Editing Entertainment (section)

== History ==
{{Main|Entertainment in the 16th century|Entertainment during the Great Depression}}
[[File:Bierstadt Albert The Campfire.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Albert Bierstadt]]'s ''The Campfire'' depicts [[storytelling]], a universal form of entertainment]]
[[File:Bestiarii.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Mosaic]] showing Roman entertainments that would have been offered at the [[gladiator]]ial games, from the 1st century]]

The "ancient craft of communicating events and experiences, using words, images, sounds and gestures" by telling a story<ref>{{cite book|last=Gakhar|first=Sonia|title=The influence of storytelling on pre-service students' attitudes and intentions (MSc Thesis)|year=2007|publisher=Iowa State University}}</ref> is not only the means by which people passed on their cultural values and traditions and history from one generation to another, it has been an important part of most forms of entertainment ever since the earliest times. Stories are still told in the early forms, for example, around a fire while [[camping]], or when listening to the stories of another culture as a tourist. "The earliest storytelling sequences we possess, now of course, committed to writing, were undoubtedly originally a speaking from mouth to ear and their force as entertainment derived from the very same elements we today enjoy in films and novels."<ref name=Kuhns>{{cite book|last=Kuhns|first=Richard Francis|title=Decameron and the Philosophy of Storytelling: Author as Midwife and Pimp|year=2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York; Chichester West Sussex|isbn=978-0-231-13608-2|page=7}}</ref> [[Storytelling]] is an activity that has evolved and developed "toward variety".<ref name=Kuhns /> Many entertainments, including storytelling but especially music and drama, remain familiar but have developed into a wide variety of form to suit a very wide range of personal preferences and cultural expression. Many types are blended or supported by other forms. For example, drama, stories and banqueting (or dining) are commonly enhanced by music; sport and games are incorporated into other activities to increase appeal. Some may have evolved from serious or necessary activities (such as running and [[jumping]]) into competition and then become entertainment. It is said, for example, that [[pole vault]]ing "may have originated in the Netherlands, where people used long poles to vault over wide canals rather than wear out their clogs walking miles to the nearest bridge. Others maintain that pole vaulting was used in warfare to vault over fortress walls during battle."<ref name=Carlsen>{{cite book|last=Carlsen|first=Spike|title=A Splintered History of Wood|year=2009|publisher=Harper Perennial|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06-137356-5|page=170}}</ref> The equipment for such sports has become increasingly sophisticated. Vaulting poles, for example, were originally made from woods such as [[Fraxinus|ash]], [[hickory]] or [[hazel]]; in the 19th century [[bamboo]] was used and in the 21st century poles can be made of [[Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer|carbon fibre]].<ref name=Carlsen /> Other activities, such as [[Stilts|walking on stilts]], are still seen in [[circus]] performances in the 21st century. [[Gladiator]]ial combats, also known as "gladiatorial games", popular during Roman times, provide a good example of an activity that is a combination of sport, punishment, and entertainment.<ref>{{Citation |title= Gladiators: violence and spectacle in ancient Rome|author = Dunkle, Roger| year= 2008| location = Harlow, England; New York| publisher = Pearson/Longman| isbn = 978-1-4058-0739-5}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title=Medieval Sport: Quest for Survival | author1=Wiseman, Douglas C. | year=1977 | publisher=Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse Microfiche }}</ref>

Changes to what is regarded as entertainment can occur in response to cultural or historical shifts. Hunting wild animals, for example, was introduced into the [[Roman Empire]] from [[Carthage]] and became a popular public entertainment and spectacle, supporting an international trade in wild animals.<ref>{{cite book|last=Potter|first=David Stone|title=Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire|year=1999|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-10924-1|page=308|author2=Mattingly, David J.}}</ref>

Entertainment also evolved into different forms and expressions as a result of social upheavals such as wars and revolutions. During the Chinese [[Cultural Revolution]], for example, [[Revolutionary opera]] was sanctioned by the Communist party and [[World War I]], the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Russian Revolution]] all affected entertainment.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roshwald|first=Aviel|title=European Culture in the Great War: The Arts, Entertainment and Propaganda, 1914–1918|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-57015-2|author2=Stites, Richard}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Heinrich|first=Anselm|title=Heinrich, Entertainment, propaganda, education: regional theatre in Germany and Britain between 1918 and 1945|year=2007|publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press|location=Hatfield, England|isbn=978-1-902806-74-7|editor=Meech, Tony}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Arthur|first=Max|title=When this bloody war is over: soldiers' songs from the First World War|year=2001|publisher=Piatkus|location=London|isbn=978-0-7499-2252-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 1 Media, Industry, Society|year=2003|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8264-6321-0|author1=Laing, Dave |author2=Oliver, Paul |author3=Wicke, Peter |editor=Horn, David}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McReynolds|first=Louise|title=Russia at Play: Leisure Activities at the End of the Tsarist Era|year=2003|publisher=Cornell University|isbn=978-0-8014-4027-4}}</ref>

Relatively minor changes to the form and venue of an entertainment continue to come and go as they are affected by the period, fashion, culture, technology, and economics. For example, a story told in dramatic form can be presented in an open-air theatre, a [[music hall]], a cinema, a [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]], or as technological possibilities advanced, via a personal electronic device such as a [[tablet computer]]. Entertainment is provided for mass audiences in purpose-built structures such as a [[Theater (structure)|theatre]], [[auditorium]], or stadium. One of the most famous venues in the Western world, the [[Colosseum]], "dedicated [[Before common era|AD]]&nbsp;80 with a hundred days of games, held fifty thousand spectators," and in it audiences "enjoyed blood sport with the trappings of stage shows".{{sfnp|McDonald Walton|2007|p=51}} [[Spectacle]]s, competitions, [[Racing|races]], and sports were once presented in this purpose-built arena as public entertainment. New stadia continue to be built to suit the ever more sophisticated requirements of global audiences.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

=== Court entertainment ===
[[File:Codex Manesse 192v - Albrecht von Rapperswil.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Tournament before an audience and musicians (14th century)]]
[[File:Ralph Hedley The tournament 1898.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ralph Hedley]] ''The Tournament'' (1898) Children adapting a courtly entertainment]]
Imperial and royal courts have provided training grounds and support for professional entertainers, with different cultures using palaces, castles and forts in different ways. In the [[Maya civilization|Maya city states]], for example, "spectacles often took place in large plazas in front of palaces; the crowds gathered either there or in designated places from which they could watch at a distance."<ref>{{cite book|title=Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History|year=2008|publisher=University of California Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-520-25443-5|editor=Walthall, Anne|ref=CITEREFWalthall2008}} pp.&nbsp;4–5.</ref> Court entertainments also crossed cultures. For example, the [[Durbar (court)|durbar]] was introduced to India by the [[Mughal emperors|Mughals]], and passed onto the [[British Empire]], which then followed Indian tradition: "institutions, titles, customs, ceremonies by which a [[Maharaja]] or [[Nawab]] were installed&nbsp;... the exchange of official presents&nbsp;... the order of precedence", for example, were "all inherited from&nbsp;... the Emperors of Delhi".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Charles|author-link = Charles Allen (writer)|last2 = Dwivedi|first2=Sharada|author-link2 = Sharada Dwivedi|title=Lives of the Indian Princes|year=1984|publisher=Century Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-0-7126-0910-4|page=210}}</ref> In Korea, the "court entertainment dance" was "originally performed in the palace for entertainment at court banquets."<ref>{{cite book|last=Van Zile|first=Judy|title=Perspectives on Korean Dance|year=2001|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|location=Middletown, CN|isbn=978-0-8195-6494-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonko0000vanz}} p. 36.</ref>

Court entertainment often moved from being associated with the court to more general use among [[commoner]]s. This was the case with "masked dance-dramas" in Korea, which "originated in conjunction with village [[Shamanism|shaman]] rituals and eventually became largely an entertainment form for commoners".{{sfnp|Van Zile|2001|p=9}} [[Nautch]] dancers in the Mughal Empire performed in Indian courts and palaces. Another evolution, similar to that from courtly entertainment to common practice, was the transition from religious ritual to secular entertainment, such as happened during the [[Goryeo]] dynasty with the Narye festival. Originally "solely religious or ritualistic, a secular component was added at the conclusion".{{sfnp|Van Zile|2001|p=69}} Former courtly entertainments, such as [[jousting]], often also survived in children's games.

In some courts, such as those during the [[Byzantine Empire]], the genders were segregated among the upper classes, so that "at least before the period of the [[Komnenos|Komnenoi]]" (1081–1185) men were separated from women at ceremonies where there was entertainment such as receptions and banquets.<ref name=Garland>{{cite book|editor-last=Garland|editor-first=Lynda|editor-link=Lynda Garland |title=Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience 800–1200|year=2006|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|location=Aldershot, Hampshire|isbn=978-0-7546-5737-8|pages=177–178}}</ref>

Court ceremonies, palace banquets and the spectacles associated with them, have been used not only to entertain but also to demonstrate wealth and power. Such events reinforce the relationship between ruler and ruled; between those with power and those without, serving to "dramatise the differences between ordinary families and that of the ruler".{{sfnp|Walthall|2008}} This is the case as much as for traditional courts as it is for contemporary ceremonials, such as the [[Hong Kong handover ceremony]] in 1997, at which an array of entertainments (including a banquet, a parade, fireworks, a festival performance and an art spectacle) were put to the service of highlighting a change in political power. Court entertainments were typically performed for royalty and courtiers as well as "for the pleasure of local and visiting dignitaries".{{sfnp|Van Zile|2001|p=6}} Royal courts, such as the Korean one, also supported traditional dances.{{sfnp|Van Zile|2001|p=6}} In Sudan, musical instruments such as the so-called "slit" or "talking" drums, once "part of the court orchestra of a powerful chief", had multiple purposes: they were used to make music; "speak" at ceremonies; mark community events; send long-distance messages; and call men to hunt or war.<ref>{{cite web|last=McGregor|first=Neil|title=Episode 94: Sudanese Slit Drum (Transcript)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/episode94/|work=History of the World in 100 Objects|publisher=BBC Radio 4/British Museum|access-date=6 February 2013|archive-date=15 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615000158/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/episode94/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McGregor|first=Neil|title=A History of the World in 100 objects|year=2010|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=978-1-84614-413-4|pages=613–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/FMgugdskR7eaWj_ST2fAeQ| title = British Museum catalogue image of Sudanese slit drum| access-date = 20 December 2019| archive-date = 27 December 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191227151825/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/FMgugdskR7eaWj_ST2fAeQ| url-status = live}}</ref>

Courtly entertainments also demonstrate the complex relationship between entertainer and spectator: individuals may be either an entertainer or part of the audience, or they may swap roles even during the course of one entertainment. In the court at the [[Palace of Versailles]], "thousands of courtiers, including men and women who inhabited its apartments, acted as both performers and spectators in daily rituals that reinforced the status hierarchy".{{sfnp|Walthall|2008}}

Like court entertainment, royal occasions such as coronations and weddings provided opportunities to entertain both the [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocracy]] and the people. For example, the splendid 1595 [[Accession Day]] celebrations of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] offered [[tournament]]s and jousting and other events performed "not only before the assembled court, in all their finery, but also before thousands of Londoners eager for a good day's entertainment. Entry for the day's events at the [[Tiltyard]] in [[Palace of Whitehall|Whitehall]] was set at [[History of the English penny (1485–1603)#Elizabeth I|12d]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-59436-3|author=Holbrook, Peter|editor=Bevington, David|pages=42–43}}</ref>

=== Public punishment ===
[[File:Ticket for the execution of Jonathan Wild.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Ticket for the execution of [[Jonathan Wild]] (1725)]]
Although most forms of entertainment have evolved and continued over time, some once-popular forms are no longer as acceptable. For example, during earlier centuries in Europe, watching or participating in the punishment of criminals or social outcasts was an accepted and popular form of entertainment. Many forms of [[public humiliation]] also offered local entertainment in the past. Even capital punishment such as [[hanging]] and [[Decapitation|beheading]], offered to the public as a warning, were also regarded partly as entertainment. Capital punishments that lasted longer, such as [[stoning]] and [[Hanged, drawn and quartered|drawing and quartering]], afforded a greater public spectacle. "A hanging was a carnival that diverted not merely the unemployed but the unemployable. Good bourgeois or curious aristocrats who could afford it watched it from a carriage or rented a room."<ref name=Gay /> Public punishment as entertainment lasted until the 19th century by which time "the awesome event of a public hanging aroused the[ir] loathing of writers and philosophers".<ref name=Gay>{{cite book|author-link=Peter Gay|last=Gay|first=Peter|title=Schnitzler's Century – The making of middle-class culture 1815–1914|year=2002|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|location=New York; London|isbn=978-0-393-32363-4|page=121}}</ref> Both [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]] and [[William Makepeace Thackeray|Thackeray]] wrote about a hanging in [[Newgate Prison]] in 1840, and "taught an even wider public that executions are obscene entertainments".<ref name=Gay />