Are You What You Entertain?

by Vermilion Graham

​We live in times that can be confusing and uncertain as far as the modern world is concerned. Current events can feel more unpleasant as a person engrosses themselves in them so they can clearly understand how they affect them and others. Being faced with the ever constant hostility of the real world is not something that we can or we are willing to do at all times. Many choose to occupy the little free time they have with something that’s far less real than the troubles they get to see working their nine-to-five.  

This is where entertainment comes in, when life gets too much to bear people can cut away from it and partake in something they enjoy.  Be it stories, books, music,  movies, TV, video games or social media, people know that entertainment is a very lucrative business that is extremely widespread in the modern world. 

Entertainment has gone through many forms and changes throughout time.  Many people use their choice of entertainment as an escape from the things they have to face. Others use it as a way to find inspiration of qualities to strive for in their own lives.  Still others use it as a way to live out their deep dark twisted fantasies. 

With as much time as people spend consuming various forms of entertainment, you would think people would take a closer look to consider how it affects them and their outlook on life. Not to say that entertainment alone causes you to feel a certain way, but it definitely will cause you to see the world a certain way. 

It is fair to say that all entertainment is made from a human perspective as it is only made by humans. It should be fair to say that because of this, real world problems and happenings will always bleed over into the entertainment we humans create. Because of this, it should also be said that they will not always give the same message or be for the same audiences. 

A new trend is to attempt to make entertainment seem more like real life or relatable to an audience. Creators now go for a more dark, grim, hopeless, and morally ambiguous feel to their stories. Old familiar characters have had their images and histories altered to have a more “real” feeling that audiences today find more realistic to how they see the world today. Many people today can’t accept the idea of a peaceful hopeful outcome and they will rejected anything that even remotely comes close to one. 

Many people have become complacent with the negative they see in our world and accept it as the norm so they don’t aspire to anything else. Making the world a better place for others to live seems to be a thing of the past. Instead of telling stories about how we as humans can become so much better than we are, many have instead decided to focus on how terrible we are today and how much more horrible we can be.

Inspiring stories have their place in our world too. Stories have always had a way of giving us hope when things look the most bleak. Inspiring stories also teach children that despite the world being one way they can decide to do great things and make the world a better more peaceful place. Believe it or not, goodness is real in our world too.

Something shouldn’t need to be dark to be interesting or realistic.  Life has other aspects other than pain and sorrow and when creators go for a more realistic feeling, rather than magnifying the more dim aspects of the real world they can reach for more hopeful ones. A story need not be unappealing or childish because it seems like a dream.

Those who choose to send out a positive message despite the negative send out a stronger message by standing out and sending a message of hope rather than just simply falling in line. Despite all the noise, in the crazy, noisy, bizarre city; birds still find the strength to sing, fly, live, and raise their young. They thrive in a world unfamiliar and unforgiving to its kind.