Ups and Downs of Entertainment

Entertainment has its own aspects and value for everyone. That is why the verb <entertain> has a lot of synonims – unwind, enjoy, diverse, amuse, blow sb’s mind, relax etc. Entertainment helps people to escape from the daily anxiety in their lives. R elaxation provide d by entertainment is essential for overall being of people. The indisputable truth is that entertainment takes an important part in our lives.

However, it has both positive and negative effects…

H uman beings ha ve always had an unquenchable thirst for entertainment through the ages which is greatest nowadays. In the past, people played board games with friends and family members, viewed fine art in t he gallery, went to the theatr e , played cards and walked in the parks . Today, we have got much more exciting experience in these areas of entertainment. In addition to watching TV , playing 3D computer games , we can spend hours in front of the screen, m ak ing a family tree, read ing a book or a magazine online, listen ing to music on the computer, compos ing a video, edit ing pictures or plan ing a vacation . The entertainment business has become a n industry with endless resources and opportunities. Amusement parks, stadiums, theatres, and casinos are all thriving businesses . It seems that we are starv ing for entertainment and ready to devote more and more resources to it. People are no longer satisfied just to go out for a cup of coffee , but they are willing to entertain through exclusive and unusual ways . Entertainment is like a drug which is out of control for the modern society . Millions of dollars are spent on mega- stadiums , reality-based productions and movies which are far from reality. But doesn’t its influence go further?

Of course, it does. For example, e ntertainment and education have always interacted. Modern technology facilitates educational process. Internet made it possible to find all kinds of information much faster and easier and use this information for work or pleasure. Also, television’s ‘high-brow’ shows including science programmes, language-teaching shows and classical concerts are widely used in schools as educational tools. Multimediia defined as carefully synchronized images, words, maps and diagrams is another medium for representing ideas. On the other hand, e ntertainers have served as teachers throughout history . Movie stars, pop singers, fashion designers, writers and sportsmen are modeling the behaviour of the young people. They inspire, aspire, they can even change somebody’s life direction.

But some kinds of e ntertainment like movies, music, video games, television, and even theatr e may be damaging to society and cause lack of cultural enrichment . For example, v iolence in movies and video games has recently be come a real problem in how it affects lives of children. Kids nowadays think that films with guns and fight are “cool.” They admire the movie “heroes” with their strong language and uncounsciously adopt their behaviour. Also, there is no effective protection against watching adult content programmes - a ny person can change the channel to watch a children-forbiden movie. N egative effects of entertainment s uch as drinking, hustling , gamblin g and riots can be observe d at baseball, football games , races and boxing matches ,too. Even though organized public sports are all in good fun, some of them encourage or put a false sense of good in violence and maybe that is why so many people do n ot get enough fun out of the games themselves that they play.

I believe certain measures should be taken to reduce the bad content in entertainment, but also parents should pay closer attention to what their children watch and listen to.