Entertainment and Society - Uedited version

Ms.Lees asks: Do you think the theater of the Elizabethan Age or the Entertainment media of today has any link or influence upon the social values or political ideals of the people or is it only a reflection (artistic expression) of the social values and political issues of the day? In other words - do you think entertainment (theater or other media today) reflects (is a record) what is going on in society or influences (has an effect) on society. Support your argument with logical reasoning and at least 1 example from your knowledge of the Elizabethan Era through our novel and 1 example from present day.

I respond.

This is a very broad question that needs a very broad answer in order to be addressed efficiently.Entertainment contains both aspects, influencing and reflecting, but withing the broad spectrum of entertainment there are those who influence and those who reflect.Allow me to explain.

There will always be those few, if not only one, work of entertainment that changes everything and can heavily alter how society behave and what it holds valuable. For example, look at how video games have changed society, especially the teenage demographic. Although I condemn how it has corrupted many of our youths, there is no denying it's affect on society. The game many consider the first shooter is called  Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992. It has poor graphics by modern standards, but display far too much gore and blood for youths in my opinion. However, since it's release, the popularity of shooter games have skyrocketed. Since then, the violence and gore of  a lot of today's video games are common household items and are seen as acceptable, despite condoning from parents, government etc.. This genre's popularity made it look like a "cool" thing among "cool kids", despite very little reasoning behind this.
The rap genre of music has also made a huge impact on society and,especially,the way it behaves. Tupac Shakur is considered as the pioneer of rap music, and made this music popular following the declining popularity of rock music. Because of rap music, the image it sends and association it has with street culture, it is now common, and sadly acceptable, among people to use words such "nigga", "dawg", "yo", and made being "gansta" look "cool", by means of wearing pants low, the excessive use of profanity, among others, that as recently as a decade ago was considered unacceptable. And it is undeniable that the first rap musics and artists had a lot to do with this.
One last example from Elizabethan England was how Christopher Marlowe's play, Edward the II, is considered among the first and most most acclaimed historical plays in English history, in which Shakespeare might have gotten inspiration for his writing techniques and styles from. Marlowe's play, as well as Shakespeare's plays, shed new light to the theater and gained the attention of the general public, as well as its respect, to the point where it became a huge part of English past time.In other words, it made society value the arts.

However, when these works of entertainment are produced repetitively, it then becomes only a mere reflection of what society values, and what is common and popular. For example, the vast majority of video games nowadays are shooters. Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Battlefield etc.. they are all very much alike  Sequel after sequel of the same shooting game. It has become a reflection of just how much people, especially teenagers, like to rebel and use video games as means to escape from the reality that breaking the rules and doing what you like can lead to serious consequences.
 Nearly all rap songs are very much the same .It has become a symbol of self expression without boundaries, a social value held by adults and youths alike. However, there is no rap song in recent memory that will change social values, and few that will be truly revolutionary and influence society more.
Lastly, the plays following the few greats from Shakespeare and Marlowe merely reflect, for example, the political idea of nationalism and patriotism. Of course, when portraying historical figures or heroes of England, they are portrayed as righteous, whereas the enemy would be portrayed otherwise.


But allow me to specify how entertainment can influence people, it is often used to spread a message, a moral. For example, Sir Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert was organized in order to donate funds for Africa, and it was highly entertaining. To close the concert, the famous "We Are the World" was to be sung. This concert collected great sums of money for the needy in Africa, and is just one way entertainment can influence our views and decisions. Another example is the crazy conspiracy theories regarding entertainment. Some believe that the Illuminati control much of the music industry, influencing us and putting forth their own political ideologies. You can watch a video here regarding their influence and control over the industry.


In sum, entertainment influences and reflects society. There will be the few, but doesn't have to always be the first, who change everything and influence us greatly, such as the rise of rap, the use of entertainment to encourage efforts for good causes etc... But when it becomes so repetitive and common it becomes a mere reflection of how we have changed, and how what we hold valuable have changed.