Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Wreslting Goes to Japan!
That's right folks! Next week's WWE Raw broadcasts from Tokyo, Japan. Those Japanese fans are totally crazy and I have to admire them somewhat. They know every bit as well as we do that wrestling is fake to a degree. Watch them in the stands though. Watch them in interviews about wrestling. They go friggin ga-ga for it.
Why do I think they are able to enjoy it so much? They know its a ruse, yet unlike the american audience, they seem to give themselves completely to their momentary suspension of disbelief. When a wrestler gets hurt in the U.S., everyone watches closely to determine wether he is really hurt or not. If the American fans do decide that the injury is a work(fake), they almost immeadiately start discussing why the writers had to give that guy a vacation. In Japan they don't care either way, they give the same amount of respect, and almost avoid trying to tell what is real from what is staged. I admire this because they realize that they are there to be entertained, and looking behind the curtain doesn't make the wizard any cooler; in fact, it may reveal the wizard to just be a deranged old man, like Vince McMahon. There may be a life lesson in there somwhere. I dunno.
Why do I think they are able to enjoy it so much? They know its a ruse, yet unlike the american audience, they seem to give themselves completely to their momentary suspension of disbelief. When a wrestler gets hurt in the U.S., everyone watches closely to determine wether he is really hurt or not. If the American fans do decide that the injury is a work(fake), they almost immeadiately start discussing why the writers had to give that guy a vacation. In Japan they don't care either way, they give the same amount of respect, and almost avoid trying to tell what is real from what is staged. I admire this because they realize that they are there to be entertained, and looking behind the curtain doesn't make the wizard any cooler; in fact, it may reveal the wizard to just be a deranged old man, like Vince McMahon. There may be a life lesson in there somwhere. I dunno.
// posted by Justin @ 1:52 PM 
