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.
I think humans are naturally drawn to activities that help to stimulate the senses and provide a respite from everyday life. This issue could be explored on a variety of levels including the types of entertainment, time spent,and its affect on behavioral patterns. I think entertainment can be healthy so long as it doesn't lead to negative or addictive behavior. If it impairs your ability to prioritize and make sound judgment, perhaps it would be time to re-evaluate your exposure to such mediums.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the need for entertainment is addictive and we all desire it because it makes us feel better about ourselves. What I would consider entertaining might not be to others, it just all depends on your personality and way of life. Entertainment changes our mood, and can be a form of escaping the real world even if is just for a couple of minutes or hours.
ReplyDeleteTo get threw a day a person will need some form of entertainment. People react to diffrent types of entertainment diffrently than others. Going out with friend having fun is something diffrent than, Being at home an entertaing your guest. A person may try diffrent approchs to keep everyone involed. as well as making it fun and enteraining.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we all need to find a way to relax and just feel stress free, so in order to do that we turn to entertainment. I agree with what you said above about the way we maybe feeling will influence us to watch certain movies.
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