The Passion of Tiger Woods

The book's title alludes to the theatrical reenactments of Christ's suffering performed at Easter during the middle ages, or at least to Mel Gibson's big-screen rendition thereof. Starn interprets Tigergate as an early 21st-century version of the scapegoating rituals analyzed by Rene Girard. From what I recall of Girardian theory, the reconsolidation of social order involves the scapegoat being slaughtered, rather than paying alimony, though in some cases that may be too fine a distinction. The scandal was certainly louder and more frenetic than the game that Woods seems have been destined to master. Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed Starn's Passlon seeks to cover numerous issues, extending beyond Woods to celebrity culture in general: why do we care so much about hat they earn, what they do, with whom, and how often?... It's a fascinating and thought-provoking look at how society gets its information and, often immediatel! hands down its judgments. Ron Kaplan, ForWord, Spring 2012 Orin Starn's excellent examination of Tiger Woods offers deep insight, original thinking, and valuable new perspectives. This book tells us a lot about Tiger, but even more about ourselves. Jaime Diaz, senior writer, Golf Digest The next time someone asks me about anthropology's value to contemporary cultural debates, I'll just tell them to read Orin Starn's The Passion of Tiger Woods, a funny, engaging, readable, and unapologetically anthropological take on celebrity scandal, popular culture, and American sports. From playful musings on a potentially recessive 'golf gene' to critiques of (wildly popular!) speculative genetic theories about black athleticism, Starn takes us on an entertaining ride through the history of golf, the rise of its current superstar, and the media maelstrom of racial and sexual imagery that followed from a relatively minor car crash in Florida one fateful Thanksgiving night. I'm one of those people who was tired of hearing about Tigergate almost as soon as the story first broke, but Starn does a convincing job of showing me why I should have been listening and watching even more closely. John L. Jackson, Jr., author of Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness ...this short book is a sophisticated, valuable effort to tease out the cultural and political meaning of the response to Tiger's fall from grace ... Mindful that anonymous Internet postings are unreliable, and that the sheer volume of material precludes any tidy categorization, Starn proceeds with due caution. Still, by including so much raw material, he convincingly demonstrates the limitations of the mainstream media in dealing with a phenomenon like Tigergate. Stephen Goodwin, Washington Independent Review of Books, April 2012