Professor Corryn Smith

American Literature Block E

16 October 2017

“No, by the rood, not so.

You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife,

And—would it were not so!—you are my mother.” (Act 3 Scene 4)

The Decline of Greatness

As soon as the media revealed the nature of Tiger Wood’s affairs and cheating, the news spread like wildfire and became a headline for many days and even weeks all over the world. Woods has been known to be one of the preeminent and most admired athletes of the start of the 21st century and was indeed a symbol for the golfing community. In the article The Story Behind a fallen Legend by Biography.com, it is mentioned that his story is one of the most viewed headlines in all of sports history and impacted millions of Americans, as well  people from various other countries. Likewise in the classic play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, similar personal stories of tragedy are presented throughout the characters, but Gertrude is a one individual that shares many common aspects to Tiger Woods’s experience. Just like Woods, Gertrude was already in a position of power and would fall down the ladder of morality after lacking important family values. Both were memorable characters with achievements that influenced and inspired thousands; nevertheless, never will people erase the image brought upon them by  media and entertainment, which exploited the use of tragic elements of individuals to attract larger audiences. 

As a golfing virtuoso Woods was able to astonish large audiences due to his golfing since a young age, which led him to become a celebrity quickly.  Eldrick Tont Woods, born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, was the child of an African-American Army officer father and a Thai mother. Around the age of 8, his father noticed his great talent in Golf and started calling him “Tiger” like a fellow brave soldier that served with him. As he continued to demonstrate his skills, he started to become a world renowned young golfer. At the age of only eight, media began exposing his incredible skills to the world, “big shows like Good Morning America and The Mike Douglas took advantage of a prodigy and his cute appearance to make him a star ” (Biography.com,). His early rise to fame was due to the eagerness of how flashy and attractive his story was to audiences. As a young adult he won the U.S. Masters at Augusta in 1997 with a record score at age 21, making him the youngest man and the first African American to earn the title. This was a marking point in his career, as he got labeled as the best golfer in the world. Again, it was a huge opportunity for his abilities to become a tool for all media outlets to bring the most possible entertaining stories and indeed as The Daily Telegraph states in their article Tiger Woods won the Masters twenty years ago and changed the game of golf  “When Woods plays, everyone pays attention…  in 1997, you couldn’t take your eyes off him.” (Henderson, 2017). Through his life, Woods was always acclaimed and on the spotlight for his skills, but on 2009 everything changed as this worldwide known athlete, became the spotlight in many news headlines, due to his infidelity, leading his career as problematic as his own personal life. 

Tiger Woods was already a star to the American people as well he was the ideal icon to also become portrayed  an anti-hero during major a scandal.  When the world found out that Woods had cheated on his wife (whom he shared a daughter with) it proved that the“perfect” athlete and family men he was known for, had problems that were even more critical than a those of an “average” American. These news gave audiences a breaking and emotional story in which they could criticize and have the opportunity to stalk deep into the personal life of a person they look upon as a figure. Consequently media knew that they could easily harness this intrigue and tragic elements to create one of the biggest stories in sports history.  The article from U.S daily written by Timothy Lain called “Yes he Cheated!“ (U.S Daily, 2009) was enframed in the cover page of U.S daily magazine in big bold letters. Similarly many other magazines used same style strategies, that effectively created worldwide forum surrounding Woods scandal. Furthermore, it is a common human reaction to gain interest in the tragic background and stories of others, especially with famous individuals. This is due to the fact that many can find relief in their own personal issues knowing that there is other people with similar or even worse situations. Also stories like these have the power to undermine the authority and image of people regarded as superior, which can provide  comfort in our self-image.  Hence tragic stories give people the chance to forget about their issues and transfer their focus to the suffering of others. Therefore, there is no doubt that media knows how to exploit this and magnifies tragic content to increase the emotional connection to the story. 

Gertrude is one of the main characters in the classic play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, who presented similar flaws to  Tiger Woods; as both were consumed by their passions and impulsive actions, finally leading to their downfall.  Woods was considered a sex addict who had problems being faithful to his wife; and had affairs with dozens of women to please his carnal needs. Afterward he admitted that he knew that had been acting in a  impetuous manner and that there was no doubt that his moral conflict had a very negative impact on his professional and personal life. Comparably, Gertrude suffered from ethical conflict, where she could not decide either from following her moral values or continuing her mainly sexual centered relationship with the brother (the current king of Denmark) of her recently dead husband (the previous king). There are clear examples of her moral struggle especially during her conversation with Hamlet (her child) who is angered for her actions. In Act III Scene IV of the play, Hamlet finally expresses her feelings to her mother about her new relationship, and her mother's answers back saying that a black spot had emerged in soul after his comments. Shakespeare uses this metaphor to make the reader understand how deeply severe the impact Hamlet’s words had on Gertrude and also it portrays her confusion and insecurities as it makes her seem almost as a depressive and out her senses individual. It adds a completely dramatic and visual aspect to the play, which is something Shakespeare also aimed at to interest his audience like current media outlets. Conclusively this reveals the fact that both characters develop a questionable integrity all deriving from their similar impulsive actions that without a doubt led them to their tragic ends.

Media and entertainment has and will continue to encourage negative and tragic stories with the final goal of simply bringing in larger audiences.History has revealed that in reality stories surrounding others suffering are the ones that cause the biggest headlines and commotions around the world. Tiger Woods and Gertrude serve as paragon examples of how people are invested in others lives and that there is almost something relaxing in entertaining yourself in the hardship of others. 

Work Cited:

Winthrop , Scott L. “Tiger Woods Won the Masters Twenty Years Ago and Changed the Game of Golf.” The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, 31 Mar. 2017, www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/golf/tiger-woods-won-the-masters-twenty-years-ago-and-changed-the-game-of-golf/news-story/6e3dfb017ad8cc69c597c5d48e5da0f2.

Biography.com Editors. “Tiger Woods.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 21 June 2017, www.biography.com/people/tiger-woods-9536492