Provoking Thoughts Through Entertainment
Entertainment vs Knowledge
We love to be entertained. It’s an escape.
It’s a getaway from the hum-drum boredom of everyday life. If we are
entertained, our minds are able to flow freely into another world as our bodies
either sit in autopilot or are activated in the same way. Whether it be at a
concert or watching a movie, we are able to runaway from existence and enjoy an
altered life.
The same should be said for acquiring
knowledge. Knowledge allows us to add information we take in and experiences we
have had to create wisdom. Rather than being an escape, it allows us to better
understand the world we are living in. For
whatever reason, this is less appealing to most people. This could be
because acquiring knowledge takes just a little bit of effort while
entertainment usually doesn’t require anything from us besides idle
consumption. It’s rare that you will ever find a library as packed as a
concert. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen
a crowded library, but that’s likely because I rarely go to the library.
The Value of Entertainment
We, as a collective society, place a much
greater value on entertainment than knowledge when it comes to our free time.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if we have mentally straining
days at work. But when we cease to stop growing and learning in favor of
entertainment, that’s when it becomes a problem.
I have discovered that people do not like to be told what to do. I don’t really consider
myself a bossy person, and I live by the mantra that one shouldn’t give advice
unless asked. But, even when giving my opinion after asked, a lot of people
still don’t want to hear it. It’s only the rare bird who seeks advice and then
retains it. This is the case with anyone, myself included.
If we tell someone to sit at home and read
a book instead of watching a movie, they are unlikely to do so, especially if
they just want to sit, relax, and watch a good flick. If we preach to the choir
about how important knowledge is, no one is going to drop their Monday night
football game to improve their minds. I shouldn’t say no one, but I think you
get the idea. We take great pride in
their comforts and rituals. We humans need to relax. If you try telling me
that I should do some more work “for my mind” when I come home from an
exhausting day at work, you’re crazy! Most people are simply not interested.
An Inside Out Approach
What I recommend is to infiltrate from the
inside. We are attached to our devices. We love consuming mindless
entertainment. So, we need to make our messages and missions more appealing
than what is on the screens. We live in an attention economy. If you aren’t
holding my attention, forget it.
My goal is to do this through theatre and
acting. While theatre certainly falls within the entertainment category and can
serve that purpose alone, it also has the opportunity to provoke thought. This
is my aim in my one-man show, REEL; I want to provoke thought. In any piece of
theatre or art that I am working on, I am looking for the ways it provokes
thought, if not just entertains. Ideally, it does both. We must entertain the
general public SO MUCH that provoking thought is more intriguing than cat
videos or people falling over (though these still have their place).
Provoke Thoughts
Our
aim should be to provoke thoughts. Provoking
thoughts allow us to open our minds to new ideas and experiences. Provoking
thoughts allow us to look at the world from a different perspective. Whether it
be through theatre, film, television, or another sort of media, entertainment
has a greater power than it is currently utilizing. Entertainment should
encourage us to create and spread positive messages for change in the world. A
funny video or show is great from time to time, but we mustn’t let that consume
all our brain power. It’s crucial for us to exercise our brains, as we do with
our bodies, or else it will just atrophy. Entertainment, while tasty and
delicious, often does not provide us with any nutritional value.
We should be intentional consumers. Just as
we need to be mindful with the food we put in our bodies, we should be mindful
of the entertainment we are placing in our minds. Junk food every now and then
won’t hurt anyone. It’s delicious and I, myself, love a good dessert as much as
the other guy. But if we are eating cookies and brownies everyday for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it will leave us feeling sick and incapable of
doing much.
Leave a Reply