Entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention.
Although people's attention is held by different things because individuals have different preferences, most forms of entertainment are recognisable and familiar.
The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose. This may be the case in various forms of ceremony, celebration, religious festival, or satire, for example. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears to be entertainment may also be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth.
An important aspect of entertainment is the audience, which turns a private
Some entertainment, such as public executions, is now illegal in most countries. Activities such as fencing or archery, once used in hunting or war, have become spectator sports. In the same way, other activities, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions, and then broadcast for entertainment. What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work or an act of cruelty by another.
The familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over into different media and have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creative remix. This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures.
Etymology
The Oxford English Dictionary gives Latin and French origins for the word "entertain", including inter (among) + tenir (to hold) as derivations, giving translations of "to hold mutually" or "to hold intertwined" and "to engage, keep occupied, the attention, thoughts, or time (of a person)". It also provides words like "merry-making", "pleasure", and "delight", as well as "to receive as a guest and show hospitality to". It cites a 1490 usage by William Caxton.[1]
Psychology and philosophy
Entertainment can be distinguished from other activities such as education and marketing even though they have learned how to use the appeal of entertainment to achieve their different goals. Sometimes entertainment can be a mixture for both. The importance and impact of entertainment is recognised by scholars[2][3] and its increasing sophistication has influenced practices in other fields such as museology.[4][5]
An entertainment might go beyond gratification and produce some insight in its audience. Entertainment may skilfully consider universal philosophical questions such as: "What does it mean to be human?"; "What is the right thing to do?"; or "How do I know what I know?". "The
History
The "ancient craft of communicating events and experiences, using words, images, sounds and gestures" by telling a story
Changes to what is regarded as entertainment can occur in response to cultural or historical shifts. Hunting wild animals, for example, was introduced into the Roman Empire from Carthage and became a popular public entertainment and spectacle, supporting an international trade in wild animals.[21]
Entertainment also evolved into different forms and expressions as a result of social upheavals such as wars and revolutions. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, for example, Revolutionary opera was sanctioned by the Communist party and World War I, the Great Depression and the Russian Revolution all affected entertainment.[22][23][24][25][26]
Relatively minor changes to the form and venue of an entertainment continue to come and go as they are affected by the period, fashion, culture, technology, and economics. For example, a story told in dramatic form can be presented in an open-air theatre, a
Court entertainment
Imperial and royal courts have provided training grounds and support for professional entertainers, with different cultures using palaces, castles and forts in different ways. In the
Court entertainment often moved from being associated with the court to more general use among commoners. This was the case with "masked dance-dramas" in Korea, which "originated in conjunction with village shaman rituals and eventually became largely an entertainment form for commoners".[31] Nautch dancers in the Mughal Empire performed in Indian courts and palaces. Another evolution, similar to that from courtly entertainment to common practice, was the transition from religious ritual to secular entertainment, such as happened during the Goryeo dynasty with the Narye festival. Originally "solely religious or ritualistic, a secular component was added at the conclusion".[32] Former courtly entertainments, such as jousting, often also survived in children's games.
In some courts, such as those during the Byzantine Empire, the genders were segregated among the upper classes, so that "at least before the period of the Komnenoi" (1081–1185) men were separated from women at ceremonies where there was entertainment such as receptions and banquets.[33]
Court ceremonies, palace banquets and the spectacles associated with them, have been used not only to entertain but also to demonstrate wealth and power. Such events reinforce the relationship between ruler and ruled; between those with power and those without, serving to "dramatise the differences between ordinary families and that of the ruler".[34] This is the case as much as for traditional courts as it is for contemporary ceremonials, such as the Hong Kong handover ceremony in 1997, at which an array of entertainments (including a banquet, a parade, fireworks, a festival performance and an art spectacle) were put to the service of highlighting a change in political power. Court entertainments were typically performed for royalty and courtiers as well as "for the pleasure of local and visiting dignitaries".[35] Royal courts, such as the Korean one, also supported traditional dances.[35] In Sudan, musical instruments such as the so-called "slit" or "talking" drums, once "part of the court orchestra of a powerful chief", had multiple purposes: they were used to make music; "speak" at ceremonies; mark community events; send long-distance messages; and call men to hunt or war.[36][37][38]
Courtly entertainments also demonstrate the complex relationship between entertainer and spectator: individuals may be either an entertainer or part of the audience, or they may swap roles even during the course of one entertainment. In the court at the Palace of Versailles, "thousands of courtiers, including men and women who inhabited its apartments, acted as both performers and spectators in daily rituals that reinforced the status hierarchy".[34]
Like court entertainment, royal occasions such as coronations and weddings provided opportunities to entertain both the
Public punishment
Although most forms of entertainment have evolved and continued over time, some once-popular forms are no longer as acceptable. For example, during earlier centuries in Europe, watching or participating in the punishment of criminals or social outcasts was an accepted and popular form of entertainment. Many forms of public humiliation also offered local entertainment in the past. Even capital punishment such as hanging and beheading, offered to the public as a warning, were also regarded partly as entertainment. Capital punishments that lasted longer, such as stoning and drawing and quartering, afforded a greater public spectacle. "A hanging was a carnival that diverted not merely the unemployed but the unemployable. Good bourgeois or curious aristocrats who could afford it watched it from a carriage or rented a room."[40] Public punishment as entertainment lasted until the 19th century by which time "the awesome event of a public hanging aroused the[ir] loathing of writers and philosophers".[40] Both Dickens and Thackeray wrote about a hanging in Newgate Prison in 1840, and "taught an even wider public that executions are obscene entertainments".[40]
Children
Children's entertainment is centred on
Entertainment is also provided to children or taught to them by adults and many activities that appeal to them such as puppets, clowns, pantomimes and cartoons are also enjoyed by adults.[41][42]
Children have always played games. It is accepted that as well as being entertaining, playing games helps children's development. One of the most famous visual accounts of children's games is a painting by
Most forms of entertainment can be or are modified to suit children's needs and interests. During the 20th century, starting with the often criticised but nonetheless important work of
In the 21st century, as with adult products, much entertainment is available for children on the internet for private use. This constitutes a significant change from earlier times. The amount of time expended by children indoors on screen-based entertainment and the "remarkable collapse of children's engagement with nature" has drawn criticism for its negative effects on imagination, adult cognition and psychological well-being.[45][46][47]
-
Toy Coldstream Guards soldiers (19th century)
-
Doll of a newborn baby
-
Children being entertained by a dog (19th century painting)
-
Boys play recorders
-
Girl in a swimming pool
-
Children in a group game
-
Boys watch children's TV
-
Toddler using a tablet computer
Forms
Banquets
-
A banquet scene from Ancient Egypt (from a wall painting in Thebes)
-
Byzantinebanquet showing musicians and various musical instruments (1204–1453)
-
Jean Fouquet, Banquet for Charles V of France (1455–1460)
-
A banquet includingMirzasin 1507 (miniature c. 1590)
-
Victory banquet byEmperor Qianlong to greet the officers who attended the campaign against Taiwan. (late 18th century)
-
Landlords coming to the peasants' wedding banquet (late 18th century)
-
The banquet hall in the palace of King Sahle Selassie painting from a photo, Ethiopia (1852)
-
Coronation banquet ofGeorge IV in Westminster Hall(1821)
-
Chinese banquet in a banquet hall given as a birthday celebration (2012)
Music
Music is a supporting component of many kinds of entertainment and most kinds of performance. For example, it is used to enhance storytelling,[54] it is indispensable in dance and opera,[55][56] and is usually incorporated into dramatic film or theatre productions.[57][58][59]
Music is also a universal and popular type of entertainment on its own, constituting an entire performance such as when concerts are given. Depending on the rhythm, instrument, performance and style, music is divided into many genres, such as classical, jazz, folk, rock, pop music or traditional.[60][61] Since the 20th century, performed music, once available only to those who could pay for the performers, has been available cheaply to individuals by the entertainment industry, which broadcasts it or pre-records it for sale.[62]
The wide variety of musical performances, whether or not they are artificially amplified, all provide entertainment irrespective of whether the performance is from soloists, choral or orchestral groups, or ensemble. Live performances use specialised venues, which might be small or large; indoors or outdoors; free or expensive.[63] The audiences have different expectations of the performers as well as of their own role in the performance. For example, some audiences expect to listen silently and are entertained by the excellence of the music, its rendition or its interpretation.[64] Other audiences of live performances are entertained by the ambience and the chance to participate. Even more listeners are entertained by pre-recorded music and listen privately.
The instruments used in musical entertainment are either solely the human voice or solely instrumental or some combination of the two.[65] Whether the performance is given by vocalists or instrumentalists, the performers may be soloists or part of a small or large group, in turn entertaining an audience that might be individual, passing by, small or large.[66] Singing is generally accompanied by instruments although some forms, notably a cappella and overtone singing, are unaccompanied. Modern concerts often use various special effects and other theatrics to accompany performances of singing and dancing.[63][67]
-
Traditional instruments used to accompany dance (Tibet, 1949)
-
Children's choir providing musical entertainment (Soviet Union, 1979)
-
Ensemble entertains travellers in the Paris Métro (2002)
-
Drummer playing Boduberu (Maldives, 2010)
-
Choir and orchestra in ecclesiastical setting (Italy, 2008)
-
Contemporary audience in ancient outdoor stadium (Greece, 2009)
-
A concert with a 3D enhanced stage (Singapore, 2010)
-
Concert hall audience (Netherlands, 2010)
-
Crowd surfing at a concert (France, 2011)
-
Woman listening privately to music through headphones (Russia, 2010)
Games
Games are played for entertainment – sometimes purely for recreation, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who is a player.
Equipment varies with the game.
Video games are played using a controller to create results on a screen. They can also be played online with participants joining in remotely. In the second half of the 20th century and in the 21st century the number of such games increased enormously, providing a wide variety of entertainment to players around the world.[69][70] Video games are popular across the world.
-
Televised match of StarCraft (2006) South Korea
An electronic game
Literature
French poet Louise Labé (1520/1522–1566) wrote "a profound and timeless insight into reading's innate power".
The past gives us pleasure and is of more service than the present; but the delight of what we once felt is dimly lost never to return and its memory is as distressing as the events themselves were then delectable ... But when we happen to put our thoughts in writing, how easily, later on, does our mind race through an infinity of events, incessantly alive, so that a long time afterwards when we take up those written pages we can return to the same place and to the same disposition in which we once found ourselves.
quote from and commentary by Fischer (2003)[71]
The young Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) read chivalrous novels and wrote about the "rapture" that books provided.
I became accustomed to reading [novels] and that small fault made me cool my desire and will to do other tasks. I thought nothing of spending many hours a day and night in this vain exercise, hidden from my father. My rapture in this was so great, that unless I had a new book to read, it seemed to me that I could not be happy.
quoted in Fischer (2003)[72]
Among literature's many genres are some designed, in whole or in part, purely for entertainment.
Comedy
Comedy is both a genre of entertainment and a component of it, providing laughter and amusement, whether the comedy is the sole purpose or used as a form of contrast in an otherwise serious piece. It is a valued contributor to many forms of entertainment, including in literature, theatre, opera, film and games.
Shakespeare wrote seventeen
The meaning of the word "comedy" and the audience's expectations of it have changed over time and vary according to culture.[86] Simple physical comedy such as slapstick is entertaining to a broad range of people of all ages. However, as cultures become more sophisticated, national nuances appear in the style and references so that what is amusing in one culture may be unintelligible in another.[87]
Performance
Live performances before an audience constitute a major form of entertainment, especially before the invention of audio and video recording. Performance takes a wide range of forms, including theatre, music and drama. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European royal courts presented masques that were complex theatrical entertainments involving dancing, singing and acting. Opera is a similarly demanding performance style that remains popular. It also encompass all three forms, demanding a high level of musical and dramatic skill, collaboration and like the masque, production expertise as well.
Audiences generally show their appreciation of an entertaining performance with applause. However, all performers run the risk of failing to hold their audience's attention and thus, failing to entertain. Audience dissatisfaction is often brutally honest and direct.
Of course you all ought to know that while singing a good song or, or giving a good recitation ... helps to arrest the company's attention ... Such at least was the case with me – the
publican devised a plan to bring my entertainment to an end abruptly, and the plan was, he told the waiter to throw a wet towel at me, which, of course, the waiter did ... and I received the wet towel, full force, in the face, which staggered me ... and had the desired effect of putting an end to me giving any more entertainments in the house.— William McGonagall (Performance artist and poet)[88]
Storytelling
Storytelling is an ancient form of entertainment that has influenced almost all other forms. It is "not only entertainment, it is also thinking through human conflicts and contradictions".[17] Hence, although stories may be delivered directly to a small listening audience, they are also presented as entertainment and used as a component of any piece that relies on a narrative, such as film, drama, ballet, and opera. Written stories have been enhanced by illustrations, often to a very high artistic standard, for example, on illuminated manuscripts and on ancient scrolls such as Japanese ones.[89] Stories remain a common way of entertaining a group that is on a journey. Showing how stories are used to pass the time and entertain an audience of travellers, Chaucer used pilgrims in his literary work The Canterbury Tales in the 14th century, as did Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century in Journey to the West. Even though journeys can now be completed much faster, stories are still told to passengers en route in cars and aeroplanes either orally or delivered by some form of technology.
The power of stories to entertain is evident in one of the most famous ones – Scheherazade – a story in the Persian professional storytelling tradition, of a woman who saves her own life by telling stories.[90][91][92] The connections between the different types of entertainment are shown by the way that stories like this inspire a retelling in another medium, such as music, film or games. For example, composers Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel and Szymanowski have each been inspired by the Scheherazade story and turned it into an orchestral work; director Pasolini made a film adaptation; and there is an innovative video game based on the tale. Stories may be told wordlessly, in music, dance or puppetry for example, such as in the Javanese tradition of wayang, in which the performance is accompanied by a gamelan orchestra or the similarly traditional Punch and Judy show.
Epic narratives, poems, sagas and allegories from all cultures tell such gripping tales that they have inspired countless other stories in all forms of entertainment. Examples include the Hindu Ramayana and Mahabharata; Homer's Odyssey and Iliad; the first Arabic novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan; the Persian epic Shahnameh; the Sagas of Icelanders and the celebrated Tale of the Genji. Collections of stories, such as Grimms' Fairy Tales or those by Hans Christian Andersen, have been similarly influential. Originally published in the early 19th century, this collection of folk stories significantly influence modern popular culture, which subsequently used its themes, images, symbols, and structural elements to create new entertainment forms.[93]
Some of the most powerful and long-lasting stories are the foundation stories, also called
-
William Blake's painting of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales
-
The Arabian Nights
-
Telling stories via Wayang golek puppets in Java
-
Tosa Mitsuoki illustrating her Tale of Genji
Theatre
Theatre performances, typically dramatic or musical, are presented on a stage for an audience and have a history that goes back to Hellenistic times when "leading musicians and actors" performed widely at "poetical competitions", for example at "Delphi, Delos, Ephesus".[96] Aristotle and his teacher Plato both wrote on the theory and purpose of theatre. Aristotle posed questions such as "What is the function of the arts in shaping character? Should a member of the ruling class merely watch performances or be a participant and perform? What kind of entertainment should be provided for those who do not belong to the elite?"[97] The "Ptolemys in Egypt, the Seleucids in Pergamum" also had a strong theatrical tradition and later, wealthy patrons in Rome staged "far more lavish productions".[98][99]
Expectations about the performance and their engagement with it have changed over time.[100] For example, in England during the 18th century, "the prejudice against actresses had faded"[101] and in Europe generally, going to the theatre, once a socially dubious activity, became "a more respectable middle-class pastime"[102] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the variety of popular entertainments increased. Operetta and music halls became available, and new drama theatres such as the Moscow Art Theatre and the Suvorin Theatre in Russia opened.[103] At the same time, commercial newspapers "began to carry theatre columns and reviews" that helped make theatre "a legitimate subject of intellectual debate" in general discussions about art and culture.[103] Audiences began to gather to "appreciate creative achievement, to marvel at, and be entertained by, the prominent 'stars'."[103] Vaudeville and music halls, popular at this time in the United States, England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were themselves eventually superseded.[104]
Plays,[105] musicals,[106] monologues, pantomimes, and performance poetry are part of the very long history of theatre, which is also the venue for the type of performance known as comedy.[107] In the 20th century, radio and television, often broadcast live, extended the theatrical tradition that continued to exist alongside the new forms.
The stage and the spaces set out in front of it for an audience create a theatre. All types of stage are used with all types of seating for the audience, including the impromptu or improvised; the temporary; the elaborate; or the traditional and permanent. They are erected indoors or outdoors. The skill of managing, organising and preparing the stage for a performance is known as stagecraft. The audience's experience of the entertainment is affected by their expectations, the stagecraft, the type of stage, and the type and standard of seating provided.
-
Satirical representation of audience reaction (1809)
-
Improvised stage for a public performance at a fair (1642)
-
Improvised stage for domestic theatre
-
Outdoor stage before a show
-
Concert theatre ready for solo instrumentalist
-
Outdoor theatre created fromEdinburgh castleforecourt
-
Traditional stage for Japanese Noh theatre
-
Stage for theatre in the round
-
Teatro Colón, a highly decorative, horseshoe theatre
-
Stagecraft – a locking rail backstage
Cinema and film
Films are a major form of entertainment, although not all films have entertainment as their primary purpose: documentary film, for example, aims to create a record or inform,[108] although the two purposes often work together. The medium was a global business from the beginning: "The Lumière brothers were the first to send cameramen throughout the world, instructing them to film everything which could be of interest for the public."[109] In 1908, Pathé launched and distributed newsreels[109] and by World War I, films were meeting an enormous need for mass entertainment. "In the first decade of the [20th] century cinematic programmes combined, at random, fictions and newsfilms."[109] The Americans first "contrived a way of producing an illusion of motion through successive images," but "the French were able to transform a scientific principle into a commercially lucrative spectacle".[110] Film therefore became a part of the entertainment industry from its early days. Increasingly sophisticated techniques have been used in the film medium to delight and entertain audiences. Animation, for example, which involves the display of rapid movement in an art work, is one of these techniques that particularly appeals to younger audiences.[111] The advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the 21st century made it "possible to do spectacle" more cheaply and "on a scale never dreamed of" by Cecil B. DeMille.[112] From the 1930s to 1950s, movies and radio were the "only mass entertainment" but by the second decade of the 21st century, technological changes, economic decisions, risk aversion and globalisation reduced both the quality and range of films being produced.[113] Sophisticated visual effects and CGI techniques, for example, rather than humans, were used not only to create realistic images of people, landscapes and events (both real and fantastic) but also to animate non-living items such as Lego normally used as entertainment as a game in physical form.[114] Creators of The Lego Movie "wanted the audience to believe they were looking at actual Lego bricks on a tabletop that were shot with a real camera, not what we actually did, which was create vast environments with digital bricks inside the computer."[114] The convergence of computers and film has allowed entertainment to be presented in a new way and the technology has also allowed for those with the personal resources to screen films in a home theatre, recreating in a private venue the quality and experience of a public theatre. This is similar to the way that the nobility in earlier times could stage private musical performances or the use of domestic theatres in large homes to perform private plays in earlier centuries.
Films also re-imagine entertainment from other forms, turning stories, books and plays, for example, into new entertainments.
As in other media, excellence and achievement in films is recognised through a range of awards, including ones from the American
Dance
The many forms of dance provide entertainment for all age groups and cultures. Dance can be serious in tone, such as when it is used to express a culture's history or important stories; it may be provocative; or it may put in the service of comedy. Since it combines many forms of entertainment – music, movement, storytelling, theatre – it provides a good example of the various ways that these forms can be combined to create entertainment for different purposes and audiences.
Dance is "a form of cultural representation" that involves not just dancers, but "
Since dance is often "associated with the female body and women's experiences",
Various political regimes have sought to control or ban dancing or specific types of dancing, sometimes because of disapproval of the music or clothes associated with it. Nationalism, authoritarianism and racism have played a part in banning dances or dancing. For example, during the Nazi regime, American dances such as swing, regarded as "completely un-German", had "become a public offense and needed to be banned".[129] Similarly, in Shanghai, China, in the 1930s, "dancing and nightclubs had come to symbolise the excess that plagued Chinese society" and officials wondered if "other forms of entertainment such as brothels" should also be banned. Banning had the effect of making "the dance craze" even greater.[130] In Ireland, the Public Dance Hall Act of 1935 "banned – but did not stop – dancing at the crossroads and other popular dance forms such as house and barn dances."[126] In the US, various dances were once banned, either because like burlesque, they were suggestive,[131] or because, like the Twist, they were associated with African Americans.[132] "African American dancers were typically banned from performing in minstrel shows until after the American Civil War."[133]
Dances can be performed
-
Traditional dancer (Thailand)
-
Harlequin and Columbine (Denmark)
-
Ballroom dancing (Czech Republic)
-
Belly dancer (Morocco)
-
Morris dancing (England)
-
Highland wedding (Scotland, 1780)
-
Warrior dancers (Papua New Guinea)
-
Fire Dragon dance for Chinese New Year
-
Children inMass Games(North Korea)
Animals
Animals have been used for the purposes of entertainment for millennia. They have been hunted for entertainment (as opposed to hunted for food); displayed while they hunt for prey; watched when they compete with each other; and watched while they perform a trained routine for human amusement. The Romans, for example, were entertained both by competitions involving wild animals and acts performed by trained animals. They watched as "lions and bears danced to the music of pipes and cymbals; horses were trained to kneel, bow, dance and prance ... acrobats turning handsprings over wild lions and vaulting over wild leopards." There were "violent confrontations with wild beasts" and "performances over time became more brutal and bloodier".[134]
Animals that perform trained routines or "acts" for human entertainment include fleas in flea circuses, dolphins in dolphinaria, and monkeys doing tricks for an audience on behalf of the player of a street organ. Animals kept in zoos in ancient times were often kept there for later use in the arena as entertainment or for their entertainment value as exotica.[135]
Many contests between animals are now regarded as sports – for example, horse racing is regarded as both a sport and an important source of entertainment. Its economic impact means that it is also considered a global industry, one in which horses are carefully transported around the world to compete in races. In Australia, the horse race run on Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday and the public regards the race as an important annual event. Like horse racing, camel racing requires human riders, while greyhound racing does not. People find it entertaining to watch animals race competitively, whether they are trained, like horses, camels or dogs, or untrained, like cockroaches.
The use of animals for entertainment is sometimes controversial, especially the hunting of wild animals. Some contests between animals, once popular entertainment for the public, have become illegal because of the cruelty involved. Among these are
-
'Punjab Hills, India, 1790
-
Trained monkey performing for an audience of children (1900–20)
-
Crowd watchesPharlap win the Melbourne Cupin Australia, 1930
-
Crowd watches a bullfight in Mexico, 2010
Circus
A circus, described as "one of the most brazen of entertainment forms",[139] is a special type of theatrical performance, involving a variety of physical skills such as acrobatics and juggling and sometimes performing animals. Usually thought of as a travelling show performed in a big top, circus was first performed in permanent venues. Philip Astley is regarded as the founder of the modern circus in the second half of the 18th century and Jules Léotard is the French performer credited with developing the art of the trapeze, considered synonymous with circuses.[140] Astley brought together performances that were generally familiar in traditional British fairs "at least since the beginning of the 17th century": "tumbling, rope-dancing, juggling, animal tricks and so on".[139] It has been claimed that "there is no direct link between the Roman circus and the circus of modern times. ... Between the demise of the Roman 'circus' and the foundation of Astley's Amphitheatre in London some 1300 years later, the nearest thing to a circus ring was the rough circle formed by the curious onlookers who gathered around the itinerant tumbler or juggler on a village green."[141]
Magic
The form of entertainment known as stage magic or conjuring and recognisable as performance, is based on traditions and texts of magical rites and dogmas that have been a part of most cultural traditions since ancient times. (References to magic, for example, can be found in the Bible, in Hermeticism, in Zoroastrianism, in the Kabbalistic tradition, in mysticism and in the sources of Freemasonry.)[142]
Stage magic is performed for an audience in a variety of media and locations: on stage, on television, in the street, and live at parties or events. It is often combined with other forms of entertainment, such as comedy or music and
Street performance
Street entertainment, street performance, or "busking" are forms of performance that have been meeting the public's need for entertainment for centuries.[148] It was "an integral aspect of London's life", for example, when the city in the early 19th century was "filled with spectacle and diversion".[149] Minstrels or troubadours are part of the tradition. The art and practice of busking is still celebrated at annual busking festivals.[150]
There are three basic forms of contemporary street performance. The first form is the "circle show". It tends to gather a crowd, usually has a distinct beginning and end, and is done in conjunction with street theatre, puppeteering, magicians, comedians, acrobats, jugglers and sometimes musicians. This type has the potential to be the most lucrative for the performer because there are likely to be more donations from larger audiences if they are entertained by the act. Good buskers control the crowd so patrons do not obstruct foot traffic. The second form, the walk-by act, has no distinct beginning or end. Typically, the busker provides an entertaining ambience, often with an unusual instrument, and the audience may not stop to watch or form a crowd. Sometimes a walk-by act spontaneously turns into a circle show. The third form, café busking, is performed mostly in restaurants, pubs, bars and cafés. This type of act occasionally uses public transport as a venue.
Parades
Parades are held for a range of purposes, often more than one. Whether their mood is sombre or festive, being public events that are designed to attract attention and activities that necessarily divert normal traffic, parades have a clear entertainment value to their audiences. Cavalcades and the modern variant, the motorcade, are examples of public processions. Some people watching the parade or procession may have made a special effort to attend, while others become part of the audience by happenstance. Whatever their mood or primary purpose, parades attract and entertain people who watch them pass by. Occasionally, a parade takes place in an improvised theatre space (such as the Trooping the Colour in ) and tickets are sold to the physical audience while the global audience participates via broadcast.
One of the earliest forms of parade were "
Many religious festivals (especially those that incorporate
Parades generally impress and delight often by including unusual, colourful costumes. Sometimes they also commemorate or celebrate. Sometimes they have a serious purpose, such as when the context is military, when the intention is sometimes to intimidate; or religious, when the audience might participate or have a role to play. Even if a parade uses new technology and is some distance away, it is likely to have a strong appeal, draw the attention of onlookers and entertain them.
-
Triumph of Caesar, Andreani (1588/9)
-
Alfred Jacob Miller Cavalcade by the Snake Indians (1858–60)
-
Parade from the onlooker perspective (1816)
-
Inauguration parade of US President McKinley (1897)
-
Respectful crowd at motorcade in Canada (1945)
-
Ganesh Visarjan, Mumbai (2007)
-
Costumes in West Indian Day parade (2008)
-
Celebratory parade in London before seated audience (2008)
-
Flypast (2012)
-
Festive parade in Brazil (2014)
Fireworks
The "fire, sudden noise and smoke" of fireworks is still a significant part of public celebration and entertainment. For example, fireworks were one of the primary forms of display chosen to celebrate the turn of the
Sport
Aside from sports that have worldwide appeal and competitions, such as the Olympic Games, the entertainment value of a sport depends on the culture and country where people play it. For example, in the United States, baseball and basketball games are popular forms of entertainment; in Bhutan, the national sport is archery; in New Zealand, it is rugby union; in Iran, it is freestyle wrestling. Japan's unique sumo wrestling contains ritual elements that derive from its long history.[160] In some cases, such as the international running group Hash House Harriers, participants create a blend of sport and entertainment for themselves, largely independent of spectator involvement, where the social component is more important than the competitive.
The evolution of an activity into a sport and then an entertainment is also affected by the local climate and conditions. For example, the modern sport of surfing is associated with Hawaii and that of snow skiing probably evolved in Scandinavia. While these sports and the entertainment they offer to spectators have spread around the world, people in the two originating countries remain well known for their prowess. Sometimes the climate offers a chance to adapt another sport such as in the case of ice hockey – an important entertainment in Canada.
Fairs, expositions, shopping
Fairs and exhibitions have existed since ancient and medieval times, displaying wealth, innovations and objects for trade and offering specific entertainments as well as being places of entertainment in themselves.[161] Whether in a medieval market or a small shop, "shopping always offered forms of exhilaration that took one away from the everyday".[162] However, in the modern world, "merchandising has become entertainment: spinning signs, flashing signs, thumping music ... video screens, interactive computer kiosks, day care .. cafés".[162]
By the 19th century, "expos" that encouraged arts, manufactures and commerce had become international. They were not only hugely popular but affected international ideas. For example, the 1878 Paris Exposition facilitated international cooperation about ideas, innovations and standards. From London 1851 to Paris 1900, "in excess of 200 million visitors had entered the turnstiles in London, Paris, Vienna, Philadelphia, Chicago and a myriad of smaller shows around the world."[161][163] Since World War II "well over 500 million visits have been recorded through world expo turnstiles".[164] As a form of spectacle and entertainment, expositions influenced "everything from architecture, to patterns of globalisation, to fundamental matters of human identity"[164] and in the process established the close relationship between "fairs, the rise of department stores and art museums",[165] the modern world of mass consumption and the entertainment industry.
-
Advertisement for 1889 Paris Universal Exposition
-
Audience queuing for Qatar's World Exposition Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo
-
Ball pit of the type provided for children's entertainment in shopping malls
Safety
Some entertainments, such as at large festivals (whether religious or secular), concerts, clubs, parties and celebrations, involve big crowds. From earliest times, crowds at an entertainment have associated hazards and dangers, especially when combined with the recreational consumption of
Industry
Entertainment is big business, especially in the United States,[168] but ubiquitous in all cultures. Although kings, rulers and powerful people have always been able to pay for entertainment to be provided for them and in many cases have paid for public entertainment, people generally have made their own entertainment or when possible, attended a live performance. Technological developments in the 20th century, especially in the area of mass media, meant that entertainment could be produced independently of the audience, packaged and sold on a commercial basis by an entertainment industry.[168][169] Sometimes referred to as show business, the industry relies on business models to produce, market, broadcast or otherwise distribute many of its traditional forms, including performances of all types.[170] The industry became so sophisticated that its economics became a separate area of academic study.[171]
The
One of the consequences of the development of the entertainment industry has been the creation of new types of employment. While jobs such as writer, musician and composer exist as they always have, people doing this work are likely to be employed by a company rather than a patron as they once would have been. New jobs have appeared, such as
Prestigious awards are given by the industry for excellence in the various types of entertainment. For example, there are awards for music, games (including video games), comics, theatre, television, film, dance and magical arts. Sporting awards are made for the results and skill, rather than for the entertainment value.
-
Packaged entertainment
35mmfilm reelsin boxes -
Choosing music from a record store (Germany, 1988)
-
Ticket showing electronic barcode (Valencia, 2005)
Architecture
Architecture for entertainment
Purpose-built structures as venues for entertainment that accommodate audiences have produced many famous and innovative buildings, among the most recognisable of which are
Two of the chief architectural concerns for the design of venues for mass audiences are speed of egress and safety. The speed at which the venue empty is important both for amenity and safety, because large crowds take a long time to disperse from a badly designed venue, which creates a safety risk. The
In the 21st century, entertainment venues, especially stadia, are "likely to figure among the leading architectural genres".[177] However, they require "a whole new approach" to design, because they need to be "sophisticated entertainment centres, multi-experience venues, capable of being enjoyed in many diverse ways".[178] Hence, architects now have to design "with two distinct functions in mind, as sports and entertainment centres playing host to live audiences, and as sports and entertainment studios serving the viewing and listening requirements of the remote audience".[178]
-
Colosseum, Rome (70–80 AD), Roman venue for mass entertainment
-
The Grand Foyer in the Palais Garnier, Paris (1875), influenced architecture around the world.
-
Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, at inauguration (1950) the world's largest stadium by capacity
-
laser games, virtual experiences), 40 different stores and a hotel.[179]
Architecture as entertainment
Architects who push the boundaries of design or construction sometimes create buildings that are entertaining because they exceed the expectations of the public and the client and are aesthetically outstanding. Buildings such as Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, are of this type, becoming a tourist attraction as well as a significant international museum. Other apparently usable buildings are really follies, deliberately constructed for a decorative purpose and never intended to be practical.
On the other hand, sometimes architecture is entertainment, while pretending to be functional. The tourism industry, for example, creates or renovates buildings as "attractions" that have either never been used or can never be used for their ostensible purpose. They are instead re-purposed to entertain visitors often by simulating cultural experiences. Buildings, history and sacred spaces are thus made into commodities for purchase. Such intentional tourist attractions divorce buildings from the past so that "the difference between historical authenticity and contemporary entertainment venues/theme parks becomes hard to define".[180] Examples include "the preservation of the Alcázar of Toledo, with its grim Civil War History, the conversion of slave dungeons into tourist attractions in Ghana, [such as, for example, Cape Coast Castle] and the presentation of indigenous culture in Libya".[181] The specially constructed buildings in amusement parks represent the park's theme and are usually neither authentic nor completely functional.
Effects of developments in electronic media
Globalisation
By the second half of the 20th century, developments in electronic media made possible the delivery of entertainment products to mass audiences across the globe. The technology enabled people to see, hear and participate in all the familiar forms – stories, theatre, music, dance – wherever they live. The rapid development of entertainment technology was assisted by improvements in
Obsolescence
Convergence
By the second decade of the 21st century,
The introduction of television altered the availability, cost, variety and quality of entertainment products for the public and the convergence of online entertainment is having a similar effect. For example, the possibility and popularity of user-generated content, as distinct from commercial product, creates a "networked audience model [that] makes programming obsolete".
While technology increases demand for entertainment products and offers increased speed of delivery, the forms that make up the content are in themselves, relatively stable. Storytelling, music, theatre, dance and games are recognisably the same as in earlier centuries.
See also
- Entertainment law
- Family entertainment centre
- List of entertainer occupations
- Outline of entertainment
- Performing arts
- Performing arts education
- Social entertainment
References
- ^ The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1971, Vol 1 pp. 213–214)
- ISBN 978-0-8058-5238-7.
- ISBN 978-0-415-99806-2. p. 22.
- ISBN 978-1-84541-164-0.
- ISBN 978-0-203-93264-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8058-3324-9.
- ISBN 978-1-84872-944-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4106-0959-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4411-9870-9.
- ^ "Schadenfreude: Why Do We Like To See Others Suffer?". Science ABC. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-8126-9502-1.
- ^ "IMDb The Matrix worldwide release dates". IMDb. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ Jones, Peter (1975). Philosophy and the Novel. Oxford, Clarendon.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 978-1-904048-46-6.
- ISBN 978-0-230-29112-6.
- ^ Gakhar, Sonia (2007). The influence of storytelling on pre-service students' attitudes and intentions (MSc Thesis). Iowa State University.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-231-13608-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-137356-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4058-0739-5.
- ^ Wiseman, Douglas C. (1977). Medieval Sport: Quest for Survival. Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse Microfiche.
- ISBN 978-0-472-10924-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-57015-2.
- ISBN 978-1-902806-74-7.
- ISBN 978-0-7499-2252-8.
- ISBN 978-0-8264-6321-0.
- ISBN 978-0-8014-4027-4.
- ^ McDonald Walton (2007), p. 51.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25443-5. pp. 4–5.
- ISBN 978-0-7126-0910-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8195-6494-8. p. 36.
- ^ Van Zile (2001), p. 9.
- ^ Van Zile (2001), p. 69.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7546-5737-8.
- ^ a b Walthall (2008).
- ^ a b Van Zile (2001), p. 6.
- ^ McGregor, Neil. "Episode 94: Sudanese Slit Drum (Transcript)". History of the World in 100 Objects. BBC Radio 4/British Museum. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-84614-413-4.
- ^ "British Museum catalogue image of Sudanese slit drum". Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-521-59436-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-393-32363-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-7910-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7153-5328-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-6747-5.
- ^ Thompson, Hogan & Clark (2012), p. 114.
- ISBN 978-0-231-03870-6.
- ISBN 978-1-56512-391-5.
- ^ Monbiot, George (19 November 2012). "If children lose contact with nature they won't fight for it". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- ISSN 0026-7074.
- ISSN 0043-5597.
- ISBN 978-0-11-671099-4.
- ^ Palme, Per (1957). Triumph of peace : a study of the Whitehall Banqueting House. London: Thames and Hudson.
- ISBN 978-0-947334-46-8.
- ISBN 978-0-646-05369-1.
- ISSN 0043-8774.
- ^ Newman, Ernest. The stories of the great operas, with music : the stories and descriptive analysis of the music. London: Geo Newnes.
- ISBN 978-0-07-013796-7.
- ISBN 978-0-521-84294-5.
- ISBN 978-0-393-02988-8.
- ISBN 978-1-879505-88-9.
- ^ Buck, P.C., ed. (1929–1938). The Oxford history of music (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press, 1929–38.
- ^ Gray, Cecil (1931). The history of music (2nd revised ed.). London, New York: London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner ; New York : Knopf.
- ^ Chase, Gilbert (1946). Music in radio broadcasting : [a symposium]. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-56192-1.
- S2CID 241762186.
- ^ Miller, Hugh Milton (1960). History of music (3rd ed.). New York: Barnes & Noble.
- ^ New Oxford history of music 1954–1990. London; New York: Oxford University Press, 1954–1990. 1954–1990.
- ISBN 978-0-7145-3162-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4027-4221-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4129-0033-1.
- ISBN 978-0-203-64290-0.
- ISBN 978-1-86189-160-0.
- ^ Fischer (2003), pp. 234–235.
- ^ Fischer (2003), p. 215.
- ^ Fischer (2003), p. 212.
- ISBN 978-1-86189-855-5.
- ISBN 978-0-87833-808-5.
- ^ ""Charles M. Schulz on Cartooning", Hogan's Alley #1, 1994". Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^ Films have been made of the Peanuts cartoons, including one released in 2015 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the comic strip.
- ISBN 978-0-664-22222-2.
- ISBN 978-1-4411-9588-3.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-8266-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8386-4096-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84384-200-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-85668-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8387-5680-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7734-5303-6.
- ISBN 0-313-32706-8.
- ISBN 978-1-874744-01-6.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-300-17590-5.
- ^ Yamanaka, Yuriko; Nishio, Tetsuo (2006). The Arabian nights and orientalism: perspectives from East & West. London; New York: I.B. Tauris.
- ^ Burton, Sir Richard (1821–1890) (in English) (1958). Arabian nights. A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights' entertainments: now entitled The book of the thousand and one nights. London: Barker.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ISBN 978-0-333-36693-6.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-3174-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7139-9196-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-1171-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-83456-8.
- ^ McDonald & Walton (2007), p. 93.
- ^ McDonald & Walton (2007), p. 26.
- ISBN 978-0-521-82790-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8264-2860-8.
- ISBN 978-0-385-49771-8. p. 620.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-4330-7. pp. 65–66.
- ^ a b c Frame (2000).
- ISBN 978-0-521-57417-4.
- ISBN 978-0-312-33898-5.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06715-6.
- ISBN 978-1-55849-733-7.
- ISBN 978-0-631-16821-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8135-2824-3. p. 9.
- ^ Paris (1999), p. 115.
- ISBN 978-0-520-26112-9.
- ^ Byrnes, Paul (28 March 2014). "Pompeii, Noah and Exodus: The sword giveth again". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Byrnes, Paul (12 December 2015). "Losing the plot". The Sydney Morning Herald. pp. 12–13.
- ^ a b Maddox, Garry (28 March 2014). "The Lego Movie: Hit off the old block". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-521-59404-2.
- ^ Paris (1999), p. 17.
- ^ Byrnes, Paul (27 March 2014). "Noah review: Moments of brilliance but can't shake sinking feeling". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-8195-6412-2. p. xviii.
- ^ a b Dils & Albright (2001), p. 96.
- ^ Dils & Albright (2001), p. 34.
- ISBN 978-0-517-54282-8. p. 98.
- ^ Clarke (1981), p. 97.
- ^ Wilson, Thomas (1808). An Analysis of Country Dancing. W. Calvert.
- ISBN 978-0-7112-3245-7.
- ^ Wilson, Thomas (1816). The Treasures of Terpsichore: or, A Companion for the Ball-Room. London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84545-328-2.
- ^ Dils & Albright (2001), p. 142.
- ^ van Nieuwkerk, Karin. "Changing Images and Shifting Identities: Female Performers in Egypt" in Dils & Albright (2001). p. 141.
- ISBN 978-1-57181-300-8.
- ISBN 978-962-996-373-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8262-1749-3.
- ISBN 978-0-252-06259-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-539082-7.
- ISBN 978-1-877096-50-1.
- ISBN 978-0-520-23676-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8131-2528-2.
- ^ Examples include: The League against Cruel Sports, UK Archived 8 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), multinational Archived 9 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine; and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), US Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Bronner 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7190-5233-0.
- ISBN 978-1-84331-076-1.
- ^ St Leon (2011).
- ISBN 978-0-87728-929-6.
- ^ Gresham, William Lindsay (1959). Houdini: the man who walked through walls. Holt.
- ISBN 978-0-561-00094-7.
- ISBN 978-0-87975-143-2. (Reprint. Originally published: New York: Dutton, c1920)
- ^ "Rowling 'makes £5 every second'". BBC News. 3 October 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ "Harry Potter series to be sold as e-books". BBC News. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-7153-8026-0.
- ^ For example, 2012 Coffs Harbour International Buskers and Comedy Festival Archived 7 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 978-0-472-10590-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533894-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-5666-2.
- ISBN 978-0-465-03722-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7658-0982-7.
- ISBN 978-0-521-83636-4.
- ISBN 978-81-7017-278-9.
- ISBN 978-0-7360-6052-3.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25630-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8118-2548-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7241-0284-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7391-1680-7.
- ^ "World's Colombian Exposition of 1893". Chicago Illinois Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-252-03558-6.
- ISBN 978-0-226-73236-7.
- ISBN 978-0-471-71956-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7506-7898-8.
- ^ OCLC 244177225.
- ISBN 978-1-906884-20-8.
- ^ Sickels, Robert C. The Business of Entertainment. Greenwood Publishing (Three Volumes).
- ISBN 978-0-521-87485-4.
- ^ "Hollywood News". Mid Day. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "Bollywood News". Mid Day. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-5074-3.
- ISBN 978-1-58093-281-3.
- ISBN 978-977-424-710-1. p. 115.
- ISBN 978-0-419-21220-1. p. xvi.
- ^ a b c Sheard (2001), p. xvi.
- ^ "Kauppakeskukset: Finnish Shopping Centers 2013" (PDF). Kauppakeskusyhdistys. Suomen Kauppakeskusyhdistys ry. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-85973-709-5. p. xvii.
- ^ Lasansky (2004), p. xvii, Part II, Ch. 4, 5, 6.
- ISBN 978-0-85296-845-1.
- ISBN 978-0-415-92820-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-3146-5.
- ISBN 978-0-226-76966-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8135-4546-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8223-3383-8.
- ISBN 978-0-415-98857-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7619-6680-7.
- S2CID 143788028.
- ^ For example, in the UK: Tryhorn, Chris (21 December 2007). "Government thinktank to tackle media convergence issues". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ And for example, in Australia: "Convergence Review". Australian Government: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ Sheard (2001), p. 49.
- ^ Power, Julie (3 August 2013). "Laughter and music better than drugs for dementia patients". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-335-22873-7.
- ^ Sayre & King (2010), p. 156.
- ^ Sayre & King (2010), pp. 22, 30 ff.
- ^ Sayre & King (2010), p. 30.
- ISBN 978-0-8147-4281-5.
- ^ Sayre & King (2010), p. 536.
External links
- Quotations related to Entertainment at Wikiquote