Bullfighting: The National Geographic
The National Geographic posted a short documentary in 2009 on a renowned Mexican bullfighter, Gaston Santos Senior and his son. Even though Santos was a bullfighter in Mexico, the information I gained from watching this video is still relevant and gave an insight into the world of a professional bullfighter.
Santos had a 30 year career, having fought over 2000 bulls. To justify his involvement in this sport, Santos said "Is there no violence in hockey or boxing? It’s in our nature, we have become predominant on our planet because of our violent competitive nature. So, I see nothing wrong for violence as part of a spectator sport. Most of them are.” (Santos, Gaston, National Geographic, 2009, 29th October 2021).
His point is that there can be "violence in any competitive sport, so bullfighting is no different". However, at this point I can only recognise the fact that people choose to participate in those sports, whereas the bulls are forced.
Also in this video, there was an explanation of the difference between an equestrian fighter and a matador fighter: equestrian fighters use pure bred Lou Sottano horses to round up the bull and charge at them, while matadors work on foot on their own. The horses have years of training to make them able to "dance in the path of a charging bull" because it is in their nature to be fearful.
The bullfight is described "More than just death for the sake of spectacle, it is a celebration of valour and artistry in the face of danger." Perhaps this is evidence of the outdated views surrounding the sport, that is is a tradition that has to be honoured.
Finally, the fight is a "family event. Some cheer for their favourite bullfighter, but others cheer for the bulls." This statement raises the question of the opinions of people on bullfighting; whether they think it is ethical or not and how much enjoyment they get from it. Therefore, I will research this more in one of my next posts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyZTA3RX5Y8 National Geographic, 2009, accessed 29th October
Source Evaluation:
This source is unbiased because the National Geographic is a none profit and educational organisation. It focuses on conservation and the study of world culture and history, so it is very reliable. However, the only disadvantage is that this source is from 2009, making it slightly outdated. Things could have changed since this documentary was filmed, so I will have to do more research to be able to judge whether the claims are still valid today.
This source helped me in researching both peoples opinions on bullfighting and an insight into the opinions of an actual bullfighter. His descriptions have provided a first hand opinion of someone whos life revolves around the sport and this is very useful to me.
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