interesting thought on Rome Sebby, especially since I remember reading some
documents that the romans had the very same debates about violent
gladiatorial combat being generally bad for it's citizens psychological
wellbeing as we have about computer games :D.
The one major difference between the violent spectacles of Rome however
(apart from the lack of people actually being killed), is interaction and
intention.
These days, say you used complex digital effects to create a full,
absolutely realistic gladiatorial arena in which virtual gladiators sliced
and diced each other just for your entertainment, ---- well while some
immature people would probably be of the ooooh blood, oooh goood mentality,
I don't think it'd satisfy most people. heck, the common cryticism of many
Hollywood films is that they devolve into just this, ie, violence and action
for no particularly good reason according to the plot, (and yes, some
coorporations and film directors do take advantage of this).
This is why I find intention as much of interest as the violence. With the
Gladiatorial arena the intention was usually just spactacle for the sake of
spectacle, ---- or occasionally execution as public deterrent much as
hangings or other executions were treated in western society throughout
history.
I'm not sure myself whether most people in society, or at least those with
brains would be satisfied with just that sort of spectacle, or whether we'd
want something more engaging with story and characters (remember in rome
both the theatre and the novel were in their infancy).
As an interesting point however, though films like Gladiator and sparticus
show the gladiators outside the arena being treated with really inhuman
cruelty, being beaten, starved, locked up etc, actual historical evidence is
that gladiators lived a pretty good life when not fighting and many were
treated as celebrities throughout roman society despite being slaves. i
always find it interesting that in Rome only two groups in society had
hospitals. Wealthy citizens could personally employ a surgion or a healer,
and of course the poor had to make do, but only two groups got free medical
care and a hospital in the modern sense with regular health checks, ---- the
army, and gladiators!
Indeed, Claudius Galen one of the founding minds of western medicine, the
first to construct a human skeleton, build artifician limbs and at least
diagnose several diseases was a surgion in a gladiator hospital in
Alexandra.
So, bad as the Romans were, maybe they weren't all bad :D.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
---
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