What Is Entertaiment?
Entertaiment is a large and diverse field, encompassing everything from art and music to movies and games. It is a force that can bring joy and stimulate learning, but it can also be harmful if not regulated properly. The word entertain comes from the Latin intertenere, which combines the prefix in- and the suffix ten, derived from the Indo-European root ten, meaning to “hold.” It suggests that entertainment can be held inside and stretched outward.
What is entertainment for one person may be torture or below human dignity to another. [1]
Article by David Cohn. Reprinted from the March 2010 issue of The New York Times Magazine.