14 Jan Entertainment … what is it?
As usual, I’ve done my research. I’ve used Google and I’ve deliberated with others, though most of them are of my era so our opinions are very similar. Basically, it can be quite a contentious issue and I’m probably going to be considered very rigid with my point of view. But that’s fine; I’m of an age where I don’t give a … oh, how do I put this politely? A Flying Unicorn Causing Chaos with a K!
According to various dictionaries, entertainment is an event, performance or activity designed to provide amusement and enjoyment. It’s also considered to be fun and pleasurable. OK, it is certainly pleasurable, and I enjoy that kind of entertainment, especially in the afternoon when I’m awake enough to participate! So ‘self-serving’ … is that considered entertainment too? I know porn is considered entertainment by some; not a fan myself, but each to his own. So …
Generally, entertainment is deemed to be important in our lives as it usually brings people together in a good way. It helps divert our attention from the many demands of our busy lives. It provides amusement in our leisure time. Maybe I should Google leisure time because if it refers to the time when I’m not working, I’m struggling to think of when that may be. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone here. Is it after both the paid job, and the unpaid jobs of washing, cleaning, shopping, cooking, etc? If so, that’s when I’ve fallen asleep in the armchair trying to watch a program on TV, or I’ve fallen asleep in bed trying desperately to read a page or two more of my book. I’ve fallen asleep as I’m exhausted after sixteen plus hours on the run. At 60 years of age it’s a lot more challenging to keep up the pace of daily life as well as staying awake, no matter how desperate one is for some form of entertainment!
I also came across a comment which described entertainment as a distraction, regardless of its redeeming quality or lack thereof in the content. And that’s when I sat up and took notice. Should I be questioning what types of activities are entertaining rather than what entertainment is? I started to compile a list then, starting with what I and my P-i-C consider entertaining. Sex was first on his list, as I think it would be with most men who have a pulse. We then listed the TV. P-i-C is an avid watcher, though I can’t manage a lot of the programs he likes. In no particular order (of my disdain) these include: old black and white movies and especially the war ones, Hogan’s Heroes, MASH and Fawlty Towers for the umpteenth time, and shite American shows about ‘gator hunting, trucks driving on ice and other dangerous places, and pawn shops but not to be confused with those types of Adult Shops! Apparently, mine are no better! I like to watch the nightly news, or as he calls it The Doom-and-Gloom Show. And I’ll admit to being fascinated with MAFS and such shows, even though I know they are heavily edited and staged. I love the drama of it all. It seems my life may be lacking in it … Not a word, friends. NOT A SINGLE WORD. You know I’ve provided you with plenty of entertainment over the years, but it’s secret women’s business and not to be shared outside our coven!
Anyway, back to the list. Scrap the TV, we’ll never agree on programs. Next is movies. We like going to the cinema, particularly on Cheap-Day Tuesday and we tend to take turns in choosing the movie. This has worked quite well … so far. Though I sometimes go with girlfriends to the ones he really wouldn’t admit to seeing, and I love to post our movie dates on social media! And that’s something else that entertains us, a little too much at times when we get stuck following a particular post. Hey Ho! How the other half live! We also love going to the theatre, whether it be a musical or a comedy, and the occasional light opera as long as it’s in English! We also read though, like our TV choices, our genres are poles apart! We look a right old couple sitting up in bed with our books, glasses perched at the ends of our noses and sipping our hot drinks.
The one thing we are united in not thinking as entertaining is video games. When did staring intently at a TV or computer screen, controller in hand, volume up full level, and yelling or laughing at the action, and I use that term loosely, be considered as enjoyable, fun and pleasurable? No wonder gamers are usually single and considered geeky! Many don’t see daylight for days, if ever. At a young age their hands resemble that of our fore-fathers, the apes, and their thumbs are the most active muscles in their whole body. How can they not be influenced by the death and destruction in so many of these games? Are they not sending some subliminal messages of control to the brains of the people who spend hours, often days, maybe even weeks on end, continually engaging in this form of so-called entertainment? Is it just me or are there others, and of different generations, who agree with my opinion? I hope so, otherwise there will quite possibly be severe consequences for the future of our world as we know it.
Am I just being a judgemental old fart? Am I showing my age? Am I being a queen, looking down distastefully on her minions? Probably three out of three. And I’m fine with that because we all know what FINE means. Don’t we, she says with a supercilious smile?
F…ed up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional. Hey, I’ve earned the right. Have you?
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