Forms of Entertaiment

When we watch a movie, read a novel, dance to a song or play a video game, we are engaging in a form of entertaiment. Entertainment provides an ideal vehicle for a narrative that can provide subtle or direct commentaries on societal issues – or even just the need to escape from everyday life. This is evident in the way that one story can inspire retellings in different media – for example, Scheherazade, a tale from professional storytelling tradition, has been adapted as an orchestral work by composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel and Szymanowski; a film by director Pasolini; and even an innovative video game. The capacity for entertainment to evolve and adapt has ensured its longevity and a continual need for new forms of entertaiment.