The role of art and entertainment in our lives

Art and entertainment are two very important aspects of our life. Without them, our lives would be mundane and listless. They uplift us, help us to dream, distract ourselves from our day to day troubles and sometimes even make us more aware of our surroundings. The medium of entertainment also varies and each has its own charms and flaws .The most popular and widely known mediums are: Theatre (drama) ,Films and of course Television .

Since olden times the act of dramatization has always attracted man. This gradually took the shape of enacting formal acts called Plays ,which were later termed as "theatre" .These plays aim to entertain as well as make the audience think and are thus sometimes called as the "thinking man's art " .Plays can center around a variety of moods and topics -current issues ,satires, comedies ,tragedies, musicals etc. Some of the most legendary tales for eg Shakespeare's have been portrayed beautifully and made famous with the help of drama and plays .
Street plays , carrying important social messages ,are performed in front of large crowds ,with the aim of bringing awareness about issues facing our society for eg Population control ,drugs, democracy etc . Although theatre does not enjoy the kind of mass popularity that is garnered by films and TV, yet art lovers can get to see some excellent performances by the finest actors in the world. The main drawback of theatre is its limited appeal, and the fact that it is appreciated by only a few sections of society.

Films , on the other hand are the most popular form of entertainment worldwide . Films are like the mirrors of humanity and society - depicting an array of emotions from romance to violence ,love to hatred . Who doesn't enjoy seeing these emotions come alive on the big screen ,enacted by their favorite actors ,who are considered as powerful as icons or idols !!Films reflect the current trends of society and are often responsible for setting trends of their own .Intelligently made cinema also tries to draw attention to important issues through the mode of entertainment .Coupled with other performing arts such as good music ,dances ,strong storyline and cinematography, films provide a perfect occasion to de-stress , and unwind along with friends and family .
However films too ,especially nowadays , stink of over commercialization and hype .Real talent gets lost amidst the crowd of big banners and star sons and the movies seem hijacked by over the top characters ,item songs and exotic locales .

The mode of entertainment which most of us enjoy almost daily is the "idiot box" or television .Providing us with entertainment 24X7 with the help of numerous channels ,Telly has become a important part of modern day life .Daily soaps and drama series keep us hooked day after day .They are also a good source of distraction for the elderly ,whom we often see sitting in the parks and discussing story lines and characters of their favourite TV shows with great animation. One can never get tired of watching reruns of classic shows such as Friends and laughing away our worries.
Reality shows on television give great opportunities to the public to earn name and fame ,while quiz based shows like Who wants to be a millionaire ? help in increasing general knowledge and sharpening our skills . Plus Live news available from any part of the world at the click of a remote is a great attraction.
The television too suffers from its own drawbacks mainly related to poor storylines in never ending daily shows , reality shows on outrageous themes etc .The audience also seems to be suffering nowadays from an over dosage of news and information ,with channels almost murdering each other in a bid to improve their TRPs.

But ,nevertheless we cannot undermine the significant role that these three mediums play in our lives and how they help in improving its quality .As someone truly said ,
"Art does not consist of making a living or producing an objet d'art or in self-therapy, but in finding a new soul".

Note : Originally posted in Expose knowledge.com under same author