Body Slamming

Arizona Daily Wildcat

In the last few years, this bizarre amalgamation of sports, soap operas and freak shows has gained major ground in the Nielsens, and with rabid fans across the country following every fall and "Diamondcutter." It goes to show that Americans just want a spectacle; and that spectacle is killing TV.

Professional wrestling is just the latest step in the march of TV away from relevance and towards the spectacle. It follows in the proud footsteps of "Baywatch," a show which gained popularity for reasons which need not be explained. The spectacles of this program were enough to make it the most popular series in the world at one point.

NASCAR racing falls into this category as well: The most important races feature cars going around a track. Not once, not twice, but a few hundred times. It survives, and keeps the viewers' attention on the mere possibility of an uncensored fiery wreck.

This sort of programming has always existed. The last 20 years have given us the "Dukes of Hazard," and "Rollerball." But why pick on these programs? What is so bad about professional wrestling?

Fans tell us that it is not too violent; and they have a point. While it does feature men in silly costumes kicking each other in the groin and beating opponents with chairs, there aren't any guns, or rape. Outside of the pay-per-view specials, there is little blood, and that much is fake.

We can't dismiss pro wrestling because of outright stupidity. Conversation with fans show that the writers of the programs have a solid grasp on classical themes, even if they are garbled in the translation.

The same could be said for any of these shows. "Baywatch" never carries more than the implication of violence, and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" at least mentions characters from Ovid. So what is so spectacularly bad about these programs? Nothing. And that's the problem. It isn't good, or bad. It's just there. It's eye candy, a spectacle, a modern Colosseum.

Whatever the deep spiritual message of pro wrestling really is, it is lost on the viewer. People don't watch it to see one guy taunt another guy until they fight. They watch it to see what happens after the fight, when someone gets electrocuted, thrown off a building or crucified.

This isn't meant to tout the virtues of "Masterpiece Theater," or "All Things Considered." Those programs are on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, and get about the attention that they deserve. They serve their purposes, and we don't have to worry about them going away. Their audience is at least as loyal as those who watch "Baywatch," even if it is smaller.

Rather, all of this criticism is meant to set pro wrestling, and programs like it, away from traditional mainstream television. Even if they don't succeed, the traditional fare are the shows that try to make a point as they entertain. These are the shows that aren't especially good or bad; "Veronica's Closet," or "The PJ's." If programming like pro wrestling and "Renegade," takes over the airwaves, it is these shows that will be the first to go.

None of us would especially miss "Veronica's Closet," or shows like it, but without these programs, we can never have programs that show what television can do. It can entertain and leave us a message at the same time.

"Seinfeld" was funny, but it was also a criticism of a self-centered society. "ER" is a gripping drama, but is also about how people deal with moral dilemmas. "Law & Order" often deals with fundamental issues of who society has a right to punish.

Television is the dominant media force in our culture. It is the "ERs" and the "Seinfelds" that redeem television. If we lose TV to the spectacle, where does that leave us?