Both the short documentary and the reading we had for this week asked the question of why do people enjoy watching and participating in fights, and something I found intriguing was the idea of catharsis: “In a city of more than twenty-two million inhabitants, marked by insecurity and violence, lucha libre may serve as a ritual and a collective catharsis, able to channel the aggressions accumulated in a complicated, unfair and fragile life, making them visible and defusing them through the application of rules” (p. 73). I find this view challenging for many reasons. First, I’m not sure if I agree with this Freudian view of people compiling aggression as some kind of negative energy that they just need to let out in one way or another. I practice thaiboxing myself and I simply cannot relate to the idea of fighting being a way for me to take out my aggression onto my opponent/partner. I feel like if I was to get angry or frustrated I would simply lose my focus and get smashed lol. Second, I think people all over the world, from all socioeconomic statuses, enjoy watching fights and fighting, regardless of how much there is violence and insecurity on the streets. Therefore, by stating that watching these fights is a way to “channel the aggressions accumulated in a complicated, unfair and fragile life”, seems to suggest that the lower classes are in fact aggressive, resentful and prone to violence, and require a safe way to let it out or else it bursts out on the streets. Lastly, I see these events more so as entertainment than real fighting, which makes it hard to understand how this could provide a sense of relief from aggression. In fact, I was quite surprised that the fighters/wrestlers in both of the documents perceived it as a sport and real fighting because my impression has always been the contrary; I’ve thought they have practiced their moves in beforehand and the whole event is just for the entertainment of the crowd.

Question: Why do you think people enjoy fighting and watching other people fight?