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Art Mimics Life
Wrestling is one of my most enjoyed pastimes. Yes, I know it's rehearsed, staged, and not genuine in its emotion. It's an act. A superbly executed one. Wrestling fans roll their eyes when you point out the obvious, because it's no different from a scripted movie presented as real at the cinema. It's all fantasy, and everyone knows it. Suspension of disbelief comes with any well-told story, that's all.
What makes me realize the simplicity of many a mind is that far more important things happen in reality, presented as real, that are nothing more than deception. Politics is notorious for this. We all laugh and know better than “to trust a politician,” but wisdom be damned, we still feign interest like stringed puppets dancing to their tune. That's the punchline in all of this. We're duped on a daily basis, and we yell for honesty, demanding it at all costs. What a crock. We are a species of illusion and denial.
Art is no different. The artist merely smears paint upon thread so deceivingly well that it invokes a reaction out of you. It may bring you to tears or put a wide smile on your face. But in the end, it's nothing more than an acrylic concoction guided by my mind's hand. It's purposeful. It plays upon the initial trust that every human must give, in some form, in order to move forward.
The Art of Role-Playing at Its Finest
Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Chairman and CEO of the once-WWF, now WWE, is the kingpin of wrestling, or “sports entertainment” as he coined it. Many fans scoff at that term, but that's exactly what it is: a show. Yes, supreme athleticism and real danger are involved, on the level of a stuntman, but it's still a produced and scripted show. I feel it's a far grander achievement to merge the physical capabilities of an athlete with the focused emotion of a storyline than to simply “shoot wrestle.” That gets kind of boring after a while if there's no drama.
At a deep level, isn't that how life itself becomes more entertaining? Don't you need a villain and a hero, a “good guy” and a “bad guy,” to enjoy the story? It's the same with WWE's “heels” and “babyfaces,” the roles wrestlers are given within the plot. What you're essentially watching is a mirror of life imitating itself. There are heels and babyfaces all over the world, and you're one of them!
To go even further, at times you swap roles. You go from heel to babyface and back again. Constantly. Some people flip to serve their needs. Others play their role for “deeper” reasons. Whatever the case, the fact remains that we're all acting on some level. So, what are you, really? That's for you, and only you, to figure out and remember. Until then, just enjoy the show!