I was going to dispute Ashley’s assertion, having recently started fighting again. But as I checked my thought process I came to her conclusion that violence is never beautiful.
However, as a fighter, I must somehow consolidate that with the fact that there is beauty in the practice. The difference lies in, I think, that the athlete, martial artist, fighter engages in what is intended to be a depiction of violence, rather than actual violence. Each participant consents beforehand to the possibility of bodily harm and even death. The goal however, is competition, athleticism, and sport. There are people there making sure that bodily harm is minimal.
This difference in intention and state of control, empowerment creates the depiction, and allows for beauty despite its brutality, and its close mapping to real violence. In this same way, BDSM can be beautiful, as well as depictions of violence in the often criticized media of film and video games. These untraditional canvasses can provide the same beauty as the more traditional arts. What is important is the purpose and intention, the consent and empowerment. It is with these tools that any depiction of violence can be criticized and filtered from actual violence.
