I, Tonya: Class Diversity and Cultivation Theory

I Tonya, is a move about a figure skater and the scandal that accompanied her in the 90's after she sabotaged another opponent in the olympics. While the film is an all white cast and lacks diversity in many other aspects, we do get a good picture on how class operates in rural neighborhoods in relation to the rest of America.



Tonya comes from a working class background and has a hard time competing with the aesthetics necessary to be a successful figure skater because of this. One judge even told her that she doesn't fit the picture of a girl that comes from a "wholesome domestic family". Here we see how hetero-patriarchy is being upheld because she doesn't look like your typical good American girl.

The judge later went on the say, "come on, your representing America for god's sake". Here we see how the judges are responsible for promoting cultivation theory. They didn't want Tonya to win although she did her performance well because she did not promote the image of America they wanted the world to see. Instead, she represented the working class rural America they were erying to hide