Trumpamania
There was a lot in common between the Republican National Convention and a professional wrestling match — and it wasn't just because of the appearance of Hulk Hogan.
There’s a memorable anecdote in one 1997 profile of Donald Trump in The New Yorker where writer Mark Singer observes the future US president, aboard his personal aircraft, gleefully watching the seminal Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts action film Bloodsport.
Trump, who even then was well-attuned to simple, visceral messaging, had tasked one of his sons with fast-forwarding through the film’s dialogue and exposition scenes to get to the bloody violence, instructing the boy “to get this two-hour movie down to forty-five minutes”.
Bloodsport, for those unfamiliar with the eighties action movie oeuvre, had a far-reaching impact on contemporary US culture beyond the Trump family. It’s recognised as one of the major influences on mixed martial arts and served as a key reference point for the creators and early participants of MMA tournaments like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
So it all came full circle at the Republican National Convention this week, where Australian billionaire Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch and former Labor prime minister and current US ambassador Kevin Rudd were among those in attendance.
