That's Entertainment

1. ENTERTAINMENT
AS TRANQUILIZER
The proliferation of the entertainment industry this country is a reflection of the
nature of our society, its preoccupation and its goals. Entertainment is big business in a
land plagued by poverty; it is substitute gratification for a people desirous of escaping the
harsh and narrow confines of a meaningless existence. The nature of entertainment that
abounds here indicates the pervasive influences to which we are subjected. Both the
nature and extent of this industry point to the type of policies our society pursues and the
limits of our social activity. This situation also mirrors the generalized colonial
consciousness among our people which is the result and also this cause of regressive
policies in the field of culture and social education.
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In this parasitic society of ours, where escape is the day-today preoccupation of
those who have no real purpose in life beyond self-gratification, entertainment has
become a principal form of activity.