Analyzing Donald Kovis The Invidious Nature Of Competition

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Players must remember that the best victory was not over the opponent but over oneself.” He played chess regularly, and after a streak of wins, he realized something. Maybe he was not playing to beat his opponent, but to beat his personal record. It was a mind game for him to beat himself. Neely Crenshaw relates to this quote. Does he really want to beat all of those football teams, or does he just want to prove to himself that he can? Neely has many victories, but not just on the football field; he returns to Messina after so many years, and he wins the battle against himself to forgive Coach Eddie Rake.

Rivalry is often associated in competition including sports, events, and mostly a trait that seems siblings are born with. The urge to be the best at something or to be noticed is commonly seen in children, especially the ones similar in age that always strive for attention. In this story, Wolff includes

Competition between peers makes people strive to try and be better than their opponents, and can be healthy or unhealthy depending on the competitors and their responses to the competition.

The boys were divided into equal groups and quickly fell into the group norms of sharing jokes and secret codes, obviously showing bonds of loyalty and companionship and this has a positive effect on a person, it allows them to feel part of the “in group” which raises their self esteem and also promotes a sense of belonging to the group and a sense of identity, these are all positive effects on each member as an individual. Then a competition was set up in the form of a tournament, good sportsmanship quickly degenerated, and they became hostile towards each other, this is the negative effect, there was obviously some role conflict in the boys as they had formed a group in which they all had a inclusive role, they were part of the “in group”, but once competition was introduced this caused conflict between them, this affected the boys negatively as they resorted to name calling, aggression and prejudice.

By participating in competitive sports at an early age, kids develop life skills to help them with this dilemma. They learn that when they see others being successful, that it is due to the hard work they put in and not just by chance.

For this journal entry, I chose to compare Audre Lorde's Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. In Lorde's piece, she talks about how oppressed people are often taught to ignore the fact that they are oppressed. We are taught to handle the difference we face by either ignoring them, copying them or destroying them. Lorde says that society as a whole has failed to see differences as a "springboard for creative change." Her article focuses on the fact that refusing to see creative differences makes it impossible to see the different problems and pitfalls women face. Some problems all women share and other problems all women do not share. For example, the experience of a white woman is different

Taylor Swift, a pop icon and polarizing figure, is often known for her empowering music, feminist attitude, and meaningful lyrics. Many of her fans praise the feminist messages some of her songs deliver, however others say she comes from a position of privilege and only advocates for white women. Still, a common perception of Swift is that she has evolved from an innocent country singer into a more controversial and sometimes provocative pop singer. What is ignored though, is that despite this perception, themes depicted in “old” Taylor’s music still displayed highly problematic concepts about gender, just in less obvious ways. Particularly in her music video for “You Belong With Me,” the audience if presented with a fulfilling love story involving a nerdy girl getting the popular. On its surface, this concept may seem normal, but the narrative of this video unintentionally conveys significant gender issues in today’s society. Thus, through her 2008 music video for “You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift ironically presents herself as the ideal nerdy girl next door who gets the guy when she suddenly turns beautiful while demonizing a cheerleader, revealing problematic notions of how women are supposed to look and behave in society, as well as reinforcing negative female stereotypes.

Recently, 24- year old country singer/popstar Taylor Swift released a music video “Shake it Off” which was I sort of introduction to her newest album 1989. The video received some backlash for it was seen by many as offensive, and stereotypical to African American Culture. In the video Swift dresses in what some may consider Hip Hop attire, attempts to “twerk” and even has a section where she partially sings as well as raps. She even uses talks about

“Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you…I’ll let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” (West). Most people if they don’t know anything about Kanye West, they know this quote. When anybody hears his name everybody always has an opinion. Some people love him, while a lot of other people hate him, each for a variety of reasons. Though most people only see the arrogant and egotistic side of Kanye, the more important side that people don’t always see is the hardworking musician. In order to fully understand Kanye’s motives and to fully appreciate him, people have to know how he got to the point he is now today.

When a person is pit against another person, naturally both individuals involved will strive to outdo each other. This can bring out the best efforts in both and can lead each person to improve upon themselves in the process. For example, look at the education system and the students a part of it. From the moment they walk into their kindergarten class, their academic success is determined in comparison to another student. If one student gets a B, and another student gets an A, the B-student will try to better their performance. In Kohn’s defense, this academic rivalry

One of cinema's most unexpected, artistically fertile iterations in the 21st century is the viral video, a Warholian flash of lightning: brief, often concept-less, zigzagging across the globe on bright computer/phone screens, and then, just as quickly, vanishing from relevance. This new medium's Meliesian pioneer is a mercurial figure whose fifteen minutes of fame has miraculously protracted into a decade's-worth of cultish, vaudevillian mini-movies; their deranged comedy, hot-topic commentary, and punning, shade-infused manifestoes of give-no-fucks self-reliance are devotedly watched and shared by a small legion of loyal fans. When Chris Crocker, frail, snaggletoothed, lachrymose, uploaded a wailing defense of Britney Spears onto YouTube during

Competition and the drive to better than your opponent can distract you entirely from what is important in life. Ever since Willy’s sons have been young, he hammered the concept of competition into their minds. He started when he would reward whoever he felt was more successful with more attention and praise. So, when one of Willy’s sons, Biff, was in high school, he was the star quarterback of the football team. Willy gave him so much praise for this that it often left his other son, Happy, in the shadows. However, Happy wanted to receive praise and attention from his father too, so he began to try to get Willy’s attention and try to compete with Biff for attention. For instance, when Willy asked the boys to steal materials to build the stoop, to get some praise, Happy quickly asked, “I lost weight, Pop, you notice?” (Miller 50). Still, Happy didn’t receive the same attention as his brother. So, this habit continued into adulthood. When Willy would praise Biff and talks about how Biff is going to be magnificent, Happy familiarly interjects trying to get the attention Biff is receiving by exclaiming “I’m getting married, Pop, don’t forget it. I’m changing everything. I’m gonna run that department before the year is up. You’ll see, Mom” (Miller 133). So throughout his whole life, Happy focused on trying to receive the praise Biff was getting. This is why Happy ended up

“Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser,” Vince Lombardi once said. This saying could be the unsung anthem of American sports for children and teenagers. Everyone loves to win. In sports there is always competition. Is there too much emphasis on “the win” for kids and teens? This issue is important because it essentially develops the way children and teenagers think and react; it will affect them later on in life. Too much emphasis on winning is a problem because there is extensive pressure from parents and coaches, and the consequences can be severe.

It was already six years ago when the American rapper went up onstage and interrupted the 25-year-old crooner’s acceptance speech. To recall, he wasn’t happy to know that she won over Beyonce.

From being known to creating compose hip-hop music, a fashion icon and establishing a foundation with his mother to being seen as the most hated celebrity in the entertainment industry. Kanye West took it upon himself to defend his opinion when it came to the winner of the Best Female Video on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. By taking the stage and grabbing the microphone from the country music star Taylor Swift and basically stating that she did not deserve the title. The event left the audience and TV land very stocked. What some may not realize is that Kanye West displayed multiple stereotypes that society may think African Americans possess. The stereotypes, which were displayed, were drunkenness, outspokenness and the fact that a