An
entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to
amuseAmusement is the state of experiencing humorous and usually entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. The word "Amuse" is so named from the opposite of "Muse" -to learn or to think.-Reactions:...
themselves in their
leisure timeLeisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework,...
.
Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be
recreationRecreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or sleep, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner...
. Activities such as personal reading or practising a musical instruments are considered as
hobbiesA hobby is an activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation in one's spare time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
.
The industry that provides entertainment is called the
entertainment industry. There are many forms of entertainment, which cater for particular tastes. For example, there is
cinemaFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
,
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
, sports, games,
social danceSocial dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. Social dances can be danced with a variety of partners and still be lead and followed in a relaxed, easy atmosphere.This compares to other...
which cater for different groups of people. These may also be grouped on the age of persons interested, such as child entertainment or adult entertainment. For example,
puppetA puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by a puppeteer. It is usually a depiction of a human character, and is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre...
s,
clownClowns are comical performers, stereotypically characterized by their grotesque appearance: colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, red-nose, etc., who entertain spectators by acting in a hilarious fashion. The types of their acts varies greatly...
s,
pantomimePantomime is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in Great Britain, Canada, Jamaica, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is usually performed during the Christmas and New Year season.-History:A pantomimos in Greece was...
s and
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
s tend to appeal to children, though adults may also find them enjoyable.
Forms of entertainment
There are many activities which people find entertaining, though the activities which one person may find entertaining may not be so to another person. The types of things which some people find entertaining would include the following.
Animation
Some people find
animationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
to be entertaining. Similarly, some people find cartoons to be entertaining.
Cinema and theatre
Many people find
cinemaFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
and/or
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and other live performance such as circus, plays, musicals, farces, monologues and pantomimes to be entertaining.
Comedy
ComedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
provides laughter and amusement. The audience is taken by surprise, by the parody or satire of an unexpected effect or an
opposite expectationsIrony is a situation, literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity, discordance or unintended connection that goes beyond the most evident meaning....
of their cultural beliefs.
Slapstick filmSlapstick films are a type of comedy film that employ slapstick comedy with five main conventions:#Pain with no real consequence.#Editing to turn a situation more unrealistic.#Impossible situations.#Zooms to confuse the audience....
,
one-liner jokeA one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. Many comedians and actors have adopted this comedic method in their act. Some, including Rodney Dangerfield, Bruce Campbell, Steven Wright, Emo Philips, Henny Youngman, Mitch Hedberg, Dan Mintz, Zach Galifianakis, Demetri Martin, Jimmy Carr...
, observational humor are forms of comedy which have developed since the early days of jesters and traveling minstrels.
Comics
ComicsComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
comprise of text and drawings which convey an entertaining narrative. Several famous comics revolve around super heroes such as
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
,
BatmanThe Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics...
.
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
and
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
are two publishers of comic books.
MangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
is the
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
word for
comicComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
and print
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
s.
CaricatureA caricature can refer to a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness...
is a graphical entertainment. The purpose may vary from merely putting smile on the viewers face, to raising social awareness, to highlighting the moral vices of a person being caricaturised.
Dance and music
Many people also find
social danceSocial dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. Social dances can be danced with a variety of partners and still be lead and followed in a relaxed, easy atmosphere.This compares to other...
to be entertaining, in addition to it being a popular forum for social interaction. Alternatively, some people enjoy merely listening or watching musical entertainment of various forms, in private or public environments.
Reading
Many people also find
readingReading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of deriving meaning and/or constructing meaning...
to be entertaining and a fascinating pastime, though different people choose different genres of books, magazines, etc. Some enjoy TV and magazine celebrity gossip, for example.
Games
GameA game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more concerned with the expression of ideas...
s provide relaxation and diversion. Games may be played by one person for their own entertainment, or by a group of people. Games may be played for achievement or money such as
gamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period....
or bingo.
Racingthumb|right|Air racing: Hungarian aerobatics pilot Peter Besenyei at speed in his Extra 300 at an air race in EnglandA sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest...
,
chessChess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
or checkers may develop physical or mental prowess. Games may be geared for children, or may be played outdoors such as lawn bowling. Equipment may be necessary to play the game such as a deck of cards for card games, or a board and markers for board games such as
MonopolyIn economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it...
, or
backgammonBackgammon is a board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice. A player wins by removing all of his pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
. A few may be
ball gameA ball game is a game played with a ball. Someone who plays a ball game is known as a ballplayer.There are many popular games or sports involving some type of ball or similar object...
s,
Blind man's bluffBlind man's bluff or blind man's buff is a children's game played in a spacious area, such as outdoors or in a large room, in which one player, designated as "It," is blindfolded and gropes around attempting to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter...
,
board gameA board game is a game in which counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a "board"...
s,
card gameA card game is any game using playing cards as the primary things with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s, children's games,
croquetCroquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport, which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
,
frisbeeFlying discs are disc-shaped objects, which are generally plastic and roughly 20 to 25 centimeters in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating...
,
hide and seekHide-and-seek or hide-and-go-seek is a variant of the game tag, in which a number of players conceal themselves in the environment, to be found by one or more "seekers"...
, number games,
paintballPaintball is a sport, in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by hitting them with pellets containing paint from a special gun called a paintball marker. Depending on the venue, games are played on either indoor or outdoor fields of varying size...
, and video games to name a few.
Other forms of entertainment
- Concert
A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
- Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
- Magic
Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats, using purely natural means...
- Sports
- Mass media
Mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. However, some forms of mass media such...
- Television
Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
- Radio
Radio programming is the content that is broadcast by radio stations.The original inventors of radio, such as Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi, expected it to be used for one-on-one communication tasks where telephones and telegraphs could not be used because of the problems involved in stringing...
- Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture and in every land as a means of entertainment, education, preservation of culture and in order to instill moral values...
See also
- Broadway theatre
Broadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
- History of film
The history of film spans over a hundred years, from the latter part of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Motion pictures developed gradually from a carnival novelty to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, and mass media in the 20th century...
- Leisure
Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework,...
- Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life....
- Literature
Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
- West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland". Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking world...
External links