The civilising mission of hollywood sports films, 1920s–2020s: discipline, performance, identity and nation

This paper argues that Hollywood sport films function as a modern civilising mission: popular entertainments that naturalise American ideals domestically and project them internationally. It traces how narratives of individualism, masculinity, meritocracy, racial reconciliation, and national belonging are staged as feel-good myths that often obscure structural inequality. Grounded in poststructuralist critique, the analysis reads the sport body as a site of discipline and surveillance and of gendered performativity (Butler), showing how ‘equal playing field’ fantasies align with neoliberal logics of self-making and market rationality. Organised chronologically, the chapter maps shifts from early codifications of the virtuous hero and sentimental uplift, through later revisions that foreground labour, class, and violence, to contemporary iterations shaped by diversification, global circulation, and datafication. Drawing on industry histories and macro-level content analyses, it demonstrates how recurring tropes—underdogs, redemptive victory, inspirational coaching, and team cohesion perform ideological ‘repair’, inviting audiences to experience social harmony while delimiting who counts and on what terms.