What is entertainment?

 Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention.

Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens.

The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry which records and sells entertainment products.

Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose.

Most forms of entertainment have persisted over many centuries, evolving due to changes in culture, technology, and fashion.

Films and video games, for example, although they use newer media, continue to tell stories, present drama, and play music.

Festivals devoted to music, film, or dance allow audiences to be entertained over a number of consecutive days.

Some activities that once were considered entertaining, particularly public punishments, have been removed from the public arena.

Others, such as fencing or archery, once necessary skills for some, have become serious sports and even professions for the participants, at the same time developing into entertainment with wider appeal for bigger audiences.

In the same way, other necessary skills, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions and then broadcast for entertainment.

What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work by another.

The familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over different media and have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creative remix.

This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures.