The Olympics, Jesse Owens, Burke, and the Implications of Media Framing in Symbolic Boasting

Abstract

One of the most enduring figures of the Olympics is Jesse Owens, the track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Games in Berlin. Although Owens's athletic achievements were impressive, he is more remembered for being the athlete who singled-handedly brought down the Nazi's theories of Aryan supremacy. This aspect of Owens's identity owes less to his performance and more to the Olympic media's ideological framing. Over time Owens was transformed from a world-class athlete to a transcendent hero. The Olympic media framed Owens as a communal hero, boasting of his accomplishments as if they were their own, infusing him with ideological significance. A Burkean examination of the media's framing surrounding Owens shows that the ideological image eventually outshined his identity.

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