“The cumulative effect of the world's fair displays of the 1930s was to protect and bolster American consumer culture in the wake of the Depression.” (J Corn 1986)
Much like the Rugby World cup in New Zealand, with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, the New Zealand government has created a 'symbolic universe' which not only lulls New Zealand society into a false sense of security that everything will be okay, but also projects an image to rest of the world as to how New Zealand is coping and moving on from this tragedy.
This symbolic universe is shown in the strong Rugby World cup campaign, on the official RWC website (http://www.rugbyworldcup.com) you can find that there are ridiculously strict controls over who can officially market the RWC and anything associated with it, regulated so that the organisers only show exactly what they want to, projecting this idealistic view of New Zealand to the rest of the world. The facebook group 'The International Tournament of the odd-shaped ball' (http://www.facebook.com/oddshapedball) is a group representative of those not allowed to promote games.
Everyday we are plagued with a mass of sporting coverage, feeling more desperately worried for Dan Carter's groin injury than for the Nations actual problems of debt crisis' etc. The media's job is to cover up the real issues and ply us with things that don't really matter, because, in the end we may lose or win the world cup, but when it's all over, how do we feel as a Nation, and what will they then use to bolster our spirits?
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