Why Did Wrestling Become a Spectacle?
In short: Professional wrestling's turn from contest to scripted spectacle has roots in early promoters and in failed films of real bouts, and competing explanations, from Stadel's media history to Britannica's credit to McMahon, leave its spread abroad only partly documented.
A 2:13 short film in the series “Why Did…?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Professional wrestling | entertainment | Britannica”; Luke Stadel, 'Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911', Early Popular Visual Culture (2013, doi:10.1080/17460654.2013.816976), as hosted on Academia.edu, “Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911”; Academia.edu (author profile of Luke Stadel, summarising his article in Early Popular Visual Culture, Nov 2013), “Luke Stadel - Profile on Academia.edu”; Internet Archive (uploaded item description summarising WWE's own 2022 annual report and Form 10-K; not the SEC EDGAR filing itself), “World Wrestling Entertainment 2022 Annual Report : World Wrestling Entertainment : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive”; The Guardian (Guardian News & Media), “Wildlife charity wins battle of the WWF brands”.
Sources used in this film
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Professional wrestling | entertainment | Britannica · View →
- Luke Stadel, 'Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911', Early Popular Visual Culture (2013, doi:10.1080/17460654.2013.816976), as hosted on Academia.edu — Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911 · View →
- Academia.edu (author profile of Luke Stadel, summarising his article in Early Popular Visual Culture, Nov 2013) — Luke Stadel - Profile on Academia.edu · View →
- Internet Archive (uploaded item description summarising WWE's own 2022 annual report and Form 10-K; not the SEC EDGAR filing itself) — World Wrestling Entertainment 2022 Annual Report : World Wrestling Entertainment : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive · View →
- The Guardian (Guardian News & Media) — Wildlife charity wins battle of the WWF brands · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Professional wrestling | entertainment | Britannica
- Also: Luke Stadel, 'Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911', Early Popular Visual Culture (2013, doi:10.1080/17460654.2013.816976), a: Wrestling and Cinema, 1892-1911
- Also: Academia.edu (author profile of Luke Stadel, summarising his article in Early Popular Visual Culture, Nov 2013): Luke Stadel - Profile on Academia.edu
- Also: Internet Archive (uploaded item description summarising WWE's own 2022 annual report and Form 10-K; not the SEC EDGAR fi: World Wrestling Entertainment 2022 Annual Report : World Wrestling Entertainment : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
- Also: The Guardian (Guardian News & Media): Wildlife charity wins battle of the WWF brands
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