Anya Yang (10) | STAFF REPORTER
Entertainment can manifest in a variety of ways for the consumption of the people. It ranges from TV shows, movies, stories, and more. It reaches wide audiences, not only by word of mouth, but also by advertisements, and is ever-present in our lives. Yet, we often overlook the impacts of entertainment. We finish the T.V. show Friends, watch the movie Barbie, or read the newest Percy Jackson novel. However, we never fully consider just how much these stories and values may affect our perception of the world, values, thinking, problem solving, and being more open to others.
Entertainment has a particularly powerful role within the media. It is hailed as an easy way to story-tell: whether that be a documentary about a murderer from 20 years ago, or a lighthearted romantic comedy depicting the life of a young couple, entertainment intrigues and introduces us to norms, values and storylines prevalent in society. Entertainment affects people’s actions by normalizing and introducing new and foreign ideas to audiences.
As entertainment is mentioned prior as a easy way to story-tell, it oftentimes pushes what society accepts as true and as important. It is almost structurally impossible to do something controversial in entertainment in fear of being boycotted, or ostracized by negative criticism. This means almost all the time, stories will have the same values and will at its very core, reflect society. For example, it’s much more likely for a simple teen love story to be aired rather than a controversial criticism of society, unless the people are completely for the criticism. Therefore, in fear of this criticism, and subsequent loss of money and time, directors and producers of entertainment will reflect the values of society. This means that its norms will be widespread and most will adhere to these ideas because they consume entertainment every day.
However, entertainment can also help introduce new and foreign ideas to audiences. To build off the example of the murder documentary, it can show us that being a murderer is not only extremely detrimental to one’s life, one’s family life, but also how it affects the victim, how it affects the victim’s family, and the society surrounding them. It also touches upon the psyche of the murderer and the circumstances of their life that drove them to commit such a horrid crime. For example, it may depict the severe societal judgement the murderer faced after they lost a parent, and the anger that followed these actions which may have caused a desire to have bad influences within their life, eventually leading them down the road, etc. Murder documentaries also show the prison system, the court system, and what sentence these murderers would face.
The romantic comedy would most likely show us the story of the couple, the side characters’ relationships between them and the couple, the many trials and tribulations they go through in order to be by each others’ sides, and perhaps the value of love and relationships within our lives. Perhaps the romantic comedy depicts a gay couple in a positive light, or sheds light on prior problems people have gone through in a very easily approachable manner.
However, what we need to consider is how this affects a person’s actions.
After watching the murder documentary, a person may reconsider their previous actions that may have caused mistreatment and the eventual alienation of people. It might have also made them reconsider the prison and justice system, potential problems with it, and it could open people’s eyes to new perspectives.
The romantic comedy may cause people to see love in a different light, perhaps seeing the different circumstances people are in but also open their eyes to different kinds of love. It may drive them to be more accepting of others’ differences because entertainment frames stories in a very approachable light.
How entertainment affects actions is, at its very core, a very open ended question. There is no specific answer to how exactly entertainment affects the actions of the populace, because it is so psychological that people usually do not realize that they’ve been affected by certain beliefs taught by entertainment. Nevertheless it is important to know that this effect exists, and to be more knowledgeable about it in general.
This article was written in April 2024.
