The world is watching: An analysis of the professional wrestling fandom in Bangladesh

Abstract

This thesis explored the professional wrestling fandom in Bangladesh to locate class divisions within the fandom that give birth to different subsets of fans known as smarks and marks. These fans and their experiences are shaped by their class and cultural capital, and they view wrestling in fundamentally different ways. Furthermore, in the current mediascape, characterized by convergence culture, the Bangladeshi middle-class fans gain access to wrestling fan spaces online, as well as access to specific wrestling discourses which further shapes how they engage with the wrestling industry. While access to these spaces has caused even greater fan divisions based on class, it has also allowed middle-class fans to become co-producers of official wrestling texts through constant engagement, negotiations, rejections, and alterations of official texts.