THC: As someone who studies stage violence, how do you view something like WWF, particularly in the context of contemporary culture?

AT: Well, there seems to be an attempt to curb violence in our culture, although were still a gun-toting country. And this is an outlet for violence that is safe and legal and a way to enjoy violence in a public arena, something we can't normally do since we don't have staged executions yet (though I imagine someday we will on TV).

This is one way to sanction the desire to look and to see violence and to see people hurt. And also, it has this strange soap opera edge to it. So it seems to appeal across different lines in society. There's a narrative element to it, not just violence.

THC: Do you see it as a conservative force, socially speaking?

AT: I think it can be seen both ways: as very conservative and also as a subversive element in society. The idea seems to be that you go home and practice these moves on your little brother. So in a way it shows you how to unleash this real anger that you have inside of you when your brother says something nasty to you--now youve got this move, a body-slam or something. In some ways it sanctions that sort of violence, but in other ways it's an attempt to focus your energy into being the spectator instead of the participant.

THC: If we can go back to the Restoration for a second, at what point did stage depictions or torture actually stop?