Blog Post 2 Resource A - Mya Murray

What if professional wrestling is the best method to explain the current status of the American government? According to the article "The Line Between Politics and Professional Wrestling Has Disappeared," it is one of the most obvious ways to understand how political communication works nowadays. After applying James Carey's two logics of communication, we can see that it is not simply about Donald Trump behaving like a wrestler or using dramatic language. The idea instead highlights the nature of communication itself, where spectacle, emotional reward, and continuous attention are more important than accuracy or policy. In wrestling, maintaining the audience's emotional investment in the act is more important than proving that what is happening is real. When politics begin to operate under the same logic, we can make valuable observations, see patterns and make connections to James Carey's logic.

A keyword in the article is kayfabe, which is a part of professional wrestling vocabulary. Kayfabe is basically the unwritten rule that everyone involved has to protect the illusion that what is happening in the ring is real. Wrestlers, referees, announcers, and promoters all play along, even outside the arena. Wrestlers who are supposed to hate each other on screen can’t even be seen hanging out in public, because that would break the illusion. The audience is what drives Kayfabe's success; rather than falling for it, fans voluntarily suspend their disbelief since the story's emotional reward outweighs the dull reality. 

In wrestling, the most important goal is not being liked but generating heat, which means getting a strong emotional reaction from the crowd. Heat is the real currency. The article explains this through the story of wrestler Roddy Piper, who played the villain in front of a mostly Latino audience. Piper spent weeks insulting the crowd to build anger, and when he finally promised to apologize by playing the Mexican national anthem, he instead played “La Cucaracha.” When the crowd erupted, Piper fled before they could reach him. This appeared to be a disaster from a moral or legal standpoint, but it was a success for wrestling promoters. Events were sold out, and venues became packed as a result of the heat. Engagement was more important than accountability or the truth. According to the report, Trump utilizes the same tactic of inciting conflict on purpose in order to keep the spectacle alive.

This is where James Carey’s idea of communication as transmission helps explain what is happening. Carey describes communication as transmission, as the process of sending messages across space to persuade, influence, or control others. In this lens, communication is about impact and efficiency. Trump’s communication style fits this logic almost perfectly. His speeches and media appearances are not meant to carefully explain policies or encourage debate. Instead, they deliver short, emotionally charged messages designed to provoke fear, anger, or loyalty. Immigration and crime are examples of topics that work more like wrestling promos than political debates; they create conflict, define enemies, and reaffirm Trump's position as the protagonist. This reasoning holds that even if the message is misleading or overstated, it is still successful if it draws attention and elicits a response.

The article argues that this style of communication only works because the media plays along, much like wrestling promoters do. In wrestling, promoters don’t stop a villain for causing outrage; they amplify it because controversy sells tickets. The article claims that modern news media frequently behaves in the same manner. This leads to what the article calls neo-kayfabe, where everyone knows the performance is exaggerated or misleading, but still chooses which parts to believe.

This is where Carey’s second model of communication becomes important. Alongside transmission, Carey also describes communication as ritual, which focuses less on sending information and more on creating shared meaning over time. Ritual communication in this sense is about repetition, participation, and reinforcing a common worldview. The goal is not to change someone’s mind with new facts, but to keep people emotionally connected to a shared story. When politics is viewed through this lens, it starts to look a lot like wrestling. Supporters return again and again to rallies, slogans, and media appearances not to learn something new, but to reaffirm what they already believe. 

Even though wrestling-style politics clearly works as ritual, that doesn’t mean it builds real community. Trump’s politics fit this on the surface, with rallies, slogans, and constant media attention that keep supporters emotionally invested. In The Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, her idea of sintering shows why this kind of ritual eventually falls apart. Sintering is about slow bonding that creates strength and durability, like snowflakes forming a snowpack. The article also adds this to corporate stories like Frito-Lay’s Richard Montañez myth, which sells an uplifting fantasy while protecting corporate power. These performances only work as long as people’s lived reality doesn’t push back. When everyday life becomes too hard, the spectacle stops working because ritual without real connection cannot last.