In his novel, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, Neal Gabler makes the assertion that entertainment has the capacity to “ruin” society and, although this is undeniable, Gabler fails to acknowledge that it is society who gives entertainment such a capability. The entertainment industry has virtually eliminated physical activity. The internet has made shopping a home-bound chore. Customers don’t have to talk to a store. They don’t even have to walk to a car to drive to a store.
Buying an item is a mere click away and all a person has to do is wait an allotted amount of days for that item to be delivered right to their doorstep, as I did when purchasing a synthesizer. My shopping experience was completely different than that of fifty or even ten years ago. I didn’t even leave my bed. Video games and t
...elevision have taken the traditional place of basketball and camping. Outdoor activities have taken the back seat to first-person shooter games on Xbox and a new episode of that show we all love so much.
The lack of physical activity is a consequence of such mindless “fun,” which in turn has contributed to the growing obesity epidemic that is currently plaguing the U. S. Gabler wouldn’t argue that the growth of the entertainment industry and the growth in nationwide obesity (no pun intended) is no mere coincidence. Though Gabler’s assertion that entertainment has the capacity to “ruin” society is true, he fails to acknowledge that society gives entertainment that capacity.
It is the people who utilize entertainment is such a mindless way and fail to combat the repercussions that add to its capacity. If societ
were to use entertainment and still keep up with physical activity and social ties, society wouldn’t be as susceptible to demise. People subject themselves to such entertainment knowing the consequences, and yet they don’t do a thing to contest the negative results. Entertainment certainly does have the capacity to “ruin” society, but society has just as much capacity to combat that, to take the power away from entertainment.
Unfortunately, the lack of physical activity and the loss of proper social ties is proof that today’s society is losing the battle against entertainment, letting it overtake our culture and leave what is today’s society in ruins. In addition to the lack of physical activity, entertainment has led to the degeneration of social interaction. People no longer speak to each other in person, or even on the phone. The extent of today’s friendly relations goes as far as texting and social networking website requests.
People type more than the contents of this essay to each other on Facebook every day but the same people can’t hold a five minute conversation in the hallway. I witness this anomaly everyday with nearly every person I recognize. Interactions between people in actual reality versus virtual reality have become nearly nonexistent. Even I, as well as many others, have been guilty of texting a person in another room, or even across the same room, instead of verbally speaking to that person. I know a family who even calls each other to communicate even though they’re all in the same house.
Instead of interacting in reality, entertainment has made it acceptable for people to communicate through a virtual world. Society gives entertainment its capacity to
destroy, but nonetheless, that capacity is there and undeniable. Neal Gabler’s assertion is therefore true. Entertainment does have the capacity to “ruin” society, and society has yet to combat against it. If humanity fails to react, the fabric of society as we know it will unravel and our demise will become virtually unstoppable.
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