Entertainment Junkies

The line between being a person who enjoys life and being addicted to entertainment is becoming thinner. Entertainment junkies are those who love most forms of entertainment. Some even confuse entertainment with art. In many cases, art equals good entertainment. For example: a play, a dance recital, or just sitting and staring at art. They are very entertaining. In fact, I enjoy rock music, classical music, or paintings by van Gogh, Ravi Varma, or reading some nice, classic literature or the latest thriller, and so on. They are pure bliss. But there are some entertainment forms which transcend art, and into pure kitsch.

There are these talent shows on the telly which I detest. Entertainment junkies are hooked on to these shows. Many are shows where parents showcase their children to sing, dance, entertain…. There is nothing more wrong one can do as a parent than project one’s kid in fierce competition with kids who are projected by other, equally dumb parents. I am sure they mean well, that it will do good for their children and so on. But they are taking away a basic right of the child; to have fun and play. Again, the kids think that this is the only form of entertainment that they know, and so they will lose out on their childhood, become like their parents, and the cycle continues….

People, particularly the urban bourgeoisie, are addicted to entertainment. They can not live, eat, drink or talk without it. Their conversations are only about it. They think about it. They read about it, dream about it. Their very feelings and emotions are governed by this entirely fictitious world. Who got eliminated? Which character got killed of? I’m not just talking about reality shows, but other garish forms such as soap operas, sitcoms and news. Yes, even news has become prime-time TV! One’s creative process is really hampered by this constant stream of shows and acts. I guess J. L. Baird, the inventor of the first practical television, never saw cable TV coming!