Rodeo By Jane Martin example essay topic

In the opening scene of Jane Martin's "Rodeo", there are many stereotypical props used to portray the beer-drinking, hard-working, cowboy image with the characteristic country music playing as an added touch. Most people are familiar with this type of scene in their minds, with a man as the character, but not this time - we find a tough, smart, opinionated woman with a distinctively country name of Lur lene, and the typical cowboy kind of nickname, Big Eight. The reader will dive deeper into the true character of this unusual woman and realize that she is no different from the average woman in today's workforce. She is feeling the frustration of discrimination and the push out of the only lifestyle that she knows, by "Them" (1667). Over the last several years, it has become undeniable that any kind of sport can, and will, be sensationalized and commercialized by the people from the great companies like "Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Marlboro" (1667). These companies have hundreds of thousands of dollars budgeted each year to pour into sports in the form of sponsorships, advertising, etc.

Once the sponsorships are introduced into a sport, it is exactly the kind of thing that will push an athlete out of competition. An athlete will find himself in a "make-it or break-it" situation. If an athlete receives a sponsorship, then the money is free flowing for equipment, testing, training, etc - anything that the athlete wants or needs to aid in putting himself in a winning position so that the sponsoring company can recoup its investment. Without sponsorship, it is a near hopeless situation for the athlete.

The more a sport becomes commercialized, the higher the cost of participating for the athlete. One example would be that there are entry fees established to help raise monies that will be awarded to the winner and the sponsoring company. Unfortunately, for the athlete, once "they" start investing money into the sport, "they" also begin to place constraints and regulations that all athletes must follow. Some may seem as ridiculous as wearing regulation clothes that some would feel as though they looked "like Minnie damn Mouse in a tu-tu" (1667) rather than a serious competitor. More often than not, the changes seem extreme and one may wonder what could be waiting around the next corner; "it won't be long before they " re strap pin' ice-skates on the ponies" (1667). Big Eight finds herself having a hard time adjusting to the changes employed.

Although she is not adapting well to the arrival of the sponsors, she is most uncomfortable with the dress code changes. She does not feel as though dressing the women up in fancy outfits will increase the capacity of the audiences when the rodeo is only supposed to be about the rides. She believes that it does not matter what you wear, but instead, how you ride. She is noticing that the "big crowds" (1667) are mostly city people in "designer jeans and day-go Stetsons", (1667) there "ain't hardly no ranch people, no farm people" (1667) any more. As "they" came into the sport and took over, it was comparable to a small company bought out by a larger company.

Once the changes are made, you can adapt to the changes or you can find something else to do. There are no exceptions. This is how Corporate America works. It is interesting to hear a first hand account from someone whose life was found "unsuitable" (1668) by this kind of take-over.

It was the most interesting to hear that even though she was blatantly pushed out of a job that she loved, she "could come to his rodeo an time" she wanted. That was her so-called severance pay. It is discrimination at its finest. There are some people in the corporate world who feel as though they always know the best way to attract consumers, or in this case, audiences.

It may be with costumes or sideshows or maybe even with merchandise. In this case, they combined the costumes and sideshow to attract families with children and adults with a light-hearted sense of humor. "They" dressed the clowns "in space suits" and had them "tell in' jokes on a microphone" (1668). When someone finds something that they enjoy and someone else comes along and takes that fun to make money, there will always be someone who loses.

It is never the win-win situation that "they" tell you that you can expect. When enough people have lost, it is no longer fun. "They" suck the fun right out of it and those who do not like it, will be replaced with someone else who will like it and who will play by the new rules without complaint. It is a shame that the corporate world revolves around this kind of discrimination and harassment, but it does, and the worst part is that it is accepted. The little person will never be able to change that.