Is WWE Promoting Cultural Bigotry?
By Josh.0
On the August 15 edition of WWE Smackdown, the audience booed and hissed loudly while a woman sang the national anthem of India.
Considering the events that occurred in Charlottesville, VA this past weekend it’s not unreasonable to ask ourselves if the timing of Tuesday’s opening to WWE Smackdown involving Jinder Mahal was improper. I’m willing to bet that more than a few of you felt the same way I did. While watching Mahal bring out dancers and musicians to celebrate the observation of Independence Day in India to a chorus of jeers, I found myself feeling something I did not expect; uncomfortable.
The tried and true formula of the “evil foreigner” is nothing new to professional wrestling and has been used to mirror real-world events for decades. In the 1980s, Nikolai Volkoff would sing the national anthem of the Soviet Union and his tag team partner, the Iron Sheik, would follow-up by proclaiming, “Iran number one, Russia number one, USA…” and then spitting on the ground. During the early 1990s when the United States began to escalate its military presence in the Middle East, uber patriot Sergeant Slaughter turned heel and began wearing Arab headdresses, adopted the Camel Clutch, and was (kayfabe) photographed with Saddam Hussein.
During this time, Slaughter received so many death threats that he was required to wear a bullet-proof vest and be surrounded with a security escort when he was out in public. Vince allegedly asked Slaughter to burn an American flag but he refused and instead burned a Hulk Hogan t-shirt. Two decades later in 2012, Chris Jericho would be suspended for 30 days when he burned the flag of Brazil.
My point is that the insults of Sheik and Slaughter were direct and had no ambiguity about their intentions. They were effective because they played off the jingoism and patriotism that reflected how many Americans felt during the days of the Cold War and Desert Storm. Jinder Mahal is a different kind of heel. Even in his current role, he has not directly insulted the United States or its citizens in the same way as the villains of old. Mahal has reasoned that fans only boo him because he represents a different culture and because they are xenophobic. While some people can view this accusation as an insult, it’s far less venomous or personal than when Big Boss Man said to Big Show about his recently deceased father, “If I could have a son as stupid as you, I’d wish for cancer so I could die too”.
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The bottom line is that the opening segment of Smackdown was undeniably tone deaf when we consider the current social climate in the United States. A young woman was murdered by a group of people promoting cultural superiority and with this tragedy, still fresh on our minds the WWE decided this week would be a good time to ensure their champion elicited a reaction of cultural superiority from the audience. In no way am I saying the WWE bears responsibility for or is endorsing the violence in Charlottesville, but a segment where an entire country and its people are booed for the sake of a professional wrestling storyline was in poor taste.