Grappling with Representation in the WWE

By focusing on WWE programming as a text and Vincent K. McMahon as an auteur, Grappling with Representation in the WWE offers a critique of representation in WWE that ranges across the entire history of the promotion. The chapters focus on a range of identities from sexuality and race to mental health and religion and open up important new avenues in the academic study of professional wrestling. -- Michael J. Altman, University of Alabama World Wrestling Entertainment, under the care and control of Vince McMahon, had a long history of problematic representation, including sexist, racist, homophobic, and xenophobic constructions of wrestling characters and stories. Woodall's incisive analysis centers McMahon as a source of such content by using film studies' concept auteur theory. Focusing on McMahon presents a new perspective on these representation issues in professional wrestling and suggests how to apply this concept to other areas of popular culture. This book is a must read for professional wrestling and popular culture scholars. -- CarrieLynn D. Reinhard, Dominican University This text is the total package! Far ranging historical insight coupled with incisive analysis of the place of difference, race, gender, and a host of other topics in the representative traditions and processes within the WWE. By focusing on specific embodiments of the various representative acts, Lowery A. Woodall III brings the realities of the representative acts into sharp relief, considering their effects on both audience and character. This is one you'll want on your shelves, and that's the bottom line! -- J. Rocky Colavito, Butler University