Greece, Rome, the Arena & the Internet

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Naga_Fireball
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Greece, Rome, the Arena & the Internet

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Our collective modern culture is saturated with silly notions of Greek militarism, such as the low art film (I enjoyed it tho) "300", (lol), yet we as a whole seem a bit lax regarding the high esteem the Greeks maintained for learning.

When the Greek city states were replaced by the capital-centric Roman juggernaut, it seems our modern notion of relative worth was affected.

We know that the Greeks held Olympic games, yet in spite of our superficial aping of the practice of honoring " the best", we really as a population tend to prefer the games in which we all participate.

Hence my comparison of the Roman Colosseum to the Internet.

We could have had heaven on earth by now if people had devoted as much of their Internet time to knowledge as they do to gaming.

Imagine if all the kids logged into Steam and Xbox Live and World of Warcraft got on Wikipedia or forums or even started a webcomic or their own media outlets --

I dont think modern kids are stupid. I believe they are mildly brainwashed, conditioned, addicted to the life substitute for violent games.

A relatively poor Roman could arguably attend and "enjoy" arena games. They were designed to shock and awe people of all classes.

Greek culture was a bit more religiously organized although slaves enjoyed a few respites. It is possible that classism was more severe within their culture prior to Roman homogenization.

Thanks to gaming, any person of any social standing is free to waste endless hours pitting his wits and reflexes (animal cunning) against that of others, or against the computer.

I wonder if anyone has considered the insult to AI, that we use more of it to handle our recreation than our education...

The arena could arguably have been used for educational purposes. But honestly, it was much too large. Gone are the small and cozy Greek amphitheatres. Enter the stories-tall, man-eating, culture-dwarfing Colosseum and you'll see a lot of the structure of the Internet written there.


For two thousand years millions and billions of souls have bought in to the deception of being "included" in the people trap of violent spectacle.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Phil
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Re: Greece, Rome, the Arena & the Internet

Post by Phil »

I dont think modern kids are stupid. I believe they are mildly brainwashed, conditioned, addicted to the life substitute for violent games.
There's nothing MILD about it. The shiny rectangles are the refined opiate of the masses, the main-lined heroin to the collesium's smoked poppies. Nice post!
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Re: Greece, Rome, the Arena & the Internet

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Phil wrote:
I dont think modern kids are stupid. I believe they are mildly brainwashed, conditioned, addicted to the life substitute for violent games.
There's nothing MILD about it. The shiny rectangles are the refined opiate of the masses, the main-lined heroin to the collesium's smoked poppies. Nice post!
Thank you!! Hug.

You're absolutely right, actually, it's not mild. I'm fooling myself. The conditioning destroys a peaceful human, removes his opportunity and skill regarding healthy human contact. He fills himself instead with thoughts of death and its values.

It reminds me a bit of V for Vendetta.
When V throws Evie in his jail and brainwashes her into thinking the govt detained her, the entire time she spends in prison = freedom from television.

They dont spell it out but prison is where Evie discovers bher true self and love of knowledge & words. When she finds the planted letter.

Nowhere in the complex is a TV to be found to blare its message of fear and hate. Vs TV is for old movies like Man in the Iron Mask. :)
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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