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I just found out about wrestling!



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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 07 2012, 7:39 am
I just found out about pro wrestling! The "plot" is scripted but the injuries and deaths are real! This is upsetting. Why does it exist?
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CatLady




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 07 2012, 8:47 am
I've always seen it as a soap opera for men, which would be a much more accurate analogy if there wasn't an extremely high casualty rate, in terms of injury, addiction to pain meds and death. (Although Susan Lucci did get slapped that time by the wacko fan who was displeased with something that Erica Kane had done....)

I have watched more than my fair share of WWE, having grown up with a brother who's a fan and a son who inherited the family tendency towards fandom. At its best, it's actually quite gripping, because of the fake drama, fun in spotting the fakery, and humorous commentary. But there clearly is a dark side to it.

Like any form of "entertainment", the value is in the eyes of the beholder. As long as people are buying what they're selling, they'll sell it, and I think especially with the advent of the Internet, their plotlines are probably more subject to quick revision because of a vocal and rabid fanbase.
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ewa-jo




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 07 2012, 9:13 am
sequoia wrote:
I just found out about pro wrestling! The "plot" is scripted but the injuries and deaths are real! This is upsetting. Why does it exist?


It's a simplistic 'good versus evil' plotline... some of the wrestlers are good and some are evil characters... the evil ones scheme, but in the end, the good side wins out. It;s a morality play for the simplest of minds.

Sequoia, you will find this interesting, but during the 1980's, there were wrestlers who represented the 'evil' nations... Iron Sheik (Iran) & Nikolai Volkoff (USSR) who fueded with other characters who were dressed in military clothes (named Sgt. Slaughter) and waved American flags.... it was a simplified version of the cold war. Of course, during the gulf war (the first one) they also had arabic characters (named Colonel Mustafa) who were sympathizers of Iraq and who were also defeated by the patriotic USA-loving characters.

(disclaimer: I am not a wrestling fanatic. I have a degree in military history and I find popular culture references to the cold war fascinating)
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 07 2012, 9:42 am
Even I knew about pro wrestling ;-)
But I'm with you, totally. There's been a lot of buzz about injuries this week, re football, due to that suicide and possible links between depression and football injuries. (And you can read the Gordon Korman book Pop for a fictional take on this.) Beats me.
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 07 2012, 4:53 pm
Thank you for your explanations. Ewa-jo, that was fascinating. I just don't understand why it can't be stylized play fighting. I feel sorry for them. At least with sports it's "the real thing."

This is all very interesting. Duels were a ritualized and not exactly legal, but hardly ever prosecuted form of murder. In ancient Rome they had gladiators fighting each other and wild animals. Corridas still exist in Spain (and I have been to one). Russian intellectual games are also a weird combination of reality show, game, and Greek tragedy. I guess people need spectacle and they need a socially acceptable outlet for their aggression. I just wish this one didn't involve real human beings being hurt and injured.
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