In New World Border, Gomez-Pena says Home is “‘here’ and ‘there,’” and as a result, is “nowhere” (5). Between the idea of Home and the idea of the Other is the “border zone,” which exists in many forms, not just the physical (5). He ends by saying he “finds new borders wherever [he goes]” (5).
I think about split-screening, where on home and national sports streams, broadcast screens will sometimes be divided half-and-half between the game and an advertisement. This occurs during some timeouts, as well as numerous mandated delay-of-games. Not only does a visible border– usually some line– appear, the actual content the screen shows is now divided between the heroic narrative of the athletic theater, and the consumerist push that underlies the entire event.
During NBA and NFL games, referees are not guaranteed to pause play whenever players are injured. So coaches call timeouts for players to be properly escorted off the field/court. Many times, this timeout triggers an uncomfortable sequence where players will be writhing around in pain, forced to share screetime with some advertisement. These split-screens are border zones— moments for juxtaposition, for stark separation, rendering through in-betweenness explicit images of consumerist spectacle and its dehumanization; the inhospitality of the CorporationName Stadiums that call themselves Home. I want to explore narrating this unique visual feature of the athletic world in my workshop piece, which might be difficult, as the piece is audio-based. Here is an attempt below:
A Split-Screen I Remember:
INT. STADIUM – NIGHT
The man grabs his knee and rolls along the turf, his teammates gathering around and the opposition standing a non-penalizable distance away. A timeout is called. His teammates form a half-circle around him; he is crying and they do not want it to be caught on camera. Slow-motion replays of his knee skidding, the tendon inside rope-burning before snapping.
ANNOUNCER
(A voice non-fairweathers know from his decades-long tenure at the team’s longest-standing radio station. Cigarette-burnt)
We’re all thinking: Please. Please do not let that be serious.
The man is helped up by two staff members. They endure the slow journey across the field as the night begins to mist. The home crowd is swiveling their heads around. Their taxes go into the stadium, the owners’ pockets. Yes, the place promises them metaphysical benefits back, some spiritual salve. But where is their money going, tangibly, if not an injury cart? Why does this man have to limp on one leg three hundred feet to the tunnel?
ANNOUNCER
We’re at home and they can’t even get our franchise QB a cart?
(Brief pause)
Guys, I hate to move on so fast, but like it says, we’re doing a promo deal with Burger King–
INT. ADLAND – STUDIO-LIT LIKE DAY
NARRATOR
(To a tune in-market-tested, meant to appeal supranationally, universally)
[CHORUS] WHOPPER, WHOPPER, WHOPPER, WHOPPER,
JUNIOR, DOUBLE, TRIPLE WHOPPER,
FLAME-GRILLED TASTE
WITH PERFECT TOPPERS,
I RULE THIS DAY
LETTUCE, MAYO, PICKLE, KETCHUP
IT’S OKAY IF I DON’T WANT THAT
IMPOSSIBLE
OR BACON WHOPPER
ANY WHOPPER
MY WAY
LETTUCE, MAYO, PICKLE, KETCHUP
IT’S OKAY IF I DON’T WANT THAT
IMPOSSIBLE
OR BACON WHOPPER
ANY WHOPPER
MY WAY
[OUTRO] AT BK, HAVE IT YOUR WAY
(YOU RULE)
Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM 
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