Wrestling with Monsters

An interesting post at Henry Jenkins' blog starts off describing the debate over a Wake Forest study that purports to find a link between pro wrestling and real-world violence, then moves into other territories: a tension between social scientists and humanists, the origins of the culture war, and the misadventures of Joe Lieberman, moral policeman.

Comments

[Ken]

Thanks for the post, this is a very interesting read. I grew up watching wrestling and find it mildy amusing today. Media effects are tricky, but that doesn't sell headlines like "Watching x makes your teen a monster."

[Lamar]

Pro wrestling is just a burlier version of "The Young and the Restless."

[mk]

My daughter and I have spent some time recently enjoying wrestling on Telemundo. It is pretty interesting how those big dudes fling each other around while managing to not to hurt themselves or each other. I imagine it requires a lot of skill.