Producing and Consuming the Snowboarding Body Question If we define sport as organized physical competitive play What happens to sport when you get paid to do it Does sport become work Can it still be considered play Are professional athletes playing or are they working If they re working then are they participating in sport at all How does this relate to class dynamics capitalism and Marx s critiques Three Conditions of Capitalism The existence of capitalism depends on 1 Continuous economic growth through capital accumulation 2 Accumulation of capital fuels competition 3 Accumulation leads to exploitation of workers These three are contradictory and so capitalism is crisis prone And ultimately will lead to class warfare 1 Capital Accumulation 1 Capital Accumulation Burton Snowboards Burton s primary drive was to create a successful business and make a good living 1979 approx 25 000 in sales 1984 over 1 mil Competitors began to arise and in the 1980s collectively they began hosting competitions This increased the popularity of the sport by creating a larger national and international community This also impacted the commercial success of Burton and his competitors 1 Capital Accumulation cont The competition was healthy for snowboarding s advancement Marx would agree Competition fueled growth got the word out Burton experienced a period of intense growth as profits were sought This was followed by a lag in snowboarding as the market was flooded with companies Many went under Accumulation is a contradictory process profits can fall and accumulation cannot occur or is limited Leads to seeking out new markets international niche markets to accumulate more capital 2 Competition 2 Competition As other large companies enter the snowboarding market competition increases This makes cultural authenticity an important factor for consumers Both in who they buy from and what it means on the mountain So now not only the products but the company image is important Companies invest time and money to create and recreate a culturally authentic corporate image Thorpe 54 2 Competition What are some factors that make a company seem authentic to snowboarders or in general How do snowboarders navigate authenticity as the sport becomes more popular and poseurs enter the mix 2 Competition What are some factors that make a company seem authentic to snowboarders or in general Established history Knowledge of the sport and its history Not mainstream Not too commercially successful is Burton an exception No ulterior motives Lingo 2 Competition Remember Authenticity is dynamic It s meaning changes across time and space among different groups etc Who gets to decide what is authentic or not To what extent do corporations have the power to determine this Individual boarders 2 Competition Marx Accumulation and competition leads to exploitation How does Burton do with this Relaxed workplace and good benefits for employees Flexible schedule Relies heavily on part time non core workers to maintain company flexibility Sometimes acts in the interests of the company Not as simple as yes no 3 Exploitation Snowboarding companies sponsor professional teams Help connect with average snowboarders and promote new fashions products ideas coolness These professionals are chosen because of their marketability Skills personality attitude etc Perceived as a dream job But sometimes manifests elements of exploitation 3 Exploitation Commodification The process es through which social relations are reduced to an exchange relation i e going from living in a market economy to living in a market society Translation of market mentality into spheres of life outside of economic relations It is taking anything and turning it into a marketable item Body as commodity think of all of the pieces of your body that can be sold and entire bodies that are sold 3 Exploitation Snowboarders can be commodified Gaetan Chanut is a good example Value is boiled down to how much money one is worth Manufacturers extort maximum surplus value form their professional snowboarders This involves problems associated with risk compensation for injury and pension upon leaving the profession Capitalism transforms human beings into means for money making and capital accumulation 3 Exploitation Alienation capitalism alienates workers from the act of production Work loses its intrinsic value and is commodified saleability is all that matters Question if a snowboarder is paid to snowboard is it no longer play I didn t start snowboarding to be pro or to watch myself on film but I have to now because that s what I get paid to do Critiques of Marx Class Marx divides society into two classes workers and capitalists and this was meant to lead to social change But society is not divided into just two classes and social change has many different mechanisms besides class warfare Wealth also is not only based in owning means of production There are other forms of capital owning aesthetic ingenuity and the ability to create and mobilize cultural authenticity Class fails to account for the enjoyment and opportunities that professionalism offers to some Living the dream Critique of Marx Culture Economic Determinism everything can be reduced to production relations and economic motivations But this is not always the case Some snowboarders refuse opportunities to gain capital Others privilege culture and lifestyle over wealth 64 The industry does not just make commodities and thus create the culture of snowboarding Production does not equal culture Snowboarders choose what they consume Post Fordism Post Fordism helps us better explain the dynamic between production and culture Much more flexible economic system Characterized by rapid and highly specialized responses Fast changing economy with much more diversity and fragmentation Economies of scope instead of economies of scale Why is this important Fordism encouraged conformity post Fordism encourages individualism Lends itself to cultural change novelty and fast paced cultural life Post Fordism Now economically we can focus on more groups Niche groups like children youth women freeriders jibbers backcountry and alpine snowboarders etc And fashions change rapidly and respond to cultural pressures the continuous creation of new needs and wants and new niche markets can alert us to new possibilities p 68 Female Boarders Began catering to female boarders Different boots and boards Different styles Post Fordist marketers invest