be arranged according to the mutual relationship of men or groups of men ” (“ Last Stage : Oedipus ” 25 ). What social gesture is Colter performing ? Why is it crucial that his performance be authorized by groups of society ? Colter ’ s character signifies an older generation , a Vietnam war veteran , someone who has earned the right to defend his country . Also , as we already discussed , his catch phrase , “ my name is Zeb Colter , and I approve this message ” ( Stan ) can be seen as a performed behavior of political candidates . His performance as an authorized social actor is important because if he wasn ’ t qualified , his political rhetoric could be interpreted as the ramblings of a delusional nutcase and simply written off . In this sense , I think the WWE rightly legitimizes Zeb Colter enough that it forces the audience to take a more critical standpoint to his positions . Rather than delegitimize Zeb Colter the individual , the storyline works to delegitimize the social conditions of xenophobia and anti-immigration rhetoric that are embedded in Colter ’ s character . Zeb Colter ’ s character is a performance of right-wing anti-immigration ideology , and his “ utterances are verbal performances that take place in highly codified conventions ; their power stems from the legitimacy invested in authorized social actors ( priests , judges , presidents , etc .) rather than in individuals ” ( Taylor 1417 ). This functions very much like Brechtian epic theatre , in that it asks the audience by way of absurd representations to ( re ) consider something that the spectator has become familiar with , in the case of The Real Americans and Los Matadores , the objectification of Latino culture . If the purpose of professional wrestling is to evoke a reaction from the crowd , then in this way , the audience takes on a participatory role in the spectacle of professional wrestling , allowing the spectator “ to criticize
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