Post by SCCB Was Told To Do Steroids on Sept 24, 2013 11:29:09 GMT -5
I just finished reading Antigone with my 10th grade students. For their test on the play, I showed them video clips from RAW 9/2/13 and 9/7. For their test, they had to compare the characters from WWE Raw to the characters from the play. As I was watching both, I started to notice the similarities between the characters of Antigone and the current "Corporation" storyline.
For those who are unaware, Antigone, by Sophocles, is the third play in the Oedipus Trilogy. Anitgone is the ill-fated daugther of Oedipus, the tyrannical ruler of Thebes who was a victim of his own fate. Oedipus was told he would kill his father, marry his mother, and his children would be cursed. Long story short, that happened. Anitgone (long story short) violated the laws of her city by burying her brother illegally. Her punishment was to be jailed without food or water. She eventually killed herself in an act of defiance. The entire play centers around moral authority vs. authoritative power.
Daniel Bryan is Antigone. No matter what is thrown at him, he keeps wrestling. The Corporations "punishments", (suspensions, "future-endeavoring") are not punishments to him, because his higher calling is being a "wrestler" and not a "sports-entertainer". Working in armories and high-school gyms is his moral imperative should the paradigm change. In other words, since wrestling is his life, the material attributes of being a success in wrestling by the dominant standard, The WWE, are almost meaningless. Like The Joker said to Batman, "You have nothing to threaten me with!" By having the moral imperative, Bryan therefore owns the conversation; furthermore, he has the real power. This angers The Corporation, becuase they are where the power is supposed to be.
Speaking of The Corporation, they represent Creon, the ruler Thebes. He is mandated to become King of Thebes and straighten out the mess caused by the Oedipus family. However, his methods are unpleasing to the gods. Despite this, he is obstinate in his views. For too long, he admonishes, Thebes has suffered enough at the hands of his in-laws (his sister was Iocasta, Queen of Thebes and Oedipus's wife) He is declaring "martial law" with him as the final judge on all matters, including death to anyone who buries Polynieces, Oedipus's son, a traitor to the city. Antigone honors the gods and not man-made law; therfore, she buries her brother knowing full well what punishment awaits. Creon is quick to overstate that his laws are what's best for the city. Because he is so stiff-necked, he is the ultmiate cause of Antigone's, his son's, and his wife's deaths. Triple HHH's insistence that what he is doing is "best for business" echoes Creon' simple-minded-ness. SMH reflects Creon's disdain for humanity. Whatever they feel is "best for business" is clearly trumped by Bryan's moral imperative. It is revealed through many characters in the play that even the people are not on Creon's side, as is the case with the wrestling fans who chant "Yes! Yes! Yes!" at every show.
Booker T serves as Ismene. He suggests Bryn give up the fight against The Corporation because, simply, he can have a nice career in The WWE and the McMahon's are known to ruin people's lives. Ismene pleads the same case with Antigone, begging her not to fight with Creon. Once she buries her brother, her death is assured.
Maybe this was easy to deduce since I am in the moment, but anyone who has read the play surely must have seen elements of it within this storyline, too. You can't convince me that the writers are simple soap-opera hacks.
Thoughts?
For those who are unaware, Antigone, by Sophocles, is the third play in the Oedipus Trilogy. Anitgone is the ill-fated daugther of Oedipus, the tyrannical ruler of Thebes who was a victim of his own fate. Oedipus was told he would kill his father, marry his mother, and his children would be cursed. Long story short, that happened. Anitgone (long story short) violated the laws of her city by burying her brother illegally. Her punishment was to be jailed without food or water. She eventually killed herself in an act of defiance. The entire play centers around moral authority vs. authoritative power.
Daniel Bryan is Antigone. No matter what is thrown at him, he keeps wrestling. The Corporations "punishments", (suspensions, "future-endeavoring") are not punishments to him, because his higher calling is being a "wrestler" and not a "sports-entertainer". Working in armories and high-school gyms is his moral imperative should the paradigm change. In other words, since wrestling is his life, the material attributes of being a success in wrestling by the dominant standard, The WWE, are almost meaningless. Like The Joker said to Batman, "You have nothing to threaten me with!" By having the moral imperative, Bryan therefore owns the conversation; furthermore, he has the real power. This angers The Corporation, becuase they are where the power is supposed to be.
Speaking of The Corporation, they represent Creon, the ruler Thebes. He is mandated to become King of Thebes and straighten out the mess caused by the Oedipus family. However, his methods are unpleasing to the gods. Despite this, he is obstinate in his views. For too long, he admonishes, Thebes has suffered enough at the hands of his in-laws (his sister was Iocasta, Queen of Thebes and Oedipus's wife) He is declaring "martial law" with him as the final judge on all matters, including death to anyone who buries Polynieces, Oedipus's son, a traitor to the city. Antigone honors the gods and not man-made law; therfore, she buries her brother knowing full well what punishment awaits. Creon is quick to overstate that his laws are what's best for the city. Because he is so stiff-necked, he is the ultmiate cause of Antigone's, his son's, and his wife's deaths. Triple HHH's insistence that what he is doing is "best for business" echoes Creon' simple-minded-ness. SMH reflects Creon's disdain for humanity. Whatever they feel is "best for business" is clearly trumped by Bryan's moral imperative. It is revealed through many characters in the play that even the people are not on Creon's side, as is the case with the wrestling fans who chant "Yes! Yes! Yes!" at every show.
Booker T serves as Ismene. He suggests Bryn give up the fight against The Corporation because, simply, he can have a nice career in The WWE and the McMahon's are known to ruin people's lives. Ismene pleads the same case with Antigone, begging her not to fight with Creon. Once she buries her brother, her death is assured.
Maybe this was easy to deduce since I am in the moment, but anyone who has read the play surely must have seen elements of it within this storyline, too. You can't convince me that the writers are simple soap-opera hacks.
Thoughts?
