Entertainment is a way of amusement, a means by which to forget the worries of life and immerse oneself in a fantasy world- be it through a play, a book, or a movie, or, more recently- through a game.
The entertainment industry is keeping pace with technological innovations. They are cashing in on the broadband penetration, animation and multimedia advancement, easy availability of high resolution video capturing devices, etc. There has been a sea-change in such a short period that I think we can call them (the current entertainment media) New Age Media.
The new age media has displaced the conventional ones- namely, the print media. Today, people are more interested in movies and games than in books. One of the oldest and most revered forms of entertainment is slowly fading away into insignificance, much to the chagrin of the literary folks. Parents too are aware that time spent by their kids reading is slowly being replaced by movies and games. Many look askance at this trend. However, before coming down heavily on the new age media, let us first examine the evolution of entertainment.
For the sake of argument, assume that the earliest form of entertainment was verbal- talks given by wise people, visual- dance and art, and abstract- music. Along came a means of recording spoken conversation. This was great! The wise men could now supplement their discourses with text, saving themselves time and energy and also improving their reach. Some looked askance and condemned this because they were afraid this invention would make them obsolete. Nevertheless, this invention revolutionized entertainment, and still exists in the form of books.
The next major revolution in the field of entertainment was the invention of still photography, followed by motion picture technology. Images could now be captured and replayed. Opera lovers condemned this form of recorded entertainment. They believed that theirs was the only ‘cultured’ way of entertainment. The pictures were for the ignorant and foolish masses. However, motion pictures had a lot of scope, and film-making boomed. Today, we even have film schools- an educational institute dedicated to the study of an entertainment media!
Even today, movies are criticized for showing violence and nudity, but they have mass appeal and some (documentaries) are even educational. Man has adapted the available media to suit his needs.
The next big thing was AI. Computers, programming, high level languages and creativity contributed to the next big concept- Artificial Intelligence. AI brought with it a new form of entertainment- gaming. It has dazzled people of all ages, spawns across many genres, and has created an entire industry based on it. Heck, it continues to thrive even during the global recession.
Many people were (still are) against games because they are so addictive. But now, they are waking up to the fact that it is here to stay. This just goes to show that the gaming industry is evolving just like the film industry did. The whole concept of entertainment is changing. Unlike movies or books, games are not passive. They are aggressive sports, which trigger a lot of different parts of the brain. This means that gaming is definitely not a form of relaxation (not to be confused with recreation).
The point to be noted here is that what’s acceptable today was disputed earlier. We have grown used to certain things over time. Likewise, I’m sure gaming will soon become an acceptable activity. If there is one thing history can teach us, it is that we live in a dynamic society where change is the only constant. It is better to flow with the tide than to resist it. So, let us all usher in the New Age Entertainment Media with a smile:)
