Bodybuilding is a foreign subject to me, a person who doesn't even workout regularly. True, as Acker stated, I've always stereotyped the bodybuilder to be unintelligent. But Acker, in her essay, laid out the underlying world of a bodybuilder one by one. Though I didn't quite understand why she kept bringing up Canetti, I understood that bodybuilding had a rhythm of sort, a language, if put elaborately. To be honest, I've never experienced it, so I can't quite believe her. I do know that there is a mind state, or a "zone", that happens when you push your body over the limit and concentrate completely, yet aloofly, on the physical task at hand. The athlete's mindset is very interesting. I would have liked to know more about her experience rather than complicated descriptions and paraphrases of others in her essay though.
Body builders being unintelligent is a common stereotype, but Ackers' essay provides a very insightful view into their world and I really enjoyed reading about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that bodybuilders being unintelligent is a stereotype but I think that Acker does a good job of making us think otherwise.
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