What is it about?
This article investigates the representation of professional riders in documentaries (mainly) dedicated to road racing or, more specifically, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. Special emphasis is put on the Spanish director Richard de Aragues’ documentary TT Closer to the Edge (2011). My analysis looks beyond the documentaries themselves to provide a contextual analysis which recognises a number of changing cultural conditions.
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Why is it important?
This piece of research is unusual insofar as it not only focuses on a sport and the structure of documentaries dedicated to motorcycle racing but interprets references to the masturbatory habits of one of the participants (Guy Martin) and puts them into the context of representations of sex and sexuality in documentaries, the sexualization of Western cultures, changing trends in what it is to be a celebrity and the shifting sensibilities of contemporary culture.
Perspectives
Motorcycle cultures have not been ignored in academic writing but there are relatively few studies which take into account road racing and the documentary tradition. This paper seeks to start a dialogue about a form of culture which is becoming ever more prevalent.
Dr David Walton
Universidad de Murcia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Closer to the (H)edge. Documentaries and the Isle of Man TT: From chronotopes and masturbation to celebrity culture, European Journal of Cultural Studies, May 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1367549415585552.
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