ABSTRACT
I was horrified several years ago at my own emotional reactions to a world championship boxing match that ended in dramatic scenes of death and dying. I realised then that what I had been enjoying were two men systematically, and legally, beating each other to death. If indeed I had recorded the fight, as no doubt millions did, I would now be in possession of my own ‘snuff’ movie, to replay at my own convenience and for my continual enjoyment whenever I felt the need. The question I asked myself was how had I come to be sucked in by the razzmatazz and hype of the promoters, so that I would sit down with a drink by my side and get excited by watching a man being beaten to death.
