Sports in Asia - Essay Example

Sports in Asia Name Institution Introduction There has been immense passion for sports in the world. It is said that sporting activities began in Europe to North America and from these two regions it spread across all other parts of the world. The continent of Asia is one such region that has realized a rapid increase in passion for sports. This has had positive effects on the development index of the concerned countries. One notable country is South Korea. This paper focuses on views of various two sets of writers on the relationship of sports and expansion of capitalism (economic growth) under the following sub headings: comparison and contrast of various views by different authors, strengths and weaknesses of various views, how these views agree or disagree and the contribution they make Compare and Contrast Contrast Rowe argues that the continued spread of consumption capitalist tendencies and the overcrowding of the media sport markets in USA and Europe, together with the emergence of media technology and of Western global media companies, like the Rupert Murdoch–regulated News Company, increased the sourcing for opportunities in the market in territories that are relatively unexploited. On the other hand Koh argues that, the combination of industry related capitalist manufacturing and the most common free time consumption that initially emerged in England and then dispersed across what could be generally defined as “the West” positioned sport at the central of media evolvement in both business circles and national public (Cha, 2009). According to Rowe, in the beginning of 1990s, Western based media sport outfits started to realize that focusing on men was negatively restricting their boundaries to those customers who comprised a majority of the potential fanatics and regulated most of its revenue: the women. In that period, the same thinking made Western media sport companies to turn to the economies that are developing as well as huge Asian populations. Various games have seen their commonness spread globally, mainly because of the increase in new technologies in mass media, and due to sport outfits and their corporate interests of investor’s in expanding their outlook and fame globally. Koh however focuses on the case of South Korea and Asia and establishes no connection between global sport and regional sport. Comparison In both documents the media is central to the promotion of sports. In David Rowe’s article, the media has been used to relay live sporting events to remote areas globally, using advanced technology, to reach mass audience who enjoy the sport as if they were physically present in the stadium. Eunha Koh’s in his article also says that the local press in south Korea was as well in support of the decision by the government and lauded it as a consequential assignment for development of the nation (Mills, 2005). Both papers appreciate the fact that sports have been used to boost the image of various companies that advertise themselves through sporting events. Koh says that because of the Olympic Games and Asian Games, South Korea has been able to carry out sophisticated technology based projects. Korean companies have also improved their image to the world and have established new trade relations. The economic status of the government in the period of its key investments was of great benefit for the city’s macroeconomic effects. If sport-related consumption expenditures and investments were made in the phase of economic meltdown, the benefits of the games for the region’s economy escalated. Korea needed capital at the time of the main investments for the Asian Games, and achieved macroeconomic benefits from the sporting activities. In Rowe’s article, companies advertise themselves by sponsoring international sports that are watched globally, hence boosting their image (Crego, R. 2003). Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths These works are not heavily inclined towards Western-centric conception of sporting activities being an absolute discovery of the west that spread towards other parts of the world. Rowe says that it should be emphasized that his analysis is not intended to demonstrate nor essentialize the region nor to paint it as being a helpless victim of the exploitation of Western. As Rowe postulates, the “idea” and the “issue” of Asia are controversial ones, an issue of “world history” whereby the 19th C European Western imagination is heavily implicated and whose consideration attempts to depart from the 21st century ‘neo-imperialism’ its logic and order” . In terms of cultural diversity, “Asia” is diverse adequately, and this ranges from “comparatively homogenous states in the East of Asia, like Korea and Japan, to multicultural postcolonial countries in South Asia and Southeast. In terms of sporting, there is a huge diversity across the continent of Asia, having sports like soccer, baseball, cricket, basketball, hockey, as well as martial arts indicating a very little deal in some countries and a great one in others. According to him, Asia is not just a consumption site of Western media sport. It is as well as socio-cultural region— varied, often wantonly formed—into which is programmed a range of outcomes, among which is the possible that it will come to substitute the West as the dominant force in sports internationally. Weaknesses Koh underscores the role played by sports in South Korea to entrench despotic regimes. He underestimates the positive effects that Seol Olympics brought to the country as well as the region. He says that at the time, in 1979, when Korea hoped to host the Asian Games, Korea was under the despotic ‘Yu-Shin’ rule of President Park Jung-Hee, and sport was exploited as a way of diverting people’s attention from democracy. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, winning in the international sports events played an important role in integrating the Korean people and advertising the regime’s legitimacy and potential to the world. The political use of sport at that time is often called ‘sport obscurantism’. How They Agree/ Disagree Asia is not simply a site of consumption for Western media sport but a sociocultural space—diverse, often arbitrarily constructed—into which is projected a range of possibilities, among which is the potential that it will come to replace the West as the dominant force in the international sphere of sport. In sporting terms, there is also enormous diversity across Asia, with sports such as baseball, soccer, cricket, hockey, basketball, table tennis, and martial arts meaning a great deal in some countries and very little in others. This assertion however contradicts Wenner’s assertion that sports I Asia was as a result of the West expansionary efforts of capitalism. What Contribution They Make The two authors have added to the literature regarding the role of media in boosting sporting activities as well as the role sports play in boosting economic development of countries in asia with particular reference to South Korea. Companies advertise themselves through the sporting events worldwide hence boosting their image internationally. This writing examines the politics as well as the structure of power that surrounds sports; explores the influence of Orientalism and globalism on sports and assesses the significance of the sports and the impact they have on the Korean people. The hosting by Korea of the Seoul Olympic Games therefore catapulted the national economy and recuperated social foundation, and also enhanced the Korea’s national prestige. Rowe’s article in fact says that Western media sport markets has initiated a turn to the prevalently youthful, highly urbanized cultural environment related with kinds of “aspirational” average-class consumption of international sport of the West. Asia is becoming a prime focus for the enlargement strategies of few the most strong and professional sports teams, leagues, and media corporations across the globe. Even though other media and culture based sectors in the continent of Asia, like television and film industries, enjoy much localization of content as well as exchange within the region, media sport has remained a domination of the West. The influence of international broadcasters in the Asian continent and the rigorous marketing efforts of the sports of the West are coming together to the advantage of American and European-based sports leagues, like the EPL and NBA, which have a tendency to “phase out” the Asian professional sport. Sport audience involvement around “media sports cultural complex” in the continent of Asia tends to yield a form of consumption predisposed to advantage globally marketed Western sports competitions and their celebrities and so blocks the progression of local sport and media in Asia. Conclusion Media sport in Asia is rapidly growing. This has positively affected the economies in the region. As indicated by the authors, sport was never induced in the region as a result of capitalist expansionary strategies, but as indigenous practice in the region which is culturally diverse. References Cha, V. D. (2009). Beyond the final score: the politics of sport in asia. New york, columbia university press. Mills, J. H. (2005). Subaltern sports: politics and sport in south asia. London, anthem press. Crego, r. (2003). Sports and games of the 18th and 19th centuries. Westport, conn. [u.a.], greenwood press. Wenner, L. A. (Ed.). (1998). MediaSport. London, UK: Routledge. Sparre, K. (2007). 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