Violent Spectacles from Nero to Trump
Public combat spectacles from ancient Rome to modern mixed martial arts serve as powerful rituals that trigger identity fusion among spectators. This psychological process merges individual identities into a collective cause, driving a willingness to endure hardship. Political m…
Throughout history, rulers and political movements have used public spectacles of combat to evoke courage, sacrifice, collective strength and national purpose. From Roman gladiator contests to modern mixed martial arts , combat spectacles have served not merely as entertainment but as public rituals through which people experience belonging to something larger than themselves.
When President Donald Trump proposed staging a UFC championship event on the White House grounds as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, many observers treated it as another example of his affinity for …
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Sourced from FlaglerLive · indexed by Statura on June 17, 2026. Statura indexes Florida political news and tags it by industry and jurisdiction so government-affairs teams can monitor signal without scanning every outlet by hand. Read the full story at FlaglerLive ↗
