Sports Enthusiasm Research Articles

Mirror by Natasha s> Synessios (review)

i I6 SEER, 8 i, I, 2003 Insisting on the notion that context is everything is a particularlyfruitful approach when dealing with BedandSofa,since it interacts on an unusually large number of levels with the society and culture from which it emerged. What is particularlygratifyingabout this studyis its sensitivityto the fact that this society and culture was anything but fixed. Graffy draws on both the movie's and his own astonishinglybroad framesof culturalreference from the love triangle that haunts Chernyshevskii'sChtodelat'(pp. I7-I8) to the exploration of male homosocial desire as mediated through 'a shared enthusiasmfor sport'in Smith and England'srecent playAnEvening withGarg Lineker (p. 57) to unravel the diversity of inflections condensed in the various intertwining aspects and themes of the film: its cinematography;its portrayalof interpersonalrelationships;even its deployment of culturallyand sociologically over-determinedartefacts.The film and its companion booklet are thus located not as originatorysourcesof an easily identifiable'meaning', but as well informed and hugely informative contributions to a series of ongoing dialogues on a wide range of issues of topical (non-)debate, making their points without recourse to idealization, sentimentalism or, as Graffy indicates, the offering of 'pat solutions, either social or behavioural, for intractableproblems'(p. ii 7). Question marks still hang over Bed andSofa,a film that was specifically intended to provoke, ratherthan to end debate. If, after a lengthy period of submergence,thisgem from I927 isonce againmakingwaves, it issurelyin no small part due precisely to its refusalof the comforts of narrativeresolution. Graffy'slively and engaging discussion,again preciselythroughits admirable respect for BedandSofa'sown 'eloquent silences', its exemplary genealogical critique, and its refusal (alongside that of the movie) to 'dictate the viewer's assessment'ofthe protagonists'behaviour(p. 14),leavesthereaderthoroughly preparedto approachthiswonderfullyprovocativefilmvery much on its own terms. Department ofHistory JOHN HAYNES University ofEssex Synessios, Natasha. Mirror.KINOfiles Film Companion, 6. I. B. Tauris, London and New York, 200 I. XiV+ 120 pp. Notes. Illustrations.Bibliography . f I 2.99 (paperback). IT is fair to say that in the I990S Slavonic Studies departments in UK universitieshave confronted the challenge of dramaticallydeclining student numbers by offeringmore varied and diverse courses, the most promising of which has been the rise in Russian Film Studies. The recently established KINOfiles seriesprovidesexcellent supportforthese initiatives:user-friendly, concise and well-illustrated,they generally offerthe backgroundinformation and keen analysisstudentsneed in examining key film texts. Classicssuch as Battleship Potemkin, TheManwiththeMovieCamera and BurntbytheSunhave thus been made more accessible to students of Russian film, and helped develop Russian Studiesbeyond the traditionallanguage-literaturedemarcationlines. The KINOfiles Film Companions all share a common methodology: a chapter on the production historyof each film, followed by a frame-by-frame REVIEWS I I 7 analysis, then discussion of the film's reception and importance within the Soviet or post-Soviet historicaland socio-culturalcontext. Of immense value in Natasha Synessios's book is the detailed exploration of Tarkovskii's difficultieswith the Soviet film establishment,and the director'sown tortuous and sometimes contradictorypath toward the final product the film became. Natasha Synessios also includes some astonishing photographs from the Tarkovskii family archive. The juxtaposition of snapshots from the 1930S featuring Tarkovskii's mother, and shots from the film with Margarita Terekhova, the actress who plays Mariia Tarkovskaiain the film, reinforces the truly autobiographical nature of the film, and the deep personal importanceit had forthe directorhimself. There is much to enjoy here,with sectionson the use and significanceof the poems by Arsenii Tarkovskii(the director'sfather:another personal touch), the use in the film of music, colour and monochrome, newsreels, Pushkin's correspondence with Chaadaev, nature and, perhaps most importantly, Tarkovskii'semphasis on spirituality.Above all, the film's engagement with memory and identityremainsthe book'sfocus, with a telling comment on the director's 'recreation'of his mother: 'Ashe explained to his comrades at the studio meetings, what was important for him [Tarkovskii]was the way he remembered his mother, not the way she was' (p. 95: author'sown italics).Mirror, consequently, 'isa filmnot only about memory, but also about conscience and the purgingof guilt'(p. 98). On a personal level, this reviewer would have liked to have seen a larger section exploring Tarkovskii's contribution to autobiographical film as a genre...

George Cadbury's Contribution to Sport

George Cadbury lived from 1839-1922. With his brother Richard he is best known for the development of his family business which moved under the brothers’ leadership from Bull St. to Bournville. He was also a teacher, a politician, a newspaper proprietor and the founder of the Bournville Village Trust. In fact he was “a national figure” 1 I shall show that throughout his life he was a very keen sportsman and that he had a lot of influence both in the sporting ethos of the Cadbury Firm and in the flowering of sport at Bournville, Rowheath and the Lickeys. His love of sport was within the context of his Christian discipleship and Quaker beliefs. He was once asked by a journalist “What are the two most influential books in your life”? and George replied Thomas a Kempis “The Imitation of Christ” and William Law “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”. “He loved games for themselves, but he loved them still more as a physical training necessary to keep one fit for the real business of life” 2 . In addition to his participation in cricket, golf, football and swimming “he remained a lifelong devotee of outdoor pursuits like walking, cycling and riding” 3 . There are three parts to George Cadbury’s contribution to sport. Firstly there is his own play. Secondly there is what he did for sport in providing sports facilities for the Cadbury company’s employees and his own participation in this. Thirdly there is what may loosely be described as the sporting legacy left by him and his brother Richard. Firstly let’s consider his own play. George’s enthusiasm for sport and games came from his home. “His childhood was spent in a loving and deeply religious, but somewhat Spartan atmosphere...A carriage was considered too luxurious, however two ponies were kept for the boys to ride, but they had to look after them entirely themselves” 4 .

Idealized Functions of Sport: Religious and Political Socialization Through Sport

This article focuses on the purported functioning of sport as a "symbolic refuge" in American society. In particular the paper considers the extent to which acceptance of the established structure of American sport and two dimensions of sports involvement are associated with religious conviction and political conservatism. Faith in God and in tradi tional American values and institutions are two consequences of involvement in sport claimed by the dominent American sports creed and emphasized by the symbolic aspects of major sports spectacles in America. Data were presented as an exploratory test of con nections between sports involvement and faith in God and country. The data were derived from a survey of students at two colleges in a small Northeastern state. It was found that religious conviction and political conservatism were in no way related to one of the dimen sions of sports involvement, sports enthusiasm, and that political conservatism was weakly related to the other dimension, past sports success. It also was found that accep tance of the established structure of sport was associated both with religious conviction and political conservatism. Interpretations of the statistically significant findings in this research had to be qualified on the basis of difference in sex, state of residence, and/or college.

Things you can try: Integer “football”

Generally, students in the upper elementary and junior high grades are interested in sports. The card game “lnteger Football” uses that enthusiasm for sports as motivation for practice with directed numbers. The game is designed for use with an entire class or with a small group of students.