Bump,Set, Spike: An Analysis of Commentary and Camera Angles of Women's Beach Volleyball During the 2004 Summer Olympics

SUMMARY

Content analysis was employed to examine the commentary and camera angles of six beach volleyball games from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Based on previous research in the area of gender and sport commentary, and based on pre-coverage of the Olympics, it was expected that a high level of sexualized talk and concentration on the athletes' body parts would be prevalent. While sexuality and sex difference were not found in audio coverage of the games, they were highly evident in the video coverage of the games. More than 20% of the camera shots were found to be tight shots of the players' chests and just over 17% of the shots were coded as buttock shots, which, it is argued, leaves viewers with lasting memories of players' bodies rather than of memories of athleticism. Such analysis of the visual coverage of the games confirms that sex and sexuality were used to not only promote the athletes but to sell the sport to viewers around the world.