Five minute free write - Tiger
The bright lights shone down into the small circular arena. Harsh and yellow, two figures stood stark against the dusty brown ground. Shadows dark and moving they circled.
The screams of the people in stands that reached high into the air stilled to silence by their focus. Eye to eye they paced around each other, following the edge of the lines that delineated their world.
Sweat dripped from each of their brows. Blood stained both cloth and dirt. Life fell drop by drop into the place that one would soon call home.
One clad in white, the other in red, they fought for the honor of their tribe. No answer but violence would solve the problems that had arisen between the two. Where talk had failed now the strength of muscle would continue the conversation.
The chant, regular and rythmic, two different sides chanting for their tiger. Hunters out for blood. Ready to spring if the other let down their guard for even a moment.
Better than war, they had found the solution generations ago. One would lose, one would triumph. The cost, a single life.
The prompt this morning for some reason brought to mind MMA (Mixed martial arts) and the arenas that have sprung up around the U.S..
Like gladiatorial arenas with crowds of bloodthirsty fans screaming to see unregulated violence. It strikes me how close they parallel history in their purpose as a relief valve for the masses to let off steam. While a majority of people are unable to express their inner rage they can live out this dangerous secret via what they watch.
The mirror principal in the human mind is what makes it work. That's what makes the entertainment industry tic. Our brains automatically mirror the emotions and experiences that we see in front of us. An evolutionary design for grouping species in order to understand and live together in harmony it can easily be exploited. We learn it from birth, remember all the cute cooing faces we make to babies in order to get them to copy us or laugh and it continues for our whole lives.
Now used like the Romans did in the past to distract us from the world around us and allow people to express, no, experience their rage, so that they don't actually act it out on other people...or act upon it in ways to change the world so so much rage isn't caused...
Ever wonder why suddenly it's become such a popular sport when for so long it was rejected everywhere because of it's pure human on human violence? How a lot of TV networks picked it up, slapped a mature rating on it, knowing that wouldn't stop anyone from tuning in.
I have a bit of research I want to do, to put together a more complete article on that. The connection between the rise of MMA, what's behind it, the popularity, stuff like that. So many moving pieces in this world that act as methods of control without people even realizing it. What many see as pure entertainment is so much more. We used to think of all of this as conspiracy theories, and many still do. Continuing to stick their heads in the sand even though they see examples of control and analysis exposed on a daily basis right in front of them in the news. Heck, a simple look at history exposes the tactics that have been used in the past, and are being used again today.
If it's just a show, why do the types of shows we enjoy watching change over the years? Our interests, needs, desires, are changing, evolving, devolving, etc., and with it the stuff that's produced and pushed in front of us. Ugh, I hate sounding like a crazy person, but if you do some research on psychology, marketing, history, and entertainment, the dots just start connecting :\
Hope you enjoyed my writing and some thoughts :) Have a great Wednesday!
Thanks again @mariannewest for your Five minute free write. Always a blast participating.
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Movies also serve as a relief valve, especially in the US, where a remake like Death Wish fills the theaters with voyeurs seeking a bit of respite from the arguments over violence. I imagine many would like to shoot an assailant, but let actors do the job instead. Thanks for this topic today. Good stuff!
Exactly! :) And all the escapism shows...heroes we want to be but won't try to be...lives we want to live, but aren't willing to do the work to get...list goes on and on. Thanks for stopping by :)