ENTERTAINMENT
AS AN ESSENTIAL OF LIFE

 Animals don’t just eat, sleep and procreate; they all exhibit, to a varying degree, some sense of whimsy - porpoises frolic and apes ape. All humans create amusement as a distraction from survival tactics, but what did early humans do for fun?

 With the discovery of fire, there must have been some idle hours, sitting around trying to keep warm. There were men, woman and children with the same kinds of dynamics as today, with even time for play. 

 Amusements?  They found out early on they had to kill each other…for territory or to claim a sexual partner. But fighting did not necessarily lead to death …you didn’t want to kill off all those in your pack; you needed them for protection. 

 With others watching, they could practice their techniques of defense, they could show off - they invented warfare and theater. And they fought animals for entertainment - it’s only been a hundred years since it was common practice for battles between man vs. bear as amusement. Someone would sell tickets while others stood around and cheered.

 And yes, in the town next to you (certainly not in your town), people go to watch one cock lunge and rip at another.

 Situations have changed since primal times…but humans haven’t.  We may have modified our behavior, learned from our mistakes - or not - but what remains is that people want to be amused.

 You feel exhilarated every time you walk past that amazing painting on the wall.  You may be entertained by watching YouTube, or by listening to music, watching a movie, you read a book or listen to an audio as you drive to work.

Notice how so much of our current entertainment is passive - we don’t actively participate.  We watch or listen to others doing something.  Even learning is a form of entertainment…actually, everything is a part of learning.

Why am I mixing Art with World Events?  Because entertainment is essential to living, and right here, we are going to look at what goes on in the world - how people relate to one another, or how they lunge and rip.

By Charlotte Wilson, painter and writer - author of Blue Group