Although we are all enjoying ourselves thoroughly with the Football World Cup Brasil 2014, I find myself in the middle of an amazing online course on Coursera.org called The Olympics and The Media. Here's a short essay I recently wrote about the factors that made the Modern Olympics a worldwide success:
Zeitgeist can be understood as the general intellectual, moral and cultural climate of an era (Merriam-Webster Online), the spirit of age and time that affects the way creations come together. The Modern Olympic Games needed various factors to fall into place for it to become a reality. Changes in modern society seen towards the end of the XIX century contributed and made the Modern Olympic Games become what they are today. Here are the important factors that helped with its success.
Zeitgeist can be understood as the general intellectual, moral and cultural climate of an era (Merriam-Webster Online), the spirit of age and time that affects the way creations come together. The Modern Olympic Games needed various factors to fall into place for it to become a reality. Changes in modern society seen towards the end of the XIX century contributed and made the Modern Olympic Games become what they are today. Here are the important factors that helped with its success.
Firstly, the world was becoming a more
globalized place due to new means of transportation. Trains and faster
steamboats meant that communication between two points was easier and swifter.
Secondly, a growing interest in
international expos, the three most important ones held in Paris towards the
end of the XIX century, brought information about science, electricity and transportation
to many people.
Thirdly, there is an intellectual link
between Deep Psychology (Freud wrote “The Interpretation of Dreams” in July
1895) and The Olympics, they both a combine the scientific approach of
enlightenment and presence in their imagery of myths, religion, sacred
traditions and rituals. Psychology uses these to study the unconscious and the
Olympics to acquire transcendence, entity and spirit.
Finally, in terms of communication there were two fundamental innovations, the invention of the Cinematograph by the Lumiere brothers which was a very important in wide-spreading global sport, and the telecommunication systems. The first telephone call was made in 1887 and was to become a cultural milestone.
If these changes hadn't happened we may not
have had the chance to watch this amazing spectacle every two years, with the
Summer and Winter Games alternating. Fortunately, for all sport-lovers, these
changes occurred at the right place and at the right time.
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