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Entertainment ethics

It should `maintain' the spectator, if not `elevate' him

Entertainment is to energise and not enervate. It should sprinkle fragrance and not spread odour. It is for projecting the better aspects and not the bitter facets.

Etymology

The word `entertain', originated from French `entretenir' and it is based on Latin `inter' meaning `among' and `tenere', `to hold'. The word originally meant `maintain'. This is reflected in Henry VI of Shakespeare; "I am sorry, that with reverence I did not entertain thee as thou art". The noun, `entertainment' dates from the early sixteenth century; its use for a public performance intended to amuse an audience is recorded from the early eighteenth century.

Entertainment should `maintain' the spectator, if not `elevate' him. It is deplorable if it degrades, denigrates and decimates him. It should not be a diversion or distraction but a reflection and recreation. It should refresh and rejuvenate the audience apart from giving them a relief from their rut. Entertainer should also enjoy the event. In fact, he should be more joyous than the onlookers. Coliseums had poignant stories in stock and pathetic episodes to recapitulate. Gladiators made the public happy staking their lives. The province, which sponsored such gruesome sports, to our horror traduced other civilizations `barbaric'. Even in Elizabethan era, `bear biting' was conducted to amuse the audience. Shakespeare says in his `Twelfth Night' that Puritans banned this sport not because they pitied the torment of bears but because they could not bear the merriment of audience.

Grades of entertainment

There are various grades of entertainment. Many steal time and offer nothing. They are simply to while away the time. Such programmes sell dreams and blind the people in bright light only to return them to their own obscurity. Some proffer pittance and appropriate equally. Their impoverished balance sheet has assets and liabilities on par. Only a few donate more, consuming less and they are extraordinary entertainment. They transform the individuals and their quality of life. A few obnoxious amusements consume the partaker and leave him perennially poisoned.

A healthy entertainment will not have imminent enjoyment .One has to seek, probe, analyse and synthesise to enjoy the essence. It cannot be like a lollypop to taste effortlessly. On the other hand, it will be like a jack fruit — hard to handle but delicious, worth the try. Juicy fruits always have tough rinds. Some may be edible but not eatable. Some actions may be credible but not creditable. Portrayal of realism is not to distort the minds. It should clip the nails and not severe the fingers. An excellent piece of art produces ripples in the subconscious mind and effects a desirable change in attitude. A cheap entertainment glistens like termite wings and gets withered in minutes. It induces and seduces pandering to the baser instincts. It is said, "Most virtue is the demand for greater seduction". All great ideas, to begin with, sound ridiculous and impracticable. A novel thought that questions the establishment is first condemned, then condoned and finally concurred with by the society. Any river in its origin runs narrow and can be easily crossed by a lamb. One who sees its panoramic view at confluence will never be able to believe it. Entertainment should bring out the best in a person. Then it will be an awakening. Etymological meaning of the word `educate' is to `bring out'. After achieving the desired result, it may become irrelevant. That will be the greatest accolade it can receive. In such noble endeavours, the artiste will not protrude and project himself. He should be invisible. He will not be conspicuous even by his absence. He disowns it after completion. The whole art will be beautiful without a part getting magnified. Entertainment should encompass ethics. Even unethical acts must be ethical. One should not cheat in gambling and adulterate in poison. If a note of music or an act of play or an expression of dance inspires, motivates and kindles the connoisseur, it is said to have served its purpose. When the spectator also becomes a participant and then a contributor it turns into revelry as well as a celebration.

V. IRAI ANBU

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