The Renaissance Festival always has a jousting show, but it was different this year. After a few runs on horseback with lances, the knights dismounted and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. It got nasty.
These pictures are in chronological order. It felt genuinely dangerous. Never before did one knight slit the throat of the other and leave him to die, spouting fake blood, in the dust. I thought it was horrifying, perhaps reflecting the darker side of America. The audience was full of children. Madeleine, of course, was too young to get it but she did look over my shoulder while I was editing these shots. "He's mean!" she exclaimed.
Yes, really mean.
I wouldn't want to take a kid to something like this never mind myself. On the other hand it is very popular and lots of people like this kind of entertainment. Your photos illustrate the event well Bob.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that does seem to be taking things a bit over the edge.
ReplyDeleteYup. Given the current state of world affairs, the whole concept of faking such atrocities doesn't work for me at all. But then they aren't alone: many (most!) movies today contain an gurgling amount of violence - and my word "gurgling" relates to your photos.
ReplyDeleteI would have felt quite distressed to have my grand-daughter with me there. Great photos though. The looks on the 2 men's faces in the first photo are particulary striking.
Well, maybe next year skip that event.
ReplyDelete