Why do we need entertainment?

When thinking about films and media the idea of entertainment comes to mind. What is entertainment? Why do we, human beings, need it so much? Entertainment means amusement, pleasure; synonyms of this word include: relaxation, fun, delight, enjoyment. Antonyms of entertainment include chore, drudgery, labor, task, work; http://www.thesaurus.com/. According to definition of this word entertainment makes people happy. Even going back to ancient Roman times people craved to have fun and watch plays and gladiator fights.

Is it a psychological need of human beings to constantly be entertained? An interesting mind map was presented at this web address: http://vinu.wordpress.com/2006/02/21/why-do-we-need-entertainment. It could be that our dependency on amusement developed over time with great technological advances in our everyday life; or maybe, people crave to be exposed to new ideas and genres because they crave excitement.

An idea of a psychological need to be entertained could be explored further. For example, it may be possible that sensitive people like movies that fit their personalities; or people who like to "live on the edge" crave something along the lines of a thriller or a good horror movie. It is possible that media affects people very much. People have different emotions and physical needs that vary from day to day. For example, on a sad day someone might want to watch something funny or something to further evoke sadness (depending on a person). Or perhaps, some people use certain shows as "therapy" to make themselves feel better about something that is happening in their lives.

Furthermore, it would be useful to define the term, media. Media means communication by publication or broadcast http://www.thesaurus.com/. Media includes television, news, and any other sources of public communication. I believe that human beings are impressionable and are influenced by the media. This is not to say that every person is easily manipulated but we all have our own ideas about life (apart from what our parents taught us) based on what kind of shows we watch, what kind of music we listen to, and also how much TV we watch.

What do you think? Is it a psychological need for us to be entertained? I am more inclined to say yes rather than no.

Keep it real!

We all know that what we see or hear always influences us.

film, media and its influence on society

Hello everyone,

I am glad to start a new interesting discussion about media and film and how the content might effect our society and way of life.