Taking a page from midget wrestling

I attended a midget wrestling contest last night in Post Falls, Idaho. Yes, you read that right. It was fun entertainment which spoke to a lot of the people in the crowd, many of whom probably have never heard of Hunter S. Thompson, although the craziness experienced last night would have been something he would have admired. The crowd was seventy percent women, screaming, hooting, hollering, and enjoying the night.

Now, this scene was something that you could see on television. Or watch on youtube. Why are people spending twenty dollar covers and paying about a hundred in bottle Buds between all 1,500 people there? Because the shared experience matters. Story propels the shared experience to be larger, more grand, and with increasingly better interest.

The wrestlers had their own characterizations. They had story lines which showed good versus evil, might versus right (smaller than usual... kidding). But the story lines, though quick, had enough that it got the crowd involved into it. They knew who the bad guy was. He introduced himself first, tried to pick fights with the guys, hit on the girls, did anything he could to ensure that the crowd disliked him. Then the good guy came out, did his thing, and tried his best to get the crowd behind him. Watch the intros of the good guys. They knew how to raise a crowd and make them a part of the experience.

The night included several women from the crowd getting into the ring, for a fake orgasm contest. If anyone believes that there wasn't some form of quick planning, watch the two girls at the end of the video included here. Watch them whisper, plan what to do, in order to win the competition. While this may not seem as "writing," it is part of that improv that I wrote about yesterday. They had a general idea, improv'd around it, and develop a better show than some of the wrestlers.

At the end of the day, did people care? Yes, I am willing to say that a lot of people wanted to see it again. Because it was a show. I don't believe that it is simply enough to write a good story. You have to have people want to read it again. For American literature, it has been the cop-out of academia to take pride that people do not want to read a book in mass, or that it is difficult reading that people only get through once.

What exactly is the point of that? We are in the entertainment business. Some may chose to attempt an excuse for why their work is only respected by the few. But that doesn't hold water with me. I want to be like the midget wrestling last night. A form of entertainment people beg to watch over and over again.