Competitive Sports, Visual Argument Critique

Aaron Miller

Competitive Sports Visual Critique

When I began looking for any existing visual arguments against the inclusion of competitive sports in elementary and middle schools, I found few results. While there have been a number of well-recognized scholars that have written about the subject, few filmmakers or graphic artists have taken the time to comment on the location of competitive environments. Since all of my searches for visual arguments about physical education resulted in music videos created by the group “Gym Class Heroes”, I knew that I needed to approach my research from a different angle. I began looking at the visual arguments that existed for sports psychology. The following critique is my analysis of two videos that I found and how I believe they fail to be strong visual arguments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NmCZTUB2ZI

This video was not intended to send a message about bullying and competitive sports in elementary schools, but it actually conveys an interesting visual argument. In the video, two men, presumably in their twenties, gear up and compete in a game of dodgeball and kickball with children that are probably eight to twelve years old. They run around saying things like “total domination” as they peg little children with rubberized balls. While this video is intended to be humorous and ridiculous, it also can be taken as a comment on the ridiculousness of competitive sports in schools. While it is a clear exaggeration to have twenty year olds competing against young children, the unfairness that these children feel is probably similar to the unfairness that some children experience with their own peers.

I believe that this is a strong visual argument because it is both memorable and humorous. It comments on competition and bullying in a way that does not offend the audience. Had the intention of the filmmaker been to comment on the inclusion of competitive sports in elementary and middle schools, I think that he or she would have been successful in his or her efforts. The visual argument uses clean camera shots and seamless transitions, essential elements for the viewer to remain focused on the content rather than focusing on technical aspects of the film.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0CbGFdH1Vs

This second video that I found is an excerpt from a longer film about one individual’s belief on how to become a better competitive athlete. The creator of this film attributes being successful in sports with having the drive to compete and the willingness to perform. While I agree with the filmmaker to a certain extent, I do not think that this argument can be applied to gym class sports. After school or weekend sports, where the individual chooses to be involved, is entirely different from an environment where a child is forced into competing with his or her peers. I understand that this video was not making the argument about physical education classes, however I think it is important to understand the sentiments of sports psychologists, many of whom push for a stronger school curriculum based around competition.

From a visual stand point; the argument that the filmmaker portrays is rather unappealing. The film did not stimulate me visually and was produced in a rather unprofessional manner. By introducing the opinions on competitive sports from many children, many of whom were stating the same thing, the message was lost. There were too many faces and too few words to look at. I think that if the filmmaker wanted to create a stronger argument, it would have been beneficial for him to include images of sports as well as displaying statistical information in an appealing visual form to back up his point.