STAGING THE (AMERICAN) NATION: PRODUCTION PRACTICES AT THE 2003 LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

Abstract

Prior to 9/11/01 Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri controversially argued that corporate capitalism was subsuming the nation-state, thereby giving rise to global networks of power. However after the tragedy many have argued that there has been an insurgence of national sovereignty. The main contention is that the United States has tried to (re)assert its ideological dominance over the rest of the world by attempting to take unilateral control of the capitalist system. Surely the superiority of American culture is questionable at best, but with its considerable power over spectacular (sport) media events there exists a fear that if the United States portrays itself as 'inherently great' (Ferguson, 2004) the government can rationalize their struggle to maintain world-wide hegemony.

Through an interrogation of the production practices at the 2003 Little League World Series (LLWS) this project seeks to highlight one particular method that American popular media has used to privilege its culture over all others. After critical review of the tournament this undertaking found that the production and mediation of the LLWS was a dangerous attempt to (re)assert American cultural superiority. More alarming is the fact that both ABC and Little League Corporation exploit children for capital gain through the event. As such, this project endeavors to expose these practices in an effort to reveal how the United States media insidiously portrays itself as the world's dominant culture thus maintaining a breeding ground of hate for oppositional cultures.

Notes

Rights