Questions about Bull Fighting

I am doing a project on Spain's Bullfighting and would like to know what people originally from Spain or living in Spain think about the following questions.

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?
2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?
3. What is your opinion of bull fights?
4. How common are bull fights?
5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?
6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted as being artistic?
7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?
8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?
9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?
10. How common are bull fight protests?
11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?
12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?

Please respond!

Thank You,
Al

You can also e-mail me:
kerr_alis@bentley.edu

Here I go:

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?
Yes, once or twice.

2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?
Uhh, 15 years-old more or less.

3. What is your opinion of bull fights?
I simply don't like them, not because I think they are cruel, just don't like them. I think it has most of art, and less of a bloody spectacle.

4. How common are bull fights?
Quite common in certain seasons of the year (March to August more or less).

5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?
I don't know, but they are quite ancient (at least some centuries old).

6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted as being artistic?
Yes, without doubt.

7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?
Yes. I have forgein family and they appreciate it even more than my family.


8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?
Not very common. A bull (as far as I know) is only pardoned if it demonstrates a superb quality (bravery).

9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?
I think that my country has graver problems not to wonder for bullfighting. I don't care if a hundred bulls die in plazas every year. They serve as food and, if not for bullfighting, their race would have extinguished.

10. How common are bull fight protests?
Fairly uncommon. The majority of the people don't care about it.

11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?
No, it is a very small part of spanish culture. But I wouldn't ban it.

12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?
Why is witnessing a movie or viewing a bull fight bad? Do someone thinks that spectators are going to bull-fight people in the streets?
Sincerly, I don't think either of them are negative or make people more violent. People who truely like bull-fighting don't like to see the bull suffer more than necessary.

Just my thoughts...

Fernando

Let me try to answer your questions:

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?

Yes...I have been to a few corridas, however, only in Spain.
2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?
The first time...20; the last time...way over 20.

3. What is your opinion of bull fights?
I studied the bull fight as a theatrical presentation. Knowing exactly what will happen and when, first of all...helps. But when you view the fight as theatre, it really is impressive. Moreover, it is the bull who decides the caliber of the fight...he is the "anti-hero" of the production. A good bull...a good fight; a bad bull...a miserable production.
4. How common are bull fights?
Very.
5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?
Julius Cesear was the last bull fighter to fight from a horse. Since then...no changes.

6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted as being artistic?
Absolutely...if taught and explained properly.

7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?

Yes...me.
8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?
The last corrida I attended, in Granada two years ago, the bull was pardoned. Was it a good fight? Yes.

9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?
I don't have any. I also do not believe that they will ban the fights. This idea has been around for generations...and yet they continue.

10. How common are bull fight protests?

Never saw one...never heard of one.

11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?
Ever hear of "Prohibition?"

12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?

No... a violent movie is considerably worse than a bull fight. To begin with, a bull fight is not supposed to be bloody. If done appropriately, the bull dies almost instantaneously...and, again, there is very little blood.

Bull fights in Mexico, however, are appalling. They seem to believe that the more blood the better. Then, of course, there is Portugal. They have the fight, but just don't kill the animal...they, frankly, torture it.

By the way, did you know that the meat of the dead bull is given to the poor?

Sheryl

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?
Yes, once. And dozens more from my parent's house balcony.

2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?
about 20

3. What is your opinion of bull fights?
For me, they are boring.

4. How common are bull fights?
Very.

5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?
Over the centuries the matador's role has increased its importance over the picador's one. that's a good thing.

6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted
as being artistic?
Mostly.

7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?
Probably. I don't know.

8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?
Not very common.

9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?
"hay gente para todo". I don't consider it an inteligent proposal.

10. How common are bull fight protests?
Uncommon. Rare.

11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?
Do you think banning the superbowl would influence US culture?

12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?
None of them are inherently 'bad'. what is bad? They are cultural events. Both can be good or bad, it depends on how they are done.

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?

No, never.

2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?

N/A

3. What is your opinion of bull fights?

It's a part of Spanish culture.

4. How common are bull fights?

Very common from February to October in most places of Spain (maybe Catalonia, Galicia and the Islands are the exceptions).

5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?

Dressings have changed and I think that the rules, too, but I am not an expert.

6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted as being artistic?

For sure.

7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?

Yes. There have been a few American and Japanese matadores, there are some Japanese flamenco dancers, and there are some Spaniards very involved in Asian cultures. In this global community we live in, people are free to choose whatever cultural aspects satisfies them more.

8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?

Uncommon. Only in cases of very high braveness.

9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?

I don't like bullfighting but I think that they are integral part of our culture so I'm not for their ban.

10. How common are bull fight protests?

Uncommon. Recently, the Barcelona City Council has declared the city against bullfighting, but it's not a common position in Spain.

11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?

No doubt.

12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?

I think the violent movie can be much worse. After all, a bullfight is a man versus a wild animal. In many violent movies, it's a wild man versus another wild men. People who cannot distinguish between a human life's worth and an animal life's worth, have a big mind trouble.

Thank you for your replies. They are very helpful. I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on how bull fighting is an art form? and how you feel about bull fighting as an art form?

Thank You,
Al

For anyone who does not know how an actual 'corrida' looks and feels, it's difficult to understand the art in it.
A bullfight has a lot of similarities with a theater play or a dancing number. It has a choreography, several 'acts'.
On top of that, the ornaments, the suits are VERY ellaborate and sophisticated, and there is a musical score that marks the beginning and end of each 'act' ('tercio').
I also think that the bullfight is partly an art and partly a sport.

How do I feel? Well, it's spectacular at first, but boring

Thought you might like to see this--it's from the "week in pictures" from MSNBC's site (I had to go to the source, Getty Images, for one I could save--and the logo takes away from the impact--but still, it's a good shot!) [img]http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/509481...9C30E9B9B114CE8[/img]

[I had always wondered what they wore under the traje de luces!]

I've only been to one bullfight. It was in Madrid and it was one of the days where the "newer" bullfighters were getting a chance.

I *highly* recommend the discussion of bullfighting in John Hooper's book, The New Spaniards (which is a really interesting book for a lot of other reasons). It really helped me to better understand the culture of bullfighting in Spain and the evolution it's undergone, especially in the 20th century.

No VPL there then taravb

I'm Spanish and I would try to answer you

1. Have you ever been to a bull fight?
No
2. How old were you when you went to a bull fight?
I remember when I was five years old I was in my granmother's village and children when to bullfights in the local parties but my mother though I was too young to go, till today almost 20 years later. What I men, there are places in wich bullfights are so popular that children (4/5 years old) use to go.

3. What is your opinion of bull fights?
I think their a tradition inSpain and no one have the richt to come to Spain and say to us what we must do. In my opinion, the bullfights are unfair. It's supossed that it's the human power against bull power but they make (horribly) the bull blee to make him weaker. Bullfighter have not that "luck".
I don't like it, I think it's most fair San Fermines in Pamplona. People just run with bulls and they can not even touch the animals if they do, they can punished.

4. How common are bull fights?
Quite common. In most of the village local parties and most of all durins spring-summer tines in cities as madrid or sevilla there are quite common because there are local parties there but bullfight can last a moth (they star with the parties but last more).

5. Are modern bullfights different in anyway from the historical bull fights?
No idea

6. Do you believe a bull fight can be interpreted as being artistic?
No. What's the creative part of a bullfight?

7. Do you believe that someone who has not grown up with bull fighting can truly appreciate a bull fight like someone from a culture that embraces bull fighting?
Why not? if as in my case it's possible the oppsosite: I've grown up with bullfighting and i don's appreciate it.

8. How common is it for a bull to be pardoned?
I don't know too much about it but I think it's not common. Maybe a 1% of the times?

9. I have read of people in Spain wanting to ban bull fights. What are your thoughts on this?
As I told you it's a tradition and I think nobody can ban but I would like it to change its rules not to hurt the bull. Just move on the bullring but not to wound the bull nor kill him.

10. How common are bull fight protests?
Not too common.

11. Do you think banning bull fights would influence Spanish culture?
Yes

12. Do you believe witnessing a violent movie is as bad as viewing a bull fight?
As violent. But mad people kill in real life other people because they have seen a violent movie. I wish they wuold see a bullfight and they would want to kill a bull.

1 Yes
2 When I actually went, around 30, but I saw them through TV since a child, maybe 6, maybe 8, maybe 10. TV was on and anybody could see it.

3 A torture. A slaughter. An ignominious savage tradition preserved up to date. Not very different from battering donkeys or hanging on a goose thats hold on a rope or thowing a goat from a bell tower, whic are considered savage by most but still happen in Spai.

4 In Madrid, Sevilla and a few others they are common. In the rest, only a week a year in local feasts.

5 I believe they are, there used to be bullfighting on horse and other specialities now disapeared.

6 No, it's so obvious... where's the art? moving the red cloth?

7 Some foreigners became very fond of it. I think there's hardly anything that's impossible for people.

8 Extremely strange. Maybe one time in ten thousands.

9 Many times there have been talks on that, and of course it could be done, but there is still too many uncultured people who can vote, and of course there are lobbies, since it's a business that moves lots of money.

10 Very scarce, scattered.

11 No, it would be a result of a change (very positive) in spanish culture.

12 Films are films, even kids can tell that Arnold Swarzenegger didn't die in the film, cause they know they saw it in the next. Bullfighting is REAL, real brutality that our kids are being fed with. How about seeing your children cut down in pieces a salamander?

Of course, bulls cannot be pardonned because they'd somehow 'teach' the others in contact, and it would be much more dangerous for bullfighters. They are not stupid and can communnicate, that's how species avoid extinction.