• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Suffering: Why Does It Entertain You?

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
I've noticed this in gaming communities where I've had the interesting perspective of being on both sides of a fence and watch the criticisms that pass over it.

There's mature and calm people on the violent gaming side, absolutely. And they are usually adults with families and a job and such. But there's a lot of young people that love to spew vitriol, especially at the non-violent gamers, like "that game is fucking gay! why would you play it?"

Interestingly it doesn't usually go the other way over the fence, unless it's from people who play both sides but tend to the violent side.

There definitely are people who cant contain their aggression and playing at imaginary aggression stokes them up, definitely, I hate that when I see it BTW, the use of the word "gay" in that prejorative sense and the association of non-aggressive gaming or pass times with homosexuality.
 

sprinkles

Mojibake
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
2,959
MBTI Type
INFJ
There definitely are people who cant contain their aggression and playing at imaginary aggression stokes them up, definitely, I hate that when I see it BTW, the use of the word "gay" in that prejorative sense and the association of non-aggressive gaming or pass times with homosexuality.

This is why I preferred to play on clean servers or even Christian servers because they don't tolerate that mess. Some people found it ironic but there seemed to be a universal rule of 'let the real be real and keep the conflict in the game' which makes sense.
 

highlander

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
26,562
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
6w5
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Why would you ever want to watch Man On Fire?
Or Taken?
I Am Legend? Bourne series?

How about zombie movies. Or Batman. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Silence of the Lambs.

Please note that "It's not real" and "It's fiction" are not acceptable answers because this describes the media, not your motivation to watch it.

Why do these entertain you?

Suffering does not entertain mein the least.

I do like the Bourne movies. Is that suffering? I think it is more like conquering.
 

Tyrinth

...
Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
1,154
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
649
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
It doesn't always, and when it does... I really don't know why.
 

Little_Sticks

New member
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
1,358
I have an obsession with pain and fear. It's a natural part of life and it is ... dark. Dark things draw me in because I want to understand them, embrace them, and overcome them. I want them to be a part of me; probably because a lot about human nature almost requires an appreciation of it in order to truly overcome it. It's like the difference between seeking understanding from someone that has never experienced your type of situation and someone that has. Is experiencing what the other experiences what it really means for two people to understand each other?
 
G

garbage

Guest
I spent a lot of last night blowing up cars and civilians with a rocket launcher in Saints Row 2. So, not only did I watch suffering, I simulated acting it out myself.

In this case, however, it's the sheer exaggerated ridiculousness that gets me hooked--the explosions could be replaced with confetti streamers and the people with literal ragdolls and I'd get the same joy out of it.


However, to the extent that actual human suffering entertains, it's because it's fiction. Screw it; that's the answer.

To elaborate, it's a way to explore a side of the world that we don't normally 'get' to see or understand, but in a controlled environment. It's 'scary material,' but it's of little consequence.
 
G

Glycerine

Guest
Why do people watch stuff from bestgore.com, fear.com (real depictions of suffering)? It's the same thing. People are fascinated (and usually disturbed). It's psychological. It's kinda fascinating to see how depraved people can actually get (real or fiction) and feeds on our fear but at the same time, we are safe from a distance as a spectator. *I don't watch stuff from those sites because I would be scarred for life but I can see the appeal.... one of the sites supposedly had the video of the victim that Luka Magnotta killed...ick. I guess in this instance, entertaining wouldn't be the right word unless you're sick in the sick.
Entertain=/= fascinate/intrigue. Entertain is "to provide amusement".

But for the fiction... anything goes in the imagination... but a lot of it is somehow based in reality. Fiction entertains because it's not real.

.
 

RaptorWizard

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Messages
5,895
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Of course, nothing brings greater joy to my soul than seeing people in pain!
:evilgenius:
:vader1:
:devil:
:threaten:
:rotfl:
 

sprinkles

Mojibake
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
2,959
MBTI Type
INFJ
This is a dumb thread. :shrug:

*looks back and sees who made it*

Yup, that's proof right there. Dumb thread.

QED
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
This is a dumb thread. :shrug:

*looks back and sees who made it*

Yup, that's proof right there. Dumb thread.

QED

I didnt think so, I thought it was fine.

I also thought that it was good in the way that Orwell's writing about exhibitions of wax works on "atrocities from the last war", ie world war one, and what he thought was a latent sadism in the public were good. I probably mentioned that. I realise I tell the same stories over and over you know.
 

sprinkles

Mojibake
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
2,959
MBTI Type
INFJ
I didnt think so, I thought it was fine.

I also thought that it was good in the way that Orwell's writing about exhibitions of wax works on "atrocities from the last war", ie world war one, and what he thought was a latent sadism in the public were good. I probably mentioned that. I realise I tell the same stories over and over you know.

Maybe the topic is good but I wasn't in a good place when I wrote it so I see the context a bit differently. I was too close to the subject when I came up with this.
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
Maybe the topic is good but I wasn't in a good place when I wrote it so I see the context a bit differently. I was too close to the subject when I came up with this.

Oh, I understand, sorry to hear that. Hope you're feeling better now, sorry there's a bad memory associated with this.
 

sprinkles

Mojibake
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
2,959
MBTI Type
INFJ
Oh, I understand, sorry to hear that. Hope you're feeling better now, sorry there's a bad memory associated with this.

It's all good, I'll just have to deal with what I was feeling back then.

It was actually a pretty heavy and veiled accusation. I was being righteous and totally pointing the finger. That's why it's bad.

But yeah, more neutrally it is an interesting question.
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
It's all good, I'll just have to deal with what I was feeling back then.

It was actually a pretty heavy and veiled accusation. I was being righteous and totally pointing the finger. That's why it's bad.

But yeah, more neutrally it is an interesting question.

Dude, there's nothing wrong with having a strong J function either ;)
 

Jaguar

Active member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
20,647
The Silence of the Lambs was a psychological thriller. That's why I watched it.
 
Top