As tempting as it is to just cringe wildly and attempt to forget what you just saw, Raygun's Olympic turn raises so many questions that may never be answered.
I understand there are serious questions over the selection process and whether it was genuinely open to our most talented breakers. Of course, it may be that those who can actually do the thing thought the thing should not be commercialised as a 'sport' at the human gymkhana, but something smells here. I've read online (so query immediately its accuracy) that she controlled one large aspect of the process such that only she and her students applied for one of the qualifiers. To suggest that she's the best b-girl we've got to offer on the world stage just doesn't pass the pub test.
Was there nobody in Aussie sport officialdom with the job of ensuring that our athletes met a minimum standard before we sent them off to represent us? How did whatever it was she did on the dance floor not get vetted beforehand by someone in the position to say: "Sorry Ray but you're not doing that on our watch." Aussies take their sport seriously and don't like offering up the incompetent to worldwide public ridicule if they're wearing the green and gold.
If the public was made more aware of the content of her thesis, we might also see some hard questions being asked of those responsible for allocating funding to postmodern studies academics. Like, can they get a real job please that I (the taxpayer) don't have to pay for? The academy can keep disappearing up its own fundament at its own expense. I'd like to know who it was that shepherded her through this asinine PhD that she no doubt proudly owns.
Possibly the worst thing about the whole sorry episode though is that it really has taken the focus away from our actual athletes at a time when many of the less well remunerated sports depend on some media attention to secure better funding, sponsorship and endorsement deals. This might've been a self-indulgent lark for Dr Gunn but for many young athletes who work their asses off to get to the Olympics and like events, it's no joke.
Sky news did a surprisingly good analysis of this - watch to the end of Rita's video insert and enjoy the Djokovic reference. I am no big fan of sky news but this Jack dude does make a few fair observations. I don't agree that Raygun is a 'Marxist academic', however.
You may be taking too lightly Gunn's attempt to culturally theorise apparently trivial phenomena like break-dancing. For example Univ of London philosopher Slavoj Zizek has pinned an entire understanding of Western political culture based around the shapes of various nations' toilet bowls...
According to Zizek German bowls include a "poo shelf" dedicated to examination of the waste, whereas French ones channel it directly out of sight into the S-bend... Anglo-Saxon porcelain is in-between. The professor asserts this parallels respectively excessive German introspection and French radicalism (symbolised by the desire to make the waste product disappear out of view asap). Apparently the Anglo design is a moderation of these extremes and hence reflects the robustness and longevity of British democracy. He ties these observations directly to Hegelian theories.
Perhaps if more funding could be invested in developing this theory great strides toward world peace could be possible - e.g. where in Zizek's taxonomy would traditional Eastern squat loos and the futuristic Japanese washlets fit? Such understanding could have prevented the cold war and assist in the current Middle East confrontation.
Bloody brilliant. Hilarious. And delicious.
So thrilled Michael. Thank you.
And the worst of it is that those other girls in Paris must have felt that Raygun was simply mocking them.
Fearless as ever Julie. Love it. I really wish it had been a piss-take - that, I could respect.
Thanks so much Carole, and I agree!
Love your work.
Thank you Zo.
Hilarious! Plus, as a retired academic who has long railed against the ridiculousness of postmodern cultural studies, I can relate. Closely.
It should be reported that Raygun's performance is being furiously denounced as "colonialist".
😂
Transgressive toxic positivity... if only it was funny. But no, she has a well paid academic job and represented out country at the olympics.
As tempting as it is to just cringe wildly and attempt to forget what you just saw, Raygun's Olympic turn raises so many questions that may never be answered.
I understand there are serious questions over the selection process and whether it was genuinely open to our most talented breakers. Of course, it may be that those who can actually do the thing thought the thing should not be commercialised as a 'sport' at the human gymkhana, but something smells here. I've read online (so query immediately its accuracy) that she controlled one large aspect of the process such that only she and her students applied for one of the qualifiers. To suggest that she's the best b-girl we've got to offer on the world stage just doesn't pass the pub test.
Was there nobody in Aussie sport officialdom with the job of ensuring that our athletes met a minimum standard before we sent them off to represent us? How did whatever it was she did on the dance floor not get vetted beforehand by someone in the position to say: "Sorry Ray but you're not doing that on our watch." Aussies take their sport seriously and don't like offering up the incompetent to worldwide public ridicule if they're wearing the green and gold.
If the public was made more aware of the content of her thesis, we might also see some hard questions being asked of those responsible for allocating funding to postmodern studies academics. Like, can they get a real job please that I (the taxpayer) don't have to pay for? The academy can keep disappearing up its own fundament at its own expense. I'd like to know who it was that shepherded her through this asinine PhD that she no doubt proudly owns.
Possibly the worst thing about the whole sorry episode though is that it really has taken the focus away from our actual athletes at a time when many of the less well remunerated sports depend on some media attention to secure better funding, sponsorship and endorsement deals. This might've been a self-indulgent lark for Dr Gunn but for many young athletes who work their asses off to get to the Olympics and like events, it's no joke.
Yes!! Where were her people in her life telling her “don’t”
Sky news did a surprisingly good analysis of this - watch to the end of Rita's video insert and enjoy the Djokovic reference. I am no big fan of sky news but this Jack dude does make a few fair observations. I don't agree that Raygun is a 'Marxist academic', however.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/sport/i-read-bgirls-raygun-academic-work-on-colonial-structures-in-breaking-so-you-dont-have-to-and-somehow-it-is-worse-than-her-dancing/news-story/5361f71bcaa1f46d68b06bf9d3b05ed7?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1AnDSBcANgehsXII4iXteBUjzZ1fbgEGwysaNw4BZ5g45aGczixW6udB4_aem_tKQGtfmrngGnkYzMtL2ang#lzqubzgv6jnnfkseucb
Look forward to watching! I've seen Sky presenters talking about it; hilarious.
So wickedly funny, not just Saul Bellow, ( but also Tom Wolfe ) x
Thank you Paul. That's outrageously generous! One can't go higher than Wolfe.
You may be taking too lightly Gunn's attempt to culturally theorise apparently trivial phenomena like break-dancing. For example Univ of London philosopher Slavoj Zizek has pinned an entire understanding of Western political culture based around the shapes of various nations' toilet bowls...
According to Zizek German bowls include a "poo shelf" dedicated to examination of the waste, whereas French ones channel it directly out of sight into the S-bend... Anglo-Saxon porcelain is in-between. The professor asserts this parallels respectively excessive German introspection and French radicalism (symbolised by the desire to make the waste product disappear out of view asap). Apparently the Anglo design is a moderation of these extremes and hence reflects the robustness and longevity of British democracy. He ties these observations directly to Hegelian theories.
Perhaps if more funding could be invested in developing this theory great strides toward world peace could be possible - e.g. where in Zizek's taxonomy would traditional Eastern squat loos and the futuristic Japanese washlets fit? Such understanding could have prevented the cold war and assist in the current Middle East confrontation.
This could be a worthy direction for Dr Gunn once her tenure is granted. Given the centrality of citation in academic discourse I'm embarrassed I can't find a direct link to Prof Zizek's dissertation on the subject, all I can find is this tertiary source: https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/weird-news/bonkers-theory-claims-how-british-27805228