This Nike commercial that former Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player (now on the Miami Heat) sparked heated controversy when first released. And every time I see this commercial, I realize how much it reflects our culture. LeBron James became a free agent last year, and his "decision" of which team he was going to be on turned into a national press conference. Although this commercial was geared towards the Nike slogan "Just Do It", after watching this commercial I realized that with easier communication and the press and biased news channels, in the big world you have to watch your every step.
LeBron James grew up looking up to Michael Jordan, and now he IS the Michael Jordan. The only difference is, every step LeBron makes has 10 times as much weight as when Michael Jordan played basketball. I'm positive that LeBron James loves the game of basketball, and would like nothing more than to be able to play competitive basketball without any other worries. But with fame and fortune comes a whole lot of other 'luggage' to carry. People expect so much from him. Every slight mistake made is blown up by the press. And in this commercial, LeBron addresses all his fan's concerns. No matter what decision he made, he would've received criticism from the opposing side.
I think that this commercial matters to others because it finally opened people's eyes to the difficulties LeBron has to face. It's not as easy as every one may make it out to be. This matters to me because I've decided that I am no longer going to let others influence my actions if their influences are driving me away from what I love most. Sometimes it's about what you really care for, and not what you're supposed to care for. This commercial, on multiple levels, reflects modern society and the development of the media.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. There are always going to people who are going to be against what you do and trying to knock you down. But we have "rise" up against all that and do what we are determined to do. But why do you think people are just waiting for a mistake of a star so that they can pounce on it? Why do stars have to maintain a certain picture and any change in color results in instant criticism? Why does our society act so? But even if society wants to act this way, doesn't mean we have to. I am glad you have discovered this and have chosen to rise up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYour claim here that everything is more magnified today in media that it was when Michael Jordan was playing is absolutely correct. Lebron James is a great example of this. I happen to disagree slightly as I do not have to same amount of sympathy for Lebron. I do believe that things have changed since Michael Jordan was playing, but I think that Lebron should realize who he is. When I say realize who he is, he needs to understand that each and every one of his moves will be scrutinized. He is the best basketball player on the planet, and lives a very high profile life. He really should be smarter than he that. I do understand that he is young, but he has public relations people that walk him through every situation. Either he did not listen to their advice or they gave him bad advice because he handled the situation poorly. When reading your post, my thoughts went straight to Tiger Woods. Lebron and Tiger are both portrayed as similar characters in the world of sports media today due to both of their individual problems. I feel that your claim is supported so well by Tiger Woods that it was the first thought in my mind. We all know about Tiger Wood's infidelities and how that has changed the public's view of him. Michael Jordan's sexual transgressions were well documented as well, yet everybody still loves him. It was only about 7 years ago that he stopped playing, and the difference between him and Tiger is enormous. Michael's image did not skip a beat, and it seems like Tiger's is gone. That is just another example of what you are saying. Great insight Rohan!
ReplyDelete