Gladiators, blood, and guts, chariots, lions, screaming, clashing swords, Russell Crowe looking hot (OK, maybe that
last one is just me) - these are a few
things that come to mind when you think of Roman Amphitheatres and Gladiatorial battles.
In today's society
it shocks us when we think about what passed for entertainment a few hundred
years ago. We've all seen the images in epic films of
terrified gladiators being mauled by lions or decapitated by their opponent as
the crowd goes wild.
How barbaric, we
say! Causing horrific suffering to another human being for your own pleasure!
Why would you do that?
But have we really
moved on as far as we would like to think?
I was recently
discussing the incredibly popular TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get me out of
here!" with a friend, and I
realised that perhaps we haven't moved on that much at all.
Granted, nobody is
actually killed in these programs, but the audience takes great pleasure in
watching minor celebrities being tortured - made to eat disgusting foods,
deprived of rations, sleep, and made to carry out impossible tasks in
humiliating and dirty conditions.
OK, so nowadays it's desperate Z-list celebrities looking for publicity and making a last ditch attempt to re-animate their dying careers rather than enslaved gladiators fighting for their lives and freedom, and the amphitheatres have been replaced with television studios and sets.
Admittedly the circumstances are a little different, and we have better technology, but the motivation of these participants is still the same. Survival.
It all feels rather
voyeuristic and somewhat sadistic - why would you want to watch somebody
suffer? Are we really any
better than the huge crowds that used to pack into the amphitheatres of ancient
Rome?
Why is there still
such a lust in our society to watch others being made to suffer for our
entertainment?!
Another example is
the notorious Big Brother which by the show's own admission, becomes more evil & manipulative as the
series go by; intentionally putting clashing personalities together in ever more challenging and claustrophobic conditions, and setting up awkward situations to
watch the sparks fly.
I have heard that
these shows are a favourite of psychology students, and I'm sure they are very
interesting from a purely psychological point of view, but in reality the
participants are little more than
gladiators or perhaps laboratory rats, being put in difficult and unkind
situations to see how they cope and react, all for our amusement.
Nobody seems to stop
and think why the public in general enjoys this so much - why does this kind of
cruel show still draw such huge crowds in our supposedly highly-civilised
society?
Why do so many
people take such pleasure in watching others suffer?
I don't have the
answer to that, and I'm not a psychologist, but as a rational human being, it
occurs to me that if people were truly happy in themselves, they wouldn't need
to watch others suffering in order to be "entertained."
Why do so many
of us need to distract ourselves from our everyday lives, and take out our
frustrations on people in TV shows? Goading and cheering, voting by phone and text to decide who will be made to suffer next. Are we little more than a modern version of the angry, starving people of Rome towards the end of
the fall of the empire, baying for blood to distract us from our unhappy lives instead of doing something about it?
Next time you
feel inclined to watch one of these shows, I challenge you to stop and think
for a moment - why do you really want to watch this?
Maybe it's time to ditch the distractions, and
take a long, hard look at ourselves instead. Maybe it's time to see what changes we can make in our lives to be happier people, to be more at peace with ourselves, so that we no longer need to watch others suffer for our "entertainment."
Who knows - the world might even become a nicer place to live in...
Excellent article Helen. I think the difference is that gladiators often didn't have a choice back then but the celebrities choose now to put themselves in to these shows to humiliate themselves in order to revive their careers. Some say they do it for the experience and to get over their phobias but there are other ways in which they could do that with no publicity. It is, though, as you have said a modern form of watching gladiators and the Roman Circus. Has anything actually moved on? Not really, because we are still running subconscious patterning from early in our existence. Great article!
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline - yes very true! technology has raced forwards in leaps and bounds but the one thing that doesn't really seem to have evolved very much is us.
DeleteLoving this blog posting Helen. I agree. However, I see it as rampant in the entertainment industry. Look at Law & Order and CSI and their many off-shoots. We sit in the comfort of our homes entertained by stories of rape and murder.
ReplyDeleteEven the current trend of so-called reality TV prays upon the less fortunate and makes a mockery of them...I'm thinking Hoarders, Honey Boo-Boo, Breaking Amish etc. What happens when we're done with these people? Some of them take to celeb shows to cash-in on their exploitation once again.
And look at the child stars who over the years have had their lives destoyed for our entertainment.
As Caroline mentions, the subconscious programming is very powerful! We so easily can fall into mob mentality. Let's strive to support uplifting and enlightening tv and movies. I'm off to watch Love Actually ;)
I feel terribly sorry for these exploited people, although they may appear to be the ones "taking advantage" of the situation, I don't believe that's the whole truth.
DeleteMaybe it's time for us to start an uplifting & inspirational TV channel of our own Jacqueline & Caroline? :D