith and John Carlos considered themselves symbolic actors on a global stage, for their presence representing their country as African American athletes, combined with their raised fists and bowed heads, offered the world beyond Mexico City a symbolic protest against racism in the United States."

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