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The Super Bowl: A Data Point on the Re-emergence of Roman Decadence
A friend of mine recently lent me a book called The Social Results of Early Christianity, by C. Schmidt, Professor of Theology in Strasburg. The impetus for the book, written in the 19th century, was an essay contest proposed by the French Academy “to trace the influence of Charity on the Roman World during the first centuries of the Christian era.” The first third of the book is devoted to describing various facets of Roman society and culture as they existed at the appearance of Christianity.
The parallels of pre-Christian Roman culture to the ethos of secular Western culture in our own age are numerous. Chapter 3, section 5 addresses the “Occupations of Slaves. Actors. Gladiators.” The Super Bowl, with its garish halftime show, represents a unique confluence of the actors and gladiators in American entertainment. Schmit’s description of the state of Roman entertainment I found especially pertinent:
Are things getting weirder? Brexit was only a mild shock: polls are often wrong, at least when conservative ideas prevail. Trump’s victory was a bigger surprise but again, polls, the echo chamber of the punditocracy, etc. But then there was the Super Bowl. And the Academy Awards. (Note to Meryl Streep: at least the Super Bowl stuck the landing.)
