Can anyone please tell me the purpose of entertainment?

Mount Wario

Mount Wario

King Bowser
Pronouns
He/him
I've been thinking about this lately. It sounds silly, but because I'm thinking on working as an animator in the future (and yes I really want to do it), but the job does not sound as useful to society as a whole as that of an economist, doctor or architect for example (it sounds to me more useful to cure people of dangerous diseases or build houses, regardless of whether it interests me to do so or not) I'm feeling like my job sounds like it may not have any use nor purpose. Don't get me wrong, I still want to do it because I like it the most out of any job (virtually everyone including myself thinks I've got the skill necessary too), but it makes me feel I may not be doing anything useful in a way.

Animation is a form of entertainment much like books or games. I'd like to know the purpose of entertainment itself so as to know in what way is it useful to others or what purpose does it have please, with no offense intended to anyone who shows dedication to it.
 
Last edited:
entertainment exists to give people emotions they may not experience in their daily life. joy, sorrow, laughter, anger - experiences and feelings they might not otherwise be able to feel, driven by the game or show or movie they are working through

i would even say it's crucial to maintaining happiness and sanity - how many people have dull, draining jobs who then are able to unwind due to entertainment? you can't devote yourself 24/7 to "useful" things, leisure time and relaxation is important. there's a reason that even going way way back you had oral tradition and stories to listen to

...anyhow that's my view off the top of my head, it's significantly important even if it doesn't look it
 
People aren't perpetual motion machines who need to maintenance (eat, sleep, drink, etc), and then work for the benefit of others in society. People have emotions, interests, hobbies, and whatnot which is essential to their entire upkeep, why even live if we can't indulge ourselves anyway? Superchao pretty much covered most of what I wanted to say anyway, and even then, movies and entertainment can even provide inspiration for people who need something in life to keep them motivated to become better people to begin with too.
 
Life with friends is 😐

I get food and house is needed for life but not enough to make me 😀

Life with friends + Mario + Disney movies + music + teen titans go = 😃😄🤣☺😊😇😍😘🥰😚😋😛😝😜🤪🤩🥳
 
Redshift said:
People aren't perpetual motion machines who need to maintenance (eat, sleep, drink, etc), and then work for the benefit of others in society. People have emotions, interests, hobbies, and whatnot which is essential to their entire upkeep, why even live if we can't indulge ourselves anyway? Superchao pretty much covered most of what I wanted to say anyway, and even then, movies and entertainment can even provide inspiration for people who need something in life to keep them motivated to become better people to begin with too.
Click to expand...

Well I guess games such as chess and stuff do have the purpose to indulge ourselves. But someone could argue there's no point to caring about fictional characters if they're not real, right? Idk how to feel about that specially.
 
on the other hand, being an animator can be a goal you derive purpose from, and trying to further your skills continually can become a longtime career

being in entertainment can put bread on the table if you put in the work
 
El Zorro said:
but the job does not sound as useful to society as a whole as that of an economist, doctor or architect for example (it sounds to me more useful to cure people of dangerous diseases or build houses, regardless of whether it interests me to do so or not) I'm feeling like my job sounds like it may not have any use nor purpose. Don't get me wrong, I still want to do it because I like it the most out of any job (virtually everyone including myself thinks I've got the skill necessary too), but it makes me feel I may not be doing anything useful in a way.
Click to expand...
thats the wrong perspective to look at. dont think about being "useful to society". at the end of the day, most of the people that do the things you listed are anonymous to you, so why does it matter? you should do the things you like doing. im not gonna lie that the real world is harsh, so if you feel that you can get through all your expenses in the future with an animation salary then thats for you to decide and live your life. nobody is going to judge you, nobody is going to criticize you.if someone does then who cares? its not their life, its yours. you should make your life how you want it to be

El Zorro said:
But someone could argue there's no point to caring about fictional characters if they're not real, right?
Click to expand...
animation isnt for everyone. actually, nothing is for everyone. i dont think there is a single thing that everyone collectively likes. if you can create something lovable as an animator for any group of people to enjoy then you've succeeded.

for me, nico is the #1 idol in the universe and everytime i hear or listen to her or see her she makes me smile
xSkXDwQ.jpg
 
Entertainment in its most basic form is storytelling, a practice more primal to humans than farming. Forming social bonds, relaying abstract information, beating into history practices and traditions that hold cultures together, are integral parts that set humans apart from chimps (though we're learning more that other primates and animals in general 'entertain' to create social bonds that generate group cohesion and strength). Economists aren't useful to society at-large, just the current capitalist western society. Doctors and architects aren't just pure and clinical, they are developed and learned arts that must be perpetuated through retellings and acknowledgment of their usefulness, following ethics developed through philosophy. Entertainment can mold philosophies and help craft ideologies, they can express metaphysical and symbolic emotions that can comfort peoples' worries, or stir up anxiety and anger to motivate a necessary change. Cycles of introspection and contemplation produce inspiration that fuels more utilitarian concepts of 'usefulness'. While it's true that there may be more pressing valuable skills, like a doctor as you said, that have a much more ready and present vision of worth, but that doesn't make something that doesn't have such an immediate and mortal utility 'worthless'.

Without the arts, there's little to no regulation of more utilitarian functions. What is a doctor without morals? How useful is a doctor if they have no means to relax, bond, grow, learn, cope? Through animation you can tell stories, put minds at ease, have fun.

And, when push comes to shove:
BEEEEEAAARRRS said:
being in entertainment can put bread on the table if you put in the work
Click to expand...
 
Uh wow these answers are a lot more useful and clear than I thought they'd be. There seems to be much more to this than I thought. Thank you guys for your attention and help. I'm feeling more determined now.
 
Entertainment exists in several forms. Some serve to just amuse or keep distracted, which I assume that's what you're thinking of. But all entertainment's a form of expression, communicating ideas, gaining perspective of others, enrichment of life. You notice that everything in entertainment always conveys a message, everything is political. Even something like Super Mario Odyssey has simple messages of "stealing is bad" and "forced marriage is bad" that communicates. Being good at entertainment such as having good art or good comedy or a good story also involves being observant of the world, a skill you have to keep honing in, just as with any other profession. Sports, another form of entertainment, has evolved from the human tendency to play, but play is *also* a form of expression too, as well as fulfilling our needs to interact with other humans.

Anyhow, ditch the impression that entertainment isn't "useful" to society. It certainly is. Communicating ideas in this day and age is unparalleled. You're in a great opportunity to be useful to society as there are so many venues to be a service to society. The entertainment industry is a multi-billion dollar affair that serves tons of people. You're also benefiting from it as you're posting in this forum and have been sharing your experiences with Mario as you develop relationships with people based on an entertainment series. Humans are social animals, and video games have provided you a medium to fulfill that human need. That's a service as important as a doctor or an engineer IMO.

Nevertheless, I will guarantee you that studying animation will help you on a personal level. It will help you become observant of everything. It'll help you see. You will notice basic form in everything. You will notice how light interacts with the environment. You will notice how color is dependent on each other and dependent on light. And more. And compared to hundreds of years ago, there are far less restrictions you can do with your art (back then you needed to get rich patrons, you don't have access to all the hues since synthetic ones don't even exist so highlighter pink is out of question, you had no idea how light works, getting good reference material is far more difficult; even decades ago you had to go to a library to get reference material as opposed to just image search) so you're in a very good spot to learn art in the first place.
 
Princess Mario said:
You're also benefiting from it as you're posting in this forum and have been sharing your experiences with Mario as you develop relationships with people based on an entertainment series.
Click to expand...

Had a fictional character named Mario not existed I wouldn't have met you guys and asked you this yeah.

Thanks not real soulless person named Mario, I guess.

Mario Kart and sports games have no political message though. Just mindless fun. I guess the same applies for lots of fighting movies too.
 
Coming in first is good, griefing your friends is good, it promotes verbal violence, and also it's a game that lets you express yourself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back