Further Reading
Ball, Michael R.Professional Wrestling as Ritual Drama
in American Popular Culture. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin
Mellen Press, 1990. Investigates professional wres-
tling from a sociological perspective as a reflec-
tion of working-class values.
Beekman, Scott M.Ringside: A Histor y of Professional
Wrestling in America.Westport, Conn.: Praeger,
- Examines the disreputable reputation of
professional wrestling compared to other sports.
Guttman, James.World Wrestling Insanity: The Decline
and Fall of a Family Empire.Toronto: ECW Press, - Provides an exposé of the McMahon mo-
nopoly on professional wrestling and examines is-
sues such as racism, creativity, and manipulation
of the industry.
Hackett, Thomas.Slaphappy: Pride, Prejudice, and Pro-
fessional Wrestling.New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Uses interviews with wrestlers, promoters, and
fans to investigate a range of issues surrounding
professional wrestling, including fame, masculin-
ity, violence, performance, and play.
Mazer, Sharon.Professional Wrestling: Sport and Specta-
cle. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998.
Examines how professional wrestling perfor-
mances are constructed and promoted and how
fans deal with the artificial nature of the sport.
Soulliere, Dannelle M. “Wrestling with Masculinity:
Wrestling with Images of Manhood in the WWE.”
Sex Roles55 (July, 2006): 1-11. Study examining
messages about manhood presented in profes-
sional wrestling.
Tamborini, Ron, et al. “The Raw Nature of Televised
Professional Wrestling: Is the Violence a Cause
for Concern?”Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic
Media49, no. 2 (2005): 202-220. Study linking
physical violence portrayed on professional wres-
tling with harm to viewers.
Cher yl Pawlowski
See also Action films; Advertising; Cable televi-
sion; Children’s television; Lauper, Cyndi; Martial
arts; Mr. T; MTV; Sports; Television.
Wright, Jim
Identification Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, 1987-1989
Born December 22, 1922; Fort Worth, Texas
Wright’s rise and fall from power reflected the battles taking
place between liberals and conservatives in American poli-
tics during the Reagan years.
As the 1980’s began, Democrat Jim Wright of Texas
was one of the most powerful members of the U.S.
House of Representatives. First elected in 1954, he
had attained the position of House majority leader
by 1976. His ascent to power continued as the de-
cade progressed, and in January of 1987 he was
elected House Speaker following the retirement of
Democrat Tip O’Neill.
Wright’s political philosophy was shaped by the
New Deal and Great Society eras and thus stood in
direct opposition to President Ronald Reagan’s phi-
losophy of lower taxes and smaller government. As
Speaker, Wright sought to expand the position’s role
and to give it a stronger voice in the creation of na-
tional policy as a means of offering opposition to the
president. When Reagan blocked Wright’s domestic
policy efforts by refusing to raise taxes and by blam-
ing soaring budget deficits on the Democrats, Wright
attempted to challenge the president in the area of
foreign policy, notably the Iran-Contra affair. Wright
justified this foray into foreign policy on the grounds
that he, as Speaker of the House, represented the
American people as much as the president did. In
addition to his battles with the president and House
Republicans, Wright ruled his own party with an
iron hand, insisting on absolute loyalty and exercis-
ing strict discipline among his fellow Democrats.
To counter Wright’s growing power, and reflect-
ing the growing conflict between liberal and conser-
vative forces within U.S. politics at the time, Republi-
can congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia set out
on a personal mission to remove Wright from office.
Following in the pattern of Democratic attacks on
prominent Republican appointees and officehold-
ers such as Robert H. Bork and Attorney General
Edwin Meese III, Gingrich sought to expose ques-
tionable financial dealings and ethics violations by
Wright. The most prominent of these violations in-
volved sales to lobbyists of a self-published autobiog-
raphy,Reflections of a Public Man, and a job and other
perquisites received by his wife. In the end, none ofThe Eighties in America Wright, Jim 1067