Social Anthropology View of Football Culture - Essay Example

1. Introduction Anthropology stresses on theory to explain social aspects and social anthropology regarding a particular subject like football culture is capable of revealing the reasons for hooliganism and wide popularity for that game. The social enquiry into anthropology reveals different reasons in different national traditions and that theory thus belongs to ethnography. The reasons found out and depend on the way the analysts view the history of culture and discipline. In order to make simple, the understanding of anthropology, it is better to understand the theory as a sequence of events. In case of football culture that results in hooliganism, the anthropology includes ethnology also to understand the reasons of hooliganism and the popularity of the game. However, the study about the anthropology in football culture includes the popularity of the game world over and the hooliganism in some parts of the world. The presence and absence of hooliganism or differences in its incidence level in various parts of the world results in a social anthropology study of the aspect. As a result, the study of social anthropology of football culture involves two important aspects. 1 First one is about the popularity of the game and the second one is how the popularity results in national pride and thus causes hooliganism on the name of national pride and even economic benefits at times. Hence, the first part of the study details about the nature of pride and the feelings of religion associated with the popularity and the second part of the study discusses about the pride changing into unruly behavior by the mob. 2 Hooliganism Football Religion The hooliganism in football culture and the football as a religion has relation with popularity and history. Scambler and Graham quote Elias and his colleagues, who made a strong case about violence, leveled against sports people as the violence between spectators in high modernity of disorganized capitalism and the feeling of the spectators that football equal to their religion. The accusations of above type speak about acute sensitivity that forms the basis for the rude behavior of the spectators and contemporary nature of linkages. The representation and mediation of sporting violence is supposed to be a result of social structural substrates. The social and anthropological explanations of the violence in and around the football events can be explained by understanding social structures. The social structure of football has influential analysis of sport and violence and has a follow up of wider assessment of the phenomenon of football hooliganism. However, for the analysts who figure out the violence and events of football it seems that the hooliganism has a single figuration that has sociological reference and logic. In contrast, the football hooliganism has a variety of figurations that form the basis for the violence and comprises of different logics and relations. One of the most found relation is that the relation similar to the religion between football and its admirers or players. Honor, relations of status, disorganized capitalism, celebrity status, and account for perpetrators of sporting violence form the basis for the violence in the football culture. In view of the above aspects, the behavior of the urban population is important about the analysis of violence in football and hooliganism it results. 3 In addition to religion mentioned in above paragraph, the football involves and constitutes a culture that decides the behavior of the spectators and followers of the game. The culture of the football in Britain and similar countries comes from popularity for the game and involves money, politics, drugs, violence, commercialism and professionalism in the sport.4 Behavior of Urban Population Popularity for a game or for a person depends on the behavior of the population and it can be compared with the motives that drive the behavior of the individuals, as the hooliganism depends on the behavior of individuals. Richard Pearce quotes about the development and operation of the personal value system that constitutes the identity of the individual and the culture in a community. Thus the culture in a community proposes social attachments between individuals and between society and the national pride symbols that adopts new values into the system. As football is popular in large number of countries all over the world, number of societies in different countries consider it as a national pride that perceives winning as a value. The perception includes the ability to differentiate own group from other and it is intrinsic for every individual. However, the perception when happens in number of individuals or in a large group of individuals, it may result in hooliganism. The development of perception that leads to the hooliganism finds it root cause at identity development. Though the anthropology is a social issue, the biological aspects also play an important role as body chemistry drives the temporary motivations in the individuals. As the temporary emotions like resorting to violence are a part of continuous chemical activity in life, the local conditions that drive the chemical activity may conserve energy or may result in burst of energy. However, the destructive processes may occur as rapidly as constructive ones, and that depends on the organization and favorable atmosphere. Richard Pearce (2003) quotes the chemicals that begin the process of growth and affect the human behavior. The consequences of human behavior and its study constitute social anthropology and are capable of revealing the reasons for the unruly behavior. Pearce quotes the fact that humans distinguish themselves from their nearest evolutionary relatives and this can be applied to the football fans who compare themselves to the contemporary football playing nations. The values, identity and culture of the game and popularity can affect the functioning of the brain and can result in a great challenge to the organizers of the football. As diversity is present even in cities, it is more, when the societies are compared. When the feelings between two societies did not hurt each others national pride, the tempers remain cool. However, when an incident occurs that hurts the national pride of the home team or audience, the domination in the numbers may result in unruly behavior as temporary chemical actions may result in on the spot unruliness. 5 Power Agent Agency In the above context, the unruly behavior is due to innate relationship between individuals and social structure. According to Rapport Nigel, the social structure is related to agent and agency. They mould the nature of the individual consciousness and its ability to constitute determination. However, the individual consciousness constitutes a social consciousness that determines the extent of freedom from exterior determination. In the present football context of social anthropology, the agents act and agency is the capability to express hooliganism in the context of unexpected or unwanted outcome of the match. The power, which is the domination of numbers, is the source and originator of the rude acts in hooliganism and agents of another society are subjects of the action. However, in case of acts that occur in an order, the human behavior is the basis and results in rationality. In the context of acts involving hooliganism, the irrationality substitutes the rationality in the rude acts of large group of individuals. Normally consciousness, reflection, intention, purpose and meaning are the factors behind the acts. However, in the case of hooliganism, the consciousness works negatively and reflects the impatience of the individuals. The intentions and purpose give a negative meaning of excessive pride that cannot tolerate the outcome of the football match. Rapport Nigel also quotes G.H. Mead’s quotation of Weberian notion of meaning and social scientific understanding. The social scientific understanding, which is a part of social anthropology research, differentiates the acts into impulses, definitions and situations. The acts of hooliganism come under impulses and consummation of negative pride in the large group of individuals (Rapport, Nigel, 2000). Rapport Nigel quotes about the Durkeimian view of appreciating the human action and the case of hooliganism is the one, which is opposite to it. Instead of appreciating the outcome, the individuals of a particular society do not accept the outcome. The above aspect finds ground in understanding hooliganism as the appreciation takes into consideration, the norms and choices that guide the action. However, in the context of hooliganism, the groups of individuals who behave rudely do not care for the norms and choices of the outcome. Understanding the hooliganism can be made simple, if the reason for doing so comes out. When the above reason for the hooliganism is analyzed, the structures that imply constraint, coercion that affects the actions of the individuals comes to the fore. The constraint that affects the actions of individuals brings out endurance and the action that comes out of coercive methods results in hooliganism. In the next step of understanding hooliganism, the social and cultural regularity finds its presence. However, the standard of the social and cultural regularity defines the threshold of orderly behavior of the individuals in a society. When the social and cultural regularity in the individuals of the society are not up to the mark, they loose temper even for small or reasonable contexts and hooliganism is one of them. The exhibition of hooliganism indicates the low level of regularity in the society and social anthropology should study the formal structures of the society that determine the individual behavior. In that context, the agency that exists in the society is a trait that is derived from collective representations. In this context, the conscience, which emanates from pre-socialized animal nature, results in an action that has not pre-determination, which is known as hooliganism. Hence, the above aspect brings to the fore, the individual capacities acting independently of structural constrains thus breaking the law and acting above the constraints that result in rude behavior (Rapport, Nigel, 2000). 6 Social Anthropology of Sport (Football) In analyzing the rude behavior the constraints and controlling factors that determine the behavior of the individuals in a society comes to the fore. However, it is ironic that the freedom and liberty in democracies might be used by individuals to behave in manner that violates the law. The social anthropology of the sport (here football and its culture) can be best understood from the England as that society reconstructed the global Olympic movement. In general, the victories of the unexpected ones on the foreign soil result in change of intentions of the individuals of a particular society. As social anthropology is multi-paradigmatic, it is not independent or immature when it is related to natural sciences. However, the social anthropology comes to the fore, when sociology relates with natural sciences. Hence the social anthropology of football culture brings out the structural elements of the society that result in hooliganism in football context. Scamblar Graham (2008) quotes Parson’s argument of human action system that responds to goal attainment, integration and pattern maintenance. The above three constitute the functional prerequisites or functional imperatives of the agency or the system. The above aspect indicates the adoption to the environment, means of mobilizing its resources for gratification, maintaining the internal dexterity thus bringing the equilibrium to the fore. However, in the case of football culture, the adoption to the environment works in the opposite way and the individuals do not adapt to the outcome. Hence, the culture of the society that develops indifferent attitude to the happenings and being impatient results in lack of dexterity between different societies and the mobilizing of resources is for destroying instead of delight. The mobilizing of resources depends on the action subsystem that is specialized in adaptation. However, personality and goal attainment play important role in mobilizing resources. When goal attainment involves the excessive pride on symbol (here football), according to Parsons, a complexity is introduced. The above complexity and goal attainment will result in integration in social system, but the complexity and goal attainment, which is a result of clash between two societies or symbols of two societies result in destruction or hooliganism composed of rude behavior of individuals who feel that they are lost. Scambler and Graham (2005) quote Parsons again in the context of interaction between four primary action subsystems that rely on exchange of energy and information. As a result energy flows from individual to social system and that allows the development of culture. When the above-mentioned culture develops impatience in the individuals or increases envy, the flow of energy may result in rudeness instead of development of benevolent culture. As the culture controls the social system, even benevolent societies like the ones, which have football win as national pride, witness unruly incidents, when the culture did not develop sportiveness in the individuals of the society, connected with football. Hence, the football culture will be different from the original culture of the society that has constraints on pride and popularity. Scambler and Graham quotes Loy and Booth (2000) about the regulation of personality by social system. When the traits of social system that regulates the personality are absent, the energy and complexities of the personalities result in a rude behavior. In all the above analysis of the rude behavior of the fans or hooligans, the reason for the difference in behavior from the social system they exist is consideration of football as a social system. Hence, the behavior, personality, actions, agencies differ from the social system of the individuals as they consider football as a separate social system. The football as a social system does not have restrains and constraints or controls that are present in the fully developed social system. Hence, the flow of energy from individuals to the social system (football) will result in hooliganism as there are no constraints for pride and symbolism (Scambler, Graham, 2005). Micro-Functionalist Study The aspect of sport as a social system mentioned above is part of the study that considers sport groups as social systems. Schambler and Graham find evidence in Heinila’s study of holistic study of sport as a social institution that tells about functionalism in the society. Sociologists consider the sport as a reflection of the total society and its complex relationships. As the hooliganism in football and the majority of the countries in which football has popularity have domination in one or more aspects in the world. The important aspects of the sport as a social institution contain functions and dysfunctions. The functional study of the sport’s social institution has origin in its primitive universal and religious nature. As a result it is collectivity oriented and the preparation and training is in representative in nature. However, modern sport functions in contrast, but its religions nature is not yet completely left. Hence, the fans treat the sport as their religion and when they feel that their sentiments are hurt, they resort to violence. The violence in football and its culture may be due to the domination of socio-emotional function. The socio-emotional function contributes to the psychological stability and socialization, when cultural beliefs are transmitted along with the prevalence of integrity and harmony. However, in case of football, when the culture fails to transmit the prevalence of integrity and harmony, the sport is useful as an instrument for upward mobility. When that mobility is not possible through a win in the match, the emotions find their vent through violence. According to Schambler and Graham, the rude behavior and the violence depend on the different levels of indebtedness to Parsonian functionalism. However, the social functionalism fails to account for social change as the functionalism over emphasizes the salience of norms and values. Disintegration and violence are results of over emphasis on norms and values as the pride dominates in the form of value in the context of over emphasis of norms and values. In addition to the above aspects the bias in the view of the sport is familiar and forms the basis for the functionalism of the society (football institution), which over emphasizes the norms and values. Moreover, the violence is a result of social conflict between super ordinate and subordinate interest groups. When both groups (the societies that support different teams of football), feel that they are super ordinate, the conflict quickly turns into violence and gives rise to hooliganism as frequently as possible. Scambler and Graham quote Ritzer (2003), about negligence of history by functionalism and the consequences of conflict and social change. He also emphasizes on the way the systems perpetuate and the way they define actors as passive dupes of social structures. 7 Social Structure that Attracts Prohibition When the systems perpetuate and violence repeats, they attract the prohibition on the institution and society. For example, Duning Eric (1999) quotes the prohibition on football in 1314 by Edward II talks about the tumults arising from great footballs in the fields of the public. The order feels that the evils rise due to the tumult in the football fields. The above instance tells about the divisions in the society due to para society called football. Hence, football culture in Britain is a result of sport institution that behaves as a society and creates violence in the society of which it is a part. Moreover, the prohibition in 1314 further opined that the playing of football affected the military preparedness of the country. Hence, the football culture and hooliganism were not only the causes for violence but also affect various institutions of the society. Hence, the attempts of the medieval authorities in Britain may be the examples of the measures that control the negative aspects of football culture. One of the important aspect, is that the above-mentioned measures try to divert the energies of the people (mentioned in above chapters as flow of energy from individuals to society), into more useful channels. However, it is not possible in modern democratic societies, and another social anthropology arises in this context, that whether the democratic societies are unable to divert the energies to useful channels. However, when the medieval sport history when compared to modern sports, it is evident that the folk antecedents of modern football related to inter group combat game, which is close to real fighting. Hence, the consequences of the football matches may also result in real fighting between the supporters of the teams and countries. 8 The ideology of fighting between fans of different societies and countries can be seen in sports journalism, commentary and debate. The police campaign against hooliganism of football also finds the ideology of reasons for the rude behavior in football fans. In the ideology and explanations, the difference between peaceful events and hooliganistic events finds place and the role of professionalism has its importance. Polley Martin quotes Des Lynam (1996) about Olympic Games that going down the pub is not Olympic sport. That means he is talking about the culture exists in the sports like football, where pub culture, commercialism and corruption finds place. The reduction of corruption and pub culture can reduce pride about the game and gives a chance to minimize violence. However, the changes in the society as well as culture resulted in references in pop music in 60s and 70s to hooliganism in 80s. 9 Control and Restrain of Hooliganism Hooliganism can be termed as supporter violence and is an old phenomenon. The hooliganism in Soccer can be traced to AD 59 gladiator fights, where people supporting different gladiators used to resort for violence, when their gladiator fails. Similarly, the hooliganism between Soccer fans is due to antagonism between them. The control of hooliganism is necessary to avoid the incidents like the tragedy in Heysel Stadium in Belgium in 1985 that caused pandemonium and death of 39 persons. Now the Soccer violence is at its high Brazil and Argentina, where stabbings and fighting occur between fans of those two countries. Police are using rubber bullets and tear gas to control the fans and the above type controlling methods may result in discriminative policing. However, the surveillance tactics like cameras and trained intelligence personnel capable of avoiding the clashes are important. Instead of resorting to counter violence, it is better to employ the methods that avoid violence between supporters or fans of two different teams. For example, Sweden employed intelligence units that monitor violent supporters. The armed tactics should be secondary measures to be taken, when the violence avoiding tactics fail. The different schools of policing come from the lessons learnt from various incidents of hooliganism. Even the policing techniques need the sociological analysis to plan and organize the avoidance of hooligan violence. To avoid the violence, the temporary and long term reasons for the hooligan violence are necessary. The hooligans feel prestige to fight over the outcome, if the outcome is against them or they want to retaliate to the wrath of the fans who tasted their teams defeat. To gain prestige, the aim is to fight. The reason is identity provided by the club to which the supporters belong. The leaders (managers or owners of the clubs) play crucial role in making the supporters to fight to extreme and if they are controlled, it can be effective measure to control hooligan violence. The cost of violence will be less when it is compared to the violence that leaders extract from the members. Consequently, the administration can find that the price of violence can increase with the terms of membership and the commercialization of the membership should be limited to avoid the razing of violence, when the economic benefits of the club take set back due to the outcome of a match. Panu Pautwara (2007) quotes Becker (1968) and Becker and Landes (1974) about the increasing costs of crime tends to reduce crime. Hence, it is necessary for the administrations to consider the increase of cost of membership and maintenance of clubs to increase the cost of crime resulting in reduction of crime. Reduction of crime leads to the less number of hooligans and the intelligence network and technical developments can help the administrations to avoid or control the violence. However, the above suggestion is a fundamental and does not ensure complete control of hooliganism. In a step further to control the hooliganism, to that extent the clubs can go to have economic benefits from the matches can be explored. In anthropology, the analysis of violence and the possibilities of society to reduce it is important. Panu Pautwara quotes Cohen (1971) and Bufore (1991) about the fact that more policing can result in more supporter clubs. One more aspect that help in controlling violence and related with costs, is that the judicial costs to escape punishment or to face enquiry after arrest in violence should nullify the economic or identity gains of the leaders and members of the soccer clubs. One more aspect that can control violence without relation to costs is the threat of injury. The threat of injury can restrain the members from resorting to violence. 10 In addition to policing techniques the corruption and politics between football clubs also may result in violence and different strategies are necessary for the administrations to cope up with them. The involvement of business approach to the football leads to the corrupt practices as there are enough opportunities to exploit the economic benefits from the game. In the period of growth of football as a popular sport in number of nations all over the world, the clubs are directed by industrialists and that may result in corruption, when their team does not win the match or the expected benefits are not reaped. Hence, to control the commercial benefits of the clubs, it is necessary for the administrations to frame the rules that only sportsmen can lead the clubs and the person who does not have or have sports experience less than the standards, should not take part in the Soccer club activities. Then the commercialization of the clubs still exists, but the corruption can be minimized, which can be a factor that helps in minimizing the violence. However, the influence of the founding firms of the clubs remain in the organizational structure of the clubs and that may result in undermining the hard work and discipline of teams in the terminology of sports. Hence, administrations should have rules that describe the participation and standard of the teams, which reduces the activities like betting. Making the betting activities authorized and the provision of insurance cover for the clubs of loosing teams may result in economic safety and the reduction of violence due to economic loss. 11 Works Cited Barnard, Alan. History & Theory in Anthropology, Port Chester, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2000. p 1. Richard Pearce, A Biologist’s View of Individual Cultural Identity for the Study of Cities, University of Bath, UK: SSRN, 2003, pages 1-22. Rapport, Nigel. Social and Cultural Anthropology : Key Concepts, London, UK: Routledge, 2000. p 1. Scambler, Graham. Sport and Society : History, Power and Culture, Berkshire, , GBR: McGrawHill Education, 2005. p 143 Dunning, Eric. Sport Matters : Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence, and Civilization. London, , GBR: Routledge, 1999. p 84-86. Polley, Martin. Sport and Society: A Contemporary History, London, GBR: Routledge, 1998. p 2-4. Panu Poutvaara, Hooliganism and Police Tactics: Should Tear Gas Make Crime Preventers Cry?, Bonn, Germany: SSRN, 2007. p 1-10. Hare, Geoff. Football in France: A Cultural History, Oxford, , GBR: Berg Publishers, 2003. p 155. Read More