Network Patterns Hidden in Every Fight

I’ve spent thousands of hours combing through footage of violent altercations.

For fights between two people, nothing captures what I’ve learned better than The Ax Fight (1975), of a Yanomami village in the Amazon.

In it, you can see that a fight is never just about two people.

It’s about the groups they represent.

The crowd matters. You may think of each fighter as a sort of arrowhead, a projectile weapon driven forward by his people. There is a performative and ritual quality to most fights, even when they’re not in a ring or cage.

You may watch The Ax Fight on Kanopy, if your local library provides you with a subscription.