entertainment
The entertainment industry is more than escape — it is a cultural engine. Entertainment — whether it be films, books etc in the past or video games, websites etc today — reflects our values, ideologies and identities and in turn shapes them. Today it serves as a toolkit for soft power, an engine of economics and even a moral compass. Finally, as there is less and less of a separation between news and entertainment, society needs to be vigilant about how entertainment reflects humanity and shapes world views.
I. A Mirror to Society
TV and the movie biz are the cultural terriers that have crawled into a hole with a bunch of these societal struggles and transformations. Professional historian George Gerbner suggested that “media cultivates a common perception of reality” and that even if not stated explicitly, the way that reality is filtered might not have the same process to each audience (Gerbner, 1998). For instance, Schindler’s List and other films do not merely fictionalize history; they shape how we collectively remember events such as the Holocaust. And likewise, Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) provided a stunning expose of the social divide, becoming an international sensation by making Korean class warfare accessible to the whole world.
Additionally, TV programs like The Crown and The Handmaid’s Tale depict social and political challenges, encouraging those who watch to reflect on the powers that be, the value of tradition, and the definition of justice. These portrayals are often a subtle form of civic education, and they fashion how individuals relate to their own societies.
II. Television and its impact on the world.
Entertainment is a geopolitical asset in a world dominated more and more by cultural diplomacy. The notion of soft power, which refers to a country’s capacity to influence preferences through attraction and appeal rather than through coercion, was coined by the political scientist Joseph Nye. South Korea — with its K-pop, film and TV — is a case study in modern investment. The globalisation of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) has transformed Korean media into a $12 billion export industry and enhanced South Korea’s diplomatic and cultural presence across Asia, Latin America, and the Western world (Kim, 2020).
Hollywood, also, serves as a conduit for American culture to the world. Movies not only popularize language and dress, but also quietly export values such as individualism, democracy, and freedom. In the words of Susan Sontag: “Cinema is the twentyth century’s most powerful form of art – and also its deadliest” (Sontag, On Photography).
III. Democratic Or Dominating Digital Platforms?
The world of content creation and consumption has been forever changed by the rise of streaming services and social media. Platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and TikTok empower creators from all walks of life by offering worldwide exposure without the limits of the traditional gatekeepers. But these are not neutral platforms; they are algorithmically curated. As media theorist Shoshana Zuboff warns ‘We no longer watch TV; TV watches us’ (p.314) (Zuboff, 2019). Profit-driven algorithms restrict what we are exposed to and limit our cultural encounters.
Though creators from Nigeria (home to the industry known as Nollywood), the Indian subcontinent (Bollywood), and Latin America have started to gain global followings, the dominance of English-language content and Western aesthetics risks marginalizing local traditions, languages and alternative narratives.
IV. The Problem of Cultural Homogenization
The paradox of globalization is that it can both encourage diversity and discourage it. While American audiences watch Turkish drams, South Korean pop and Spanish thrillers, that content is frequently tailored to a global palate — often a Western one. Sociologist Arjun Appadurai has coined this tension as a “disjuncture between global flows and local identities” (Appadurai, 1996). Cultural homogenization, propelled by market rules, can flatten artistic diversity and shrink centuries-old practices into trends.
We can see this play out in the ascendancy of formulaic streaming content that is utterly profit-driven and shallow in its depiction of culture. In order to maintain authenticity, global audiences need to demand and support narratives that challenge market homogenization and represent unique life experiences.
V. Fidelity and Accountability
As the entertainment world becomes more influential, it must take on more responsibility. Misrepresenting or depriving marginalized communities can do real damage. The chronic stereotyping of specific socioethnic or sex groups within the Western media has “real world” consequences on public attitudes or policy (Shaheen, 2001). But employed ethically, entertainment can also include and heal.
Films such as Moonlight — which tells the story of a complex black, queer identity — or The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind — a true story centered on innovation in Malawi — disrupt the dominant narrative and elevate unheard stories. These stories are important— Chamanmada Ngozi Adichie once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete” (The Danger of a Single Story;2009).
VI. The AI Frontier and the Ethics of Telling Stories
What we seesmelltouchtaste the future of entertainment: A.I. and immersive tech. AI is now being used to write scripts, compose music and even to simulate actors’ faces. While this might foster creativity and efficiency, it also raises ethical issues: Who owns AI-generated art? Automation pose a threat to human created?
With the advent of immersive spaces such as VR and the metaverse, the boundary between reality and fiction has become less clear. As philosopher Yuval Noah Harari writes, “humans think in stories, and now we are starting to write the story of our own manipulation” (Homo Deus, 2016). Handle with care, because if we are not careful, these new technologies could exacerbate inequality and distort what we see, hear and think on a scale that dwarfs anything dreamed by Mark Zuckerberg or Vladmir V. Putin.
Conclusion
Entertainment is no longer simply on our screens — it filters through our attitudes toward the world, our politics, our identities and our aspirations. It’s a mirror, a teacher, a battlefield, and a bridge. While the entertainment horizon gets more massive and powerful, we need to grow our consciousness of consumption, our ethics of production, and our conservation of culture.
If we can do that, then entertainment can still inspire, connect, transform without selling its soul.
By: Lorena Durley Calderon Astorga
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