The Critical Practitioner

Week 1 - Dressed to Kill

Lecture notes

This is a reversible puffer coat. Besides the colour, the materials used for both sides are not the same, with the yellow side being made fully from polyester and the blue side mostly consists of down. Insulation-wise, down is better because it naturally traps the air within it, but this function is hindered when wet. Whereas polyester can still insulate the body in wet weather.

It also dries faster and is more durable than down, as it is heavier and bulkier. This is interesting as making a reversible coat out of these two materials leaves the wearer with more flexibility as it becomes a two-in-one deal. The wearer does not have to worry about choosing between a warm winter coat and a lightweight raincoat.

With that said, I have worn this coat for around four years (although my uncle owned it for a while before I did), and it may be convenient, but I do sometimes choose a light rain poncho when possible as I dislike how bulky it feels around my arms. The tag inside the pocket says ‘enjoy the softness and lightness that [wraps around] your body’. This is a promise well-kept.

A rare, but fun addition to this coat would be the fact that it can be zipped all the way up to the top of the hood. This is beneficial to the maintenance of the wearer’s body temperature, as it keeps the entire head warm. I believe this would only be effective if one were to sleep in the coat, since having the hood zipped would obscure the wearer’s vision. To allow this feature to be fully functional, transparent and flexible plastic pieces – potentially shaped like goggles – could be included inside the hood.

Week 2 - The Image of Passion

Lecture notes

The World of Wrestling from Mythologies by Roland Barthes

'All-in wrestling is...the spectacle of excess' - Barthes sees this as positive
The light in the wrestling rings makes it all the more dramatic ('a light without shadow generates an emotion without reserve'
Not a sport, but a spectacle - a performance. It should not be treated differently to Greek tragedy plays.
Barthes compares wrestling to many different types of respected shows
The public does not care whether it is a real fight or not, its value lies in the entertainment
The audience is here to see the 'transient image of certain passions' - the development of the fight (who will win?) is inconsequential
Boxing vs wrestling - cheering for the victor vs cheering for the event/moment
Wrestler's role - to go through the expected motions
Judo is subtle in its expression; wrestling is excessive gestures
'One is not ashamed of one's suffering' - every emotion is expressed wholly, in order for the public to understand the scene instantly
The roles in the ring are clear-cut e.g. ugliness = baseness for Thauvin
The presentation and first impression of the wrestler will inform you what to expect during the match ('contains the whole fight')
Shows an entire cycle of life with all of the strong signs throughout each match. At that point, the authenticity of the passion no longer matters, because the public wants 'the image of passion, not passion itself'
This component is not unique to wrestling
'More efficient than the dramatic pantomime'
'Wrestling fans certainly experience a kind of intellectual pleasure in seeing the moral mechanism function so perfectly' - it must the kind of satisfaction that never gets old
Suffering -> defeat -> justice
'Exhibition of Suffering'. The suffering must have a purpose, otherwise it could not be enjoyed
It is only the image of suffering and the spectator does not wish for actual suffering of the wrestler involved - 'an intelligible spectacle' rather than a 'sadistic spectacle'
Defeat is not an outcome. It is a display.
Wrestling = justice, the pattern of justice, a moral beauty
Fairness is a role/genre. Politeness vs fairness
It requires the 'orgy of evil' to be good entertainment
No abrupt endings like boxing and judo
American wrestling - Good vs Evil, but 'the process of creating heroes in French wrestling is...based on ethics and not on politics'
It leaves nothing open to interpretation, these clear signs are performed perfectly by the wrestlers. It is a pure presentation of justice, cleanly expressed for everyone to know and enjoy