Fire and Knowledge

The Greeks, of course, had developed drama from its origins in religious ritual into an exquisite art form. The Romans carried on the Greek dramatic tradition, but they began to depart from its cannons of taste and decorum. Whereas the Greeks forbade the portrayal of violence onstage, the Romans in their late decadence reveled in bloody spectacle. Roman drama degenerated to the point that condemned criminals would sometimes be made to play a part in a play. When the time came for a death scene, the actor/criminal would actually be killed. The audience no doubt was greatly amused by such a realistic touch. Today our special-effects technology is superior to that of the Romans, but out fondness for horrific violence in movies is no different morally or aesthetically.

—Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Reading Between the Lines: A Christian Guide to Literature (1990), p. 154