Reality Check

After Maximus hastily deposes his final opponent in the dirt filled arena, he surveys the thousands of spectators. There is a hush. Then he bellows at the stunned crowd, “Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?”

In Ancient Rome people would gather in droves at colosseums to watch gladiators dismember each other. People enjoyed watching other's suffer. No film presents this better than Ridley Scott's film, Gladiator. In Scott's flick, Commonus revives these games to distract people from their own economic troubles.

It would be nice to think that the human race has evolved beyond this basic vile impulse. However, when the concept of 'Treatments' was introduced in and they were challenged to come with their own ideas for 'Big Money Productions', at least ninety percent of the concepts were some variation of reality television.

The fact is that people like to watch other people suffer. People like to watch other people scheme and double cross for some kind of cash prize. Shows like The Real World, Big Brother, and Survivor are perfect examples. The worst part is that in many of these shows the spectators are encouraged to participate in the 'elimination' process. People watch as a judge with a few words completely shatters the self-esteem of an aspiring model or singer.

 Gary Ross's The Hunger Games, which came out earlier this year marries this concept with science fiction. In this film Katniss Evergreen is thrust into to an arena where people watch her fight for her life for entertainment. The sad fact is that proliferation of these types of shows their popularity. People's suffering is essentially commoditized.

What does his say about so-called modern civilization? That it hasn't evolved in any new directions. The only thing that has changed is the technology that is used dehumanizes and desensitizes people.

Scarily enough this refers back to the previous post, which discusses the human races' 'will to power'.  The media is nothing more than a technological colosseum. The nihilist is vindicated, but the optimist squints in the microscope for some vestige of humanity that is alluded to by the enlightenment theorist, who believes in the basic goodness of human nature.

There is hope In Gladiator and The Hunger Games. In the end of Gladiator, Maximus defeats Commonus. In The Hunger Games Katniss and her partner Peta defy the expectations the audience by threatening to commit suicide rather than take each other’s lives.

Kwame Slusher

Img Credit: Wikipedia