The spectator's pleasure in the spectacle of combat sports

• Grant number: 16/00515-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2016
• End date: September 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Radio and Television
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Henrique Dionisio
• Grantee: Guilherme Secotte Nogueira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the characteristics of the pleasure that makes the spectator of combat sports (CS) to watch this type of spectacle. For this, we briefly analysed the combat sports' history to reference the spectacle of contemporary sport. Then tried to discuss how the spectator can feel pleasure by watching this type of spectacle according to the psychoanalytic perspective, and finally, how the death drive, categorized by Freud, has influence in this process. In this context, we ask: how the "aesthetics" of combat sports can act in the production of spectator's pleasure? Can the death drive be expressed by the spectator by watching the spectacle of the CS? Is it through mechanisms of projection and identification with the fighters that the spectator can feel pleasure by watching the spectacle of the CS? From these questions, and in order to verify our hypothesis, the search proceeding requires the execution of semi-structured interviews with spectators of CS, assisted by literature review.