pugilism

pu·gi·lism n. The skill, practice, and sport of fighting with the fists; boxing.

A few years ago, I won a contest on the radio and got tickets to an MMA tournament in Springdale, AR. For some reason I thought it would be funny, or seem fake enough to be funny, and at the very least I expected it to be a good opportunity for people watching. My friends and I lasted about an hour and a half, and we were barely halfway through the amateur division, where anyone who could sign up to fight. I had prepared myself to see some pretty extreme fighting, but usually someone just got punched or kicked down once before the ref called it. I expected a lot of cheering and screaming from the crowd, but most people were just sitting with their families, eating something from the concession stand.

It's hard to imagine the same scene happening in France. Though France does have its own similar fighting leagues, I can't picture the family coming together, enjoying some corn dogs, and watching some dude pound another dude. While Americans have the reputation for being terrible prudes when it comes to anything sexual (thanks, Puritans), we're notoriously lax about violence. I think films are a great way to learn about a particular culture, and when talking about violence, it's interesting to look at how two cultures deal with violent films. For example, American Beauty was rated R in the US, but was given a 'U' universal rating in France, but violent films are more likely to get a higher rating in France than in the US. Is it because France has seen so much battle on their home turf that violence hits too close home?