Unable to afford linoleum, my mom provided my sisters and me with flattened cardboard boxes to place upon the grass in our front yard so that we could practice breakdancing after we watched the 1984 film Breakin’. However, there was a catch.
“I don’t like how all these dance moves look like you’re fighting someone, so when you’re doing them pretend like you’re fighting the Devil,” my mom stated. This was a confusing message, being that my mom dabbled in black magic at the time and her craft wasn’t godly in nature.
In any case, I wasn’t much of a “breaker,” which was the gender-neutral term for b-boys and b-girls at the time. Breakdancing was one of the original five elements of hip hop subculture along with beatboxing, rapping, DJing, and graffiti.
The obese child that I was, I couldn’t compete with other breakers. Therefore, I abandoned practice of this hip hop element rather quickly and honed my skills as a beatboxer.
Nevertheless, I admired breakers and how they seemingly defied the laws of physic with the ways in which they contorted their bodies. As beatboxing eventually faded from popularity, so, too, did breakdancing for a while.
Although the original five elements of hip hop have been carefully maintained through the underground scene, I was surprised to learn of breakdancing reemergence and it even being featured in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. I remain conflicted regarding this element as a sport.
Breakdancing is a matter of personal expression, a way in which breakin’ crews of old resolved beef, and a matter of competition for artistic supremacy through dance. While there’s undeniably a competition element to it, I don’t agree with classifying breakers as athletes.
Nevertheless, in consideration of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and how not to self-disturb with rigid beliefs about matters with which I disagree, I don’t care enough about breakin’ being featured in the Olympics to upset myself with beliefs about the issue.
At any rate, I was intrigued to have witnessed a video of Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s breakdancing routine at the Olympics. According to one source, Raygun scored a zero for her routine and has been heavily criticized online and elsewhere for her performance.
In particular, one source states, “Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” and, “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
Raygun’s mimicry of kangaroo movements was in alignment with historical breakdancing persuasion. For instance, my mom criticized this hip hop element for its use of kung fu-inspired motions.
It was also Henan Shaolin kung fu that was said to have been influenced by animal styles. Therefore, Raygun’s use of animal movement patterns wasn’t atypical of martial artistry or breakdancing which was inspired by the same.
Moreover, I view Raygun’s courage as noteworthy. She danced on the world stage and represented hip hop in a shame attacking manner, irrespective of what those unfamiliar with breakin’ had to say about her routine. For this, I applaud her effort. Well done, Raygun!
Of course, the current blog entry isn’t meant to serve as a form of white-knighting whereby I ride in a rescue a damsel in distress. The fallible human being that Raygun is, just as I am, has provided scholastic commentary with which I utterly disagree. For instance, a portion of her Ph.D. thesis paper states:
This thesis critically interrogates how masculinist practices of breakdancing offers a site for the transgression of gendered norms. Drawing on my own experiences as a female within the male-dominated breakdancing scene in Sydney, first as a spectator, then as an active crew member, this thesis questions why so few female participants engage in this creative space, and how breakdancing might be the space to displace and deterritorialise gender.
Such feminism-inspired tripe is worth rejecting, in my opinion. Notably, Raygun received an opportunity to compete at the Olympics in what arguably isn’t a sport to begin with. One wonders if the victimhood narrative regarding “masculinist practices” is a valid argument.
Additionally, it remains to be seen as to whether or not Raygun will use ridicule of her kangaroo-spired breakin’ moves to give legitimacy to her feminist-influenced argument. In any instance, I’m glad that Raygun’s performance at the Olympics upheld hip hop subculture.
Perhaps more people will now participate in breakin’ and bring underground elements back into the mainstream. Even if such an action doesn’t occur, I remain grateful for old school hip hop heads that honor the elements of our subculture. Hop on, Raygun, you did your thing!
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost old school hip hop REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit, photographer: Ezra Shaw, property of Getty Image fair use
References:
Balogun, T. (2024, August 12). Olympic Games’ breaking head judge defends the ‘originality’ of Australian dancer Raygun amid online ridicule for her disastrous ‘kangaroo’ routine. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13734541/Olympic-Games-Raygun-kangaroo-routine.html
Calvario, L. (2024, August 9). Australian dancer ‘Raygun’ is going viral for her Olympic breaking performance. NBC Universal. Retrieved from https://www.today.com/news/paris-olympics/breakdancing-olympics-raygun-austrialia-rcna166016
Gunn, R. L. (2022, March 28). Deterritorializing gender in Sydney’s breakdancing scene: a b-girl’s experience of b-boying. Macquarie University. Retrieved from https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/Deterritorializing_gender_in_Sydney_s_breakdancing_scene_a_B-girl_s_experience_of_B-boying/19433291
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2024, May 11). Fallible human being. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fallible-human-being
Hollings, D. (2023, February 9). Feminism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feminism
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, January 4). Rigid vs. rigorous. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rigid-vs-rigorous
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2022, September 8). Shame attacking. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/shame-attacking
Hollings, D. (2022, November 25). Victimhood. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/victimhood
Hollings, D. (2024, April 24). What’s beef? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/what-s-beef
Hollings, D. (2024, April 23). White-knighting. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/white-knighting
Lewis, O. (2024, August 11). Raygun: Why Olympic Games star scored zero in Paris. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13733279/Why-Raygun-scored-ZERO-Olympic-Games.html
Olympics. (2024). Raygun - Breaking - Olympic Games Paris 2024 [Video]. Internet Archive. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/raygun_9now_webdl_anemonevods_202408
Shaw, E. (n.d.). Ezra Shaw [Official website]. Retrieved from https://www.ezrashaw.com/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Animal styles in Chinese martial arts. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_styles_in_Chinese_martial_arts
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Breakin’. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakin%27
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Rachel Gunn. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachael_Gunn
コメント