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Olympics: What constitutes success? (Yuya Kiuchi)

8/1/2012

2 Comments

 
I had always been a casual follower of the Olympics until my wife and her family introduced me to a more frequent viewing habit two years ago during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The current event in London being the second Olympics that I have followed in the US, I begin to see how Americans and the Japanese react to this sporting event.

The big difference is American emphasis on gold medals. It is almost a cultural cliché to say that Americans love victories. The number of medals is a part of the main text in Olympic journalism. When someone wins a gold medal, he or she receives well-deserved media attention. If a promising athlete fails to do so, we discuss why it was only a silver medal, rather than how a silver medal is still a big achievement.

In Japan, I have always felt that being selected to participate in the Olympics in itself was a major achievement and a medal, regardless of its color, was a big bonus. Of course, the Japanese discuss how many medals were won, why a promising star did not qualify for the final round, etc. But, those are subtexts. There seems to be a general trend in praising the stars that have made it to the Olympics.

In the Japanese mind, making it to the Olympics alone is a worthy achievement. American minds, on the other hand, seem to want something a bit more. As I wrote above, medals help. Or, another cultural cliché, attaining American dream, is also omnipresent. Stories of being brought up in a single-parent household, struggling in urban poverty, coming back from giving birth to and raising a baby, overcoming injuries, etc are all indispensable part of American Olympic experiences.

2年前の冬季五輪を妻や妻の両親とテレビ観戦するまで、私はそれほどオリンピックに注目することは無かった。従って今行われているロンドン五輪が、私にとっては2回目のオリンピックということができる。しかし日米間には、オリンピックに対する違った見方があるようだ。

アメリカでは金メダルがとても重要視されている。アメリカ人は勝利が好き、とは陳腐な言い方ではあるが、報道を見ているとメダル数が良く強調されている。金メダルと取った選手は当たり前ではあるが報道合戦の焦点となり、逆に金メダルを逃した選手は、銀メダルの価値よりもなぜ金メダルを逃したかを語ることとなる。

日本ではオリンピックに参加することに意義を見いだしている。メダルは色に関係なく、その価値が認められる。もちろん日本人もメダルの数を数え、なぜ有能な選手が決勝ラウンドに進めなかったかを分析するが、それに焦点が置かれることは少ない。オリンピックに参加する選手には一往に賞賛が与えられる。

日本人にとって、オリンピックに参加することだけで充分なのだ。アメリカでは、それだけでは不十分なのだろうか? 前述のようにメダルが必要だったり、アメリカンドリームを掴むといった物語に価値が見いだされる。片親の家庭で育った過去、都市部の貧困層に生まれた経歴、子供を生んで育てた後に現役復帰をした話、怪我を克服した経験などが、アメリカのオリンピック報道では重要視されている。

2 Comments
Dan
9/8/2012 04:31:45 am

Mr. Stoller:

I too drew the same conclusion. I remember watching the American Gymnastics team on David Letterman and David's question to one of the Gymnasts was, "Were you terribly disappointed when you had only won Silver". Her response was priceless. " Mr. Letterman....I HAVE A SILVER MEDAL FROM THE OLYMPIC GAMES, Are you kidding."

Love your blog.

Reply
Gregory Stoller
9/8/2012 06:37:23 am

Thank you for your thoughtful comment and positive feedback on the Blog. Sincerely, Greg

Reply



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