Violence(again)

Well of all the norms we have covered in class, violence seems to be the most persistent. I won't go philosophy and ask if men are inherently beastly(though in my opinion such is the case to some degree), but I do wonder why it is so entertaining and I present various options.

Firstly, is the factor of watching someone else suffer and knowing it's not you. So you can go fulfill that biological obligation to procreate and all is well. Now this explains why the news portrays horror stories in the light they do, the sensationalization of it all, albeit ghastly, helps people feel good about themselves in some warped and base dimension. This is a pending theory and doesn't explain the glamour in our culture. This glamour I refuse to pin to masculinity or something of that sort as, my apologies to Freud, I do not believe all human beings feel the need to justify themselves with the phallus.

Continuing right along, maybe it's just something new and fresh at the moment. Whereas the electric bulb was once a spectacle, the fantastical imaginary weapons men create are rather interesting. Here we have a power struggle and man tries to become his own god, per usual, by governing life and death. Menacing, eh? However this line of thought says violence will one day diminish as a cultural flame and we moths will gravitate to something else. Hopeful, yes. Realistic? Again, pending.

A final reason is nationalism, that OTHER sociological imagination that says "You're from this country be proud of it... and kill anyone that would stand to try and make you feel small for that pride." Now this route explains why comic book villains, when put against American heroes, are inevitably our rivals or enemies. Boris and Natasha? Today it would be something middle-eastern most likely, to rouse national sentiment. Now this explains why conflict is always cropping up and why the conflicts of our heroes are our own. But here the flaw is does life copy art or does art copy life? In any case, when you step back, the entire thing becomes utterly ridiculous.

So I apologize for the late post again, but nothing this week in class struck me as amazing. Locking oneself in prison seemed ridiculous and the distribution of wealth in this country is really no news to me. Nonetheless, seeing Iron Man at the request of my girlfriend(gender roles? I never read comic books, she did, we're both outliars in a sample set I guess), did inspire a few thoughts. It's a predictable movie of course, but not bad and very interesting to view sociologically if you feel you can muster it. Otherwise watch it for what it is and it IS entertaining as a light show with plenty of explosions and such, but no blood. And so I touch upon my final point: the redemption of man! Intense. The lack of blood shows we are not so desensitized that realistic violence is amusing, it is still the stuff of horror and while there may be sadists walking among us, gratuitous gore is not what one looks forward to seeing. With this I ask us all to maybe even turn away from bruises, bombs, guns, grenades, and all other indirect signs of violence, but not tonight. I need some more tea. Comments are welcome as always, enjoy your weekend!