Bread and Circuses.

The phrase 'Bread and Circuses' was first used in ancient Rome by Juvenal to describe the preoccupations of a Roman citizenry who, though once politically active, had now become  politically uninvolved, bought off with cheap grain and entertainment (1).
This piece points to two contemporary equivalents of 'Bread and Circuses' which both placate and distract people enabling the elite to carry on unchallenged. To quote Mark McGowan football is a "distraction from the realities of being a slave" (2).
(With a bigger TV this piece could be more effective!)   


(1) 'Bread and Circuses', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
(2) 'Mark McGowan (performance artist)', https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McGowan_(performance_artist)