Bloodlust: From the Colosseum to Cable TV

Attribution: bedrocan

Although it may only be a deteriorating skeleton of its former majestic self, The Colosseum in Rome is still one of the most iconic historical images that the modern world is fortunate enough to observe. Not only is it a testament to the architectural brilliance of the old world, but it can still conjure powerful images of warriors testing their wits and strength against one another amidst the deafening cheers of Roman citizens; one can only imagine how exhilarating it would be to witness an event where contenders are competing for their lives – for better or for worse.

These events were notoriously violent, extravagant, and oftentimes downright bizarre. Historians suggest that among the man/beast events that are more widely known, the Colosseum featured executions, torturing, battles in which the contenders were blindfolded, and even exhibitions of nautical warfare. It’s no wonder that events like these have allowed posterity to scoff at the Roman civilization as being preposterously barbaric and subhuman in how it demanded its entertainment.

In the days of censorship and parental controls it becomes far too easy to think of ourselves as morally superior to this allegedly bloodthirsty population of the early modern centuries. We suppose that we are more sophisticated, and that our chronological placement somehow makes us intellectually and ethically superior to these primitive modern humans – I think the word for this might be “chronocentricity”. We relish in this chronocentric behavior in likely the same ways that every culture that has ever walked this earth does: “Everything before us and unlike us is beneath us”. But despite our insistence that we represent the human pinnacle of intellectuality and moral decency we still manage to allow this barbarism leak into our modes of entertainment.

Take the recently proposed TNT series entitled “Cold Justice”. The series would feature Kelly Siegler, a Texas prosecutor, and crime scene investigator Yolanda McClary reopening years-old cold cases in the attempt to bring the offenders of violent crimes to justice. The stars bring the experience of 68 murder cases and more than 7,000 cases in Las Vegas, respectively, and will be given access to the most advanced technology in DNA testing to assist in their investigation.

Now, imagine this synopsis were a bit different. Imagine, instead, that these people were using the most advanced technology and all of their experience to bring un-caught speeding drivers to justice. Or maybe they will use the most advanced video-capture technology to bring regular jaywalkers to justice? What if they used the most advanced techniques and concealment measures to spy on people who were known to dump their garbage in private dumpsters? People might want to think twice before relying on one of these synopses as their elevator pitch.

It makes sense, though: while every person has his or her own subjective taste in entertainment, most people can understand that certain things will likely never garner the interest of network executives; controversy and edginess turn heads, not safe and mundane. In order for “Cold Justice” to get the attention it will need to get on the air and then stay on the air it needs to investigate something worth investigating; it needs to investigate something violent.

So much like our boorish ancestors, we still insist on extreme entertainment. We may not convene by the thousands to witness cruel acts firsthand in the arena, but we do gather by the millions around our television screens to satisfy our taste for violence. Our viewing tendencies haven’t changed over the years, but the amount of privacy we have when “attending” these events allows us to believe that, as a culture, we have evolved. The blog “Grits for Breakfast” remarked, “crime used to be ‘news’, but now it’s treated by the media mainly as entertainment” – this is true, but if you venture back even further into human history you can see that what we consider to be “criminal” activity has always been an event worth watching.