It may have caught your attention that I often refer to Marion as a HERO or SUPER HERO!!!
The H-word has been part of my reportoire of Mariolatry for ages, lol.. Certainly before the WTA 'Looking For A Hero' campaign came into being - This is a campaign aimed at promoting the 2008 year ending championships in Doha. You can see the clips at On The Baseline: http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/06/18/sony-ericsson-wta-tour-unveils-new-looking-for-a-hero-tennis-tv-commercials/
The fact that my hero predates their hero, means nothing in itself, except to cause enquiring minds to wonder why Marion wasnt one of the players featured in the full one minute long film. After all, She played at last years championships in Madrid.
I think the film, with it''s Mondrian-like transitions and 60's James Bond chic, would have been a more than apt platform to parade the charms of Bondgirl Bartoli! Regrettably the powers that be opted for those blonde top 20 honey trappers instead.
Oh, and one of the Chinese girls is in there for good measure, no doubt to appeal to the new the Chinese 'growth market'. However the Chinese player in question is not Li Na as you might expect, a player who has at least got a top 30 portfolio. No, its Yan Zi instead. Why?
Other than this I can say that I like the way the film has been done.. despite the music and narration.
The film thankfully doesnt go overboard on the sex-sells leit motif.
It's progress when women are considered equally credible as athletes and sporting role-models as sportsmen already are. I think this promo film at least takes a nano step towards achieving that aim. It is also a sign of progress when society doesnt stereotype all fans of womens sport as being lesbians or gayboys. Is it so impossible to concieve of heterosexual males being interested in womens sport for purely sporting reasons? If this IS at all possible then womens tennis is at the vangaurd of social change in sport.
Admittedly, the sexy or romantic stuff may be a factor of what drives some fans, Im not naive, nor am I gonna inadvertantly make myself a liar *blush*. But these things should be secondary, not a crude advertising axis for the suits to keep ratings up..
To be fair, I think the Looking For A Hero film pitches the WTA product tastefully between the posts of women as athletes, and women as women.
There's a little bit of male gladitorial irony thrown into the poster strapline too.
I prefer the gender-neutral and gender-equal term Hero, to that of Heroine. Heroine is too male construct for my armchair feminist instincts. However I wouldnt go as far to say that the word heroine offends me. After all, Marion in her more modest moments could easily turn round and say she finds both hero and heroine perfectly acceptable as long as they are not applied to her! So that would be me told. lol
Lastly, nothing in tennis in my living memory epitomised the heroic more than what Marion did at Wimbledon last year. That wasnt celluloid fiction. That was the real deal. She kept her center-court inspiration within eye-shot, and she went for it. Atlas shrugged.
Looking for a hero? I already found her.
