Sports, Celebrity, and the Sports Biopici

The biopic is integral to the sportsculture industry, and to celebrity cultures. It documents lives, and draws attention to the processes through which lives become spectacles and aspirational models for a country. This essay merges two domains of analysis: the sports celebrity and the biopic. It examines M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (MSD 2016), Sachin: A Billion Dreams (S 2016) and the older Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB 2013) Pramod K Nayar describes the fashioning of the celebrity through the cinematic medium, unpacks the factors that make a sports celebrity worthy of a biopic and thereby expanding his/her marketability. Sports celebrities and cultures may once have been local, but today the very articulation of national pride demands the cooperation of global media forces and personalities. The transnationalization of local/regional/national celebrities enhances their local values, and implies a two-way process between the national and the global.

RETHINKING THE LEADERS EFFECT: PERSONAL AND NATIONAL APPEAL OF MODI-ELECTION 2019

The 2019 General Election was a landmark victory for BJP and for Narendra Modi in particular. One major factor that led to the historic landslide victory for BJP was brand Modi himself. The brand Modi was carefully weaved by the BJP and their digital media team, around his very successful and an aggressive foreign policy building a sense of National Pride for Indians . The Brand Modi was also built around the Man Ki baat and his image of an incorruptible man. His digital team was so powerful during the 2019 elections that even the Macro economic issues took a back seat. More than anything else a very strong factor that contributed to the landslide victory of Modi led BJP in 2019 was a weak coalition of the opposition and lack of a strong leader that people could look up to as an alternative to Narendra Modi.

University Spaces as Agents of National Belonging: Analysing the Visual Culture of Public Universities’ Campuses in India and Pakistan

This article discusses the role of ‘space’ in Indian and Pakistani public sector universities in fostering national pride. University spaces have been highlighted, in both countries, for being used by the governments as agents fostering the national narrative yet there is limited research on how these spaces contribute to the visual culture of educational institutions and in the inculcation of nationalistic values. This article adds to the conversations regarding the fostering of national belonging and pride in universities by exploring space as a constitutive element of the visual culture of the higher education environment in India and Pakistan. In both countries, the physical spaces of public universities have become platforms for channelling student voices. This research uses two state-funded universities, from Delhi (in India) and Lahore (in Pakistan), and Lefebvre’s conception of space to conduct a discourse analysis of bulletin boards, graffiti, statues, sculptures, and any other imagery found online pertaining to the campuses and analyse how it is a ‘conceived’ and ‘perceived’ aspect of the visual culture of the universities. It adds to current scholarly conversations on national pride and consciousness in India and Pakistan by showing how university spaces can potentially play an active role in promoting the state’s narrative in students’ or educators’ everyday educational experiences.

“Don't tell me that I don't exist”:

This article discusses the ways national identity is constructed and practiced in North Macedonia. Based on data collected in 2015 during fieldwork in the Macedonian city of Bitola, and, especially, in the village of Trnovo and the city of Ohrid, the article explains how various notions of Macedonianness are constructed and politicized.To do this, several analytical prisms characteristic to the field of nationalism studies are used. The Macedonians' need for having their constructed identity recognized has its roots in Macedonia's turbulent national and international political environment. Even so, the evidence collected in the interviews with local informants will highlight how Macedonianness is often practiced by marking the rejection of other national identifications. In particular, the article demonstrates how the idea of antique national roots marks an attempt to re-use available historical materials on two different levels: to boost national pride and to legitimize political claims made by some Macedonian politicians.

Dualistic Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Intention among University Students in China: From Perceived Personal Benefits to External Reasons of Perceived Social Benefits, Collectivism, and National Pride

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy is prevalent, and relatively few studies have explored how variables related to personal and external motives have affected the intention to vaccinate. The present study investigated the association between perceived personal benefits, variables reflecting external motives (i.e., perceived social benefits, collectivism, and national pride) and intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination among university students in China. The interaction between perceived personal benefits and the three factors reflecting external motives on intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination was also examined. A total of 6922 university students from five provinces of China completed a cross-sectional survey. Results showed that adjusting for significant background variables, perceived personal benefits, perceived social benefits, collectivism, and national pride were all significant factors of intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination. Results from interaction analyses also showed that the association between perceived personal benefits and COVID-19 vaccination intention was stronger among those with lower levels of national pride. Findings highlighted the important role of self-directed interest and external motives in promoting uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.

A Multi-Level Research Framework for the Analyses of Attitudes Toward Immigrants

<p>Contemporary research on acculturation tended to focus on the sojourners' or immigrants' perspectives on adaptation. The current dissertation however, centers on recipient nationals' attitudes toward immigrants and perceptions of multiculturalism. Three distinctive frameworks to study host nationals' perceptions are adopted; they include: (1) intergroup relations, (2) individual differences, and (3) cultural differences. Five separate studies were done based on the three frameworks using attitudes toward Chinese immigrants as the dependent measure in all except the final study. Based on the intergroup framework, Study 1 and 2 examined the influence of intergroup contact, national pride, perceived permeability, fairness, threat and host community acculturation strategies. Results showed that decreased contact and increased threat predicted less favorable perception towards immigrants (Study 1); respondents who espoused a need for immigrant assimilation and exclusionism, and those who adopted a less individualistic perception towards migration tended to express a more negative attitude (Study 2). Based on an individual differences framework, Study 3 and 4 examined the influence of social dominance orientation, self-esteem, individualism-collectivism, national pride and personal values. Increased self-esteem and collectivism predicted more favorable attitudes toward immigrants, and increased social dominance orientation predicted less favourable perceptions among host nationals who rated high on individualism (Study 3); respondents who placed greater emphases on security and achievement motivation have expressed more negative attitudes, but endorsement of stimulation value predicted more favourable perceptions (Study 4). In the final study, cultural differences were adopted as correlates of attitudes. Secondary data from the Eurobarometer (2000) and Schwartz's and Hofstede's typologies of cultural differences were used. Based on Schwartz's model, increased mastery was associated with less multicultural optimism; increased egalitarian commitment was linked to lesser support for policies that promote co-existence; and increased harmony was related to less demand for cultural assimilation. Based on Hofstede's model, increased masculinity was associated with less multicultural optimism and lower demand for cultural assimilation; and increased uncertainty avoidance was related to decreased multicultural optimism. Overall, two broad dimensions of acculturation experience have emerged from the research, first one is based on an 'invasion' perspective and the second one reflects an 'enrichment' experience.</p>

A Multi-Level Research Framework for the Analyses of Attitudes Toward Immigrants

<p>Contemporary research on acculturation tended to focus on the sojourners' or immigrants' perspectives on adaptation. The current dissertation however, centers on recipient nationals' attitudes toward immigrants and perceptions of multiculturalism. Three distinctive frameworks to study host nationals' perceptions are adopted; they include: (1) intergroup relations, (2) individual differences, and (3) cultural differences. Five separate studies were done based on the three frameworks using attitudes toward Chinese immigrants as the dependent measure in all except the final study. Based on the intergroup framework, Study 1 and 2 examined the influence of intergroup contact, national pride, perceived permeability, fairness, threat and host community acculturation strategies. Results showed that decreased contact and increased threat predicted less favorable perception towards immigrants (Study 1); respondents who espoused a need for immigrant assimilation and exclusionism, and those who adopted a less individualistic perception towards migration tended to express a more negative attitude (Study 2). Based on an individual differences framework, Study 3 and 4 examined the influence of social dominance orientation, self-esteem, individualism-collectivism, national pride and personal values. Increased self-esteem and collectivism predicted more favorable attitudes toward immigrants, and increased social dominance orientation predicted less favourable perceptions among host nationals who rated high on individualism (Study 3); respondents who placed greater emphases on security and achievement motivation have expressed more negative attitudes, but endorsement of stimulation value predicted more favourable perceptions (Study 4). In the final study, cultural differences were adopted as correlates of attitudes. Secondary data from the Eurobarometer (2000) and Schwartz's and Hofstede's typologies of cultural differences were used. Based on Schwartz's model, increased mastery was associated with less multicultural optimism; increased egalitarian commitment was linked to lesser support for policies that promote co-existence; and increased harmony was related to less demand for cultural assimilation. Based on Hofstede's model, increased masculinity was associated with less multicultural optimism and lower demand for cultural assimilation; and increased uncertainty avoidance was related to decreased multicultural optimism. Overall, two broad dimensions of acculturation experience have emerged from the research, first one is based on an 'invasion' perspective and the second one reflects an 'enrichment' experience.</p>

'When you score you're English, when you miss you're Black': Euro 2020 and the racial politics of a penalty shoot-out

Through an analysis of the fortunes of the England national football team in the Euro 2020 tournament, this article offers a critical assessment of the politics of race, nation and belonging in sport. While racist reactions to three Black players who missed penalties in the final revealed the contingent belonging of Black footballers within racially exclusive definitions of Englishness, the article argues that it also provided an opportunity for an alternative politics of national belonging to be expressed. This takes at least two significant forms: firstly, the political confidence with which Black players and their white allies are speaking out publicly against racism; secondly, the support and solidarity shown to Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho resulting in an English solidarity that is expressed through an avowed rejection of racism. The article concludes that a shared solidarity in sport maybe found, not in the arrogance of national pride or success, but rather, in how players, managers and fans conduct themselves in moments of failure.