Violence in entertainment is not new. Even in ancient Rome, people gathered to watch gladiators. In gladiator combats, two trained men (usually criminals or slaves) would fight each other in front of a cheering crowd. Sometimes, men would also be forced to fight wild animals. These shows were incredibly popular; in order to accommodate the huge masses of people eager to watch the combat, Roman officials built the Colosseum, which could seat 50,000 spectators, in 80 CE. The opening of the Colosseum was celebrated with 100 days of games, during which thousands of men and animals were seriously injured or killed.
Long before children watched violent cartoons, they listened to violent stories. Even our most cherished fairy tales often contain bloodshed. In fact, modern versions of fairy tales tend to be a lot less violent than the originals. For example, in Hans Christen Anderson's The Little Mermaid, the little mermaid has her tongue cut out, almost stabs her prince, and dies; Disney's famous version of this classic tale is significantly happier and less violent.
But why is violence such a popular form of entertainment? There are several possible answers, and they are probably all true to some extent. People like watching violence because it is, at least to some degree, forbidden; all functioning societies need to have laws against murder. Seeing other