Entertainment – Real or Reel

So the other day, we were talking about what movie to watch and the dearth of absolutely ‘fun’ movies nowadays. Fun movies, aka comedies. And one friend remarked how she misses the Govinda movies, where one could ‘dimaag ghar pe chod ke dekhney jaatein they’ (leave your brain at home and watch the movie). 

While I don’t ascribe to the brain-at-home idea, I did enjoy Govind movies two decades back and did find them funny. But over time, I have changed my view on movies and their entertainment quotient. No doubt they are meant to provide us with  ‘entertainment’,  the degree of entertainment or the level of dependence on the movie to entertain us, is important to understand.

Of course, the ‘movie’ can also mean all sorts of non-educational and non-news/sports content on ott channels and the intent of the article remains the same. One might even consider stand-up comedy shows – live as well as recorded, in the same light.

• When you go for a movie, are you already happy/ in a positive frame of mind, or are you looking forward to the movie making you happy, come out with a positive frame of mind.
• Are you looking for a reason to laugh or smile when the screen lights up?
• Are you going by the reputation of the actor/director to have successfully entertained you in the past and based on that you expect them to repeat that ‘magic’ act’?

If the answer to the above questions is ‘yes’ then it’s fine – it’s normal, but still it is something to ‘think’ about. 

• While the ‘reel’ is created to entertain you, what about ‘real’ life – what is your entertainment quotient?
• While actors in movies get paid to entertain you, what about the actors in your real life – both the unpaid (family, friends) and the paid (colleagues, boss, etc) – are they there to entertain you (alone), in their own ways, make you ‘happy’, through their thoughts, words, action or deeds. I reiterate, that it might not be the sole intention of any of them and none (except in some cases for the spouse) have that as an objective. Are they doing a good job?
• And finally, it’s you, the hero of the movie called ‘your life’. How well are you able to entertain yourself? Can you make yourself smile, and laugh? Are you able to tickle your own funny bones for a laugh or two? While physically, we cannot tickle ourselves, through our thoughts, it’s possible to make ourselves smile and even laugh at times. Do you do it?

While we can live our whole lives looking for external triggers like movies to ‘entertain’ us, for us to live a healthy and fulfilling life, it’s important to look for ‘entertainment’ within. Look at what you do or have done (including all, the good, the great and even the plain darn stupid things !) and see how much of that makes you ‘happy’. 

I have made many blunders in life, like missing a flight as I overslept, giving wrong answers in class, not knowing the answer to simple questions, and not being able to guess the name of the song or singer, even though I hear it often and love it, etc. These are just small and very trivial examples of experiences that when I ruminate, I smile and laugh at myself.

One can also smile from acts of kindness – the joy of making others ‘happy’ through our words or small actions, by helping them, showing that we care for them and are there to help them. While the act might have lasted for minutes or even a few seconds, the joy derived can last for years, if not decades.

Not just movies, but songs and music are also an integral part of the entertainment industry and if they act as triggers for happy thoughts and sweet memories, then the song ‘entertains’ us, but the real source of delight is our own memory and reflection on a past event and the song was just an enabler. But how about you singing yourself or playing an instrument – can’t even compare that joy to that of someone else singing!!!

Food is another great source of entertainment. Food for thought can also refer to real food leading to very happy ‘thoughts’. And if the food was made by us, then the degree of ‘joy’ is at a totally different level.

The message here is simple and straightforward. Look for real entertainment in life, than reel one. Look for experiences and memories and acts that will stimulate entertainment or entertaining thoughts in real life rather than relying on a three-hour-long movie. Go to movies, you must, but to appreciate the quality of art or the degree of effort being put into the production, or even for the sheer grandeur of what has been created to make the movie happen, but do not ‘depend’ on it as your major source of ‘entertainment’. And definitely do not allow it to drag you into sadness, anger or lead to any kind of negative thoughts !!