ABSTRACT
The term ‘postmodernism’ has gained currency over the last twenty years within discussion about culture. Within the arts and related areas from film to architecture, postmodernism is referred to as an artistic development that has superseded modernism. All areas of culture are assumedly impacted upon by this trend, which not only extends but also makes irrelevant distinctions between high and popular culture. If we do live within a postmodern culture, then how do we explain sport in relation to postmodernism? We address this question in this chapter looking critically at the postmodern characterisation of sport by some writers.While we accept that cultural life in Western societies has undergone significant changes, we do not accept that these changes are so profound as to speak of the arrival of postmodernity and the need for a radical means of analysis to explain the accompanying cultural changes and trends. Indeed, it is our contention that older forms of cultural analysis, adjusted to the times and phenomena at hand, provide a more reliable means of understanding what is going on in the realm of culture today.
