Editing Rodeo (section)

==In popular culture==
The largest state-of-the-art rodeos are professional, commercial athletic contests held in climate-controlled stadiums, with broadcasting by various television networks. Outside of the rodeo world itself, there is disagreement about exactly what rodeo is.  Professional competitors, for example, view rodeo as a sport and call themselves professional athletes while also using the title of cowboy. Fans view rodeo as a spectator sport with animals, having aspects of pageantry and theater unlike other professional sport.  Non-westerners view the spectacle as a quaint but exciting remnant of the [[Wild West]] while animal rights activists view rodeo as a cruel [[Roman circus]] spectacle, or an Americanized [[bullfight]].{{sfn|Allen|1998|p=17}}

Anthropologists studying the sport of rodeo and the culture surrounding it have commented that it is "a blend of both performance and contest", and that rodeo is far more expressive in blending both these aspects than attempting to stand alone on one or the other. Rodeo's performance level permits pageantry and ritual which serve to "revitalize the spirit of the Old West" while its contest level poses a man-animal opposition that articulates the transformation of nature and "dramatizes and perpetuates the conflict between the wild and the tame."<ref>[[#CITEREFLawrence1984|Lawrence]]: 271</ref> "On its deepest level, rodeo is essentially a ritual addressing itself to the dilemma of man's place in nature."<ref>[[#CITEREFLawrence1984|Lawrence]]: 270–271</ref>

Rodeo is a popular topic in country-western music such as the 1991 [[Garth Brooks]] hit single "[[Rodeo (Garth Brooks song)|Rodeo]]", and has also been featured in numerous movies, television programs and in literature. ''[[Rodeo (Copland)|Rodeo]]'' is a ballet score written by [[Aaron Copland]] in 1942, and choreographer [[Agnes de Mille]]'s ballet, ''[[Rodeo (ballet)|Rodeo]]'' was commissioned by the [[Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo]] in 1942 with the Copland score.{{sfn|Allen|1998|pp=175–176}} Country singer [[Chris Ledoux]] from [[Mississippi]] and Wyoming competed in bareback riding and wrote many songs based on his experiences. Rodeo has also been featured in a significant number of films, and some focus specifically on the sport, such as ''[[My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (film)|My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys]]'', ''[[8 Seconds]]'', ''[[Cowboy Up]]'', ''[[The Longest Ride (film)|The Longest Ride]]'', and ''[[The Rider (2017 film)|The Rider]]''.<!--don't add every movie with a rodeo to this list, only films specifically about rodeo itself-->