Some things never change. Not when it comes to what entertains us. Watching a horrible movie last night, it struck me that one of the basic principles of entertainment hasn't changed since the Roman gladiator shows: There is a victim, and it ain't me. (The Romans sometimes brought a starving slave to their food orgies. Not being the guy starving to death enhanced the enjoyment of overeating.)
This is why crime, car crashes, and cage fighting are such popular entertainments. That's not me being murdered. That's not me being caught and sent to prison. That's not me in the burning race car. That's not me with some muscle-bound, extra-male-chromosome mutant beating my head in.
(Interestingly, this principle also applies to comedy. A hundred people walk around the banana peel--Charlie Chaplin steps on it and falls on his ass. We would be the smart ones that walk around it. We wouldn't be the injured fool lying on the sidewalk.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment