What do you think of things like the Roman coliseum, professional wrestling and shows like “Jackass.” How do you explain our lust for violence?

All I think about the Roman coliseum is that it’s a large ancient theater.

Violence clearly has a lot of entertainment value, but in fact most people only want to participate it in vicariously (so I can’t really consider that we have “a lust for violence”); my guess is that watching other people exercise power gives people the feeling that they have power too (and the less powerful people feel, the more violence you’re likely to see enacted on television and in movies).

ID: 679
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updated: 06 Feb 2004