Today's society is an era of pan-entertainment, and ordinary people spend a lot of time on entertainment every day. People are immersed in entertainment activities such as networking, social**, TV, short**, games, shows, sports competitions, etc. Even people have the feeling of being entertained to death.
Entertainment to Death is a book published in 1985 by American cultural critic Neil Postman. In this book, Bosman examines the profound social and cultural impact of the present day. He makes a thought-provoking point that we are gradually transitioning from a culture dominated by words to one dominated by entertainment.
The phenomenon of "entertainment to death" refers to the fact that people are increasingly seeking entertainment to the point of ignoring real information and knowledge, making culture and public affairs less and less important. With the advancement of technology, people are becoming more and more accessible to a variety of entertainment activities. This phenomenon stems from the popularity of television, internet entertainment, and the consumerization of culture, where people see almost everything as a pleasure and entertainment, rather than as a process of thinking and analyzing.
At the same time, ordinary civilians may not realize that these cheap entertainments are all around them, and they may be deliberately brought to them by the elite. This must be talked about the ** music theory, also known as the pacifier music theory.
In 1995, an elite meeting of 500 people, including Margaret Thatcher and George H.W. Bush, was held in San Francisco. The elites agreed that globalization would create a major social problem: the disparity between the rich and the poor, with 20 per cent of the population controlling 80 per cent of the resources. In other words, 80% of people will be marginalized, but how can we prevent the challenges and dissatisfaction of these 80% people?
Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former assistant for affairs in the United States, proposed a "pacifier strategy" that everyone was happy with. "Stuff a pacifier in the mouth of these 80 percent" and let them keep to themselves, so that 20 percent can rest easy.
There are two main forms of pacifiers, one is to vent sexual entertainment, such as the industry, which encourages online games and war of words;One is satisfying games, such as soap operas, idol dramas, and reporting celebrity scandals.
Satisfying people's lives with intoxicating pastimes and entertainments, as well as products full of sensory stimulation, takes up a lot of their time, and thus makes them gradually lose the ability to think. Marginalized people, as long as they are given a job and have something to eat, will be immersed in happiness and have no intention of challenging the existing authority. The origin of music theory is questionable, but it has become a phenomenon.
Elites may use entertainment** to divert public attention from the distribution of power and resources, making society more controllable. However, this does not mean that all entertainment is a means of meritocracy, but rather emphasizes a tendency for distraction in society.
There are different opinions and criticisms of this theory, as social phenomena involve multiple factors. Thus, it may be an oversimplification to see music theory as the only means of meritocracy, but it provides a perspective for thinking about the relationship between entertainment and social control.
It can be seen that in contemporary society, with the development of science and technology, entertainment has become an indispensable part of society, affecting people's values and focus. Entertainment has become an important factor in influencing the way people live and think.
In the current society, the phenomenon of music theory and entertainment to death exists. When combining the two for modern social analysis, we can see the following.
1.The proliferation of entertainment and pastimes: In today's society, various cheap forms of entertainment such as video games, social **, popular variety shows, etc. are flooding people's daily lives, which are easily addictive and take up a lot of time that could be used to enrich themselves. People are often immersed in short-term and fragmented information, and it is easy to ignore deep-seated and complex social problems. This phenomenon can lead to a decrease in people's ability to concentrate and think. People can become shallow in their thinking and lack critical thinking. People's creativity is stifled and it is difficult to make meaningful contributions. Society will become more impetuous and less cohesive.
2.Lack of public participation: In an "entertain to death" environment, even serious social and political issues are often packaged as light-hearted entertainment, which makes the public increasingly disinterested and incapable of participating in important discussions, and thus weakens the willingness of citizens to participate in political activities.
3.Negative social control: From the perspective of pacifier music theory, this tendency to entertain to death may be used as a tool to maintain social control, reducing the ** and reflection of the status quo by distracting people and reducing their political maturity.
4.Maintaining and exacerbating social inequality: The theories of entertainment to death and pacifier pleasure may make it easier for the disadvantaged groups in society to be satisfied with the most basic life** and cheap entertainment, rather than pursuing social status and equal distribution of resources, thus invisibly exacerbating social inequality.
However, this is not necessarily all negative. Entertainment itself does not have a negative connotation. Recreational activities can help people relax, relieve stress, and promote interpersonal communication. In fact, it provides a way to release stress and find self-worth. At the same time, it also provides a social platform for people to facilitate interpersonal communication and information exchange. Objectively, some people divert people's attention by providing entertainment, thereby alleviating class contradictions and conflicts of interest in society.
It may be that a boring lifestyle causes people to need more pleasure and entertainment to replenish. It may also be a way for people to avoid facing real problems and difficulties, allowing them to immerse themselves in the beautiful and happy imaginary world.
In analyzing modern society, both theories provide insight into how information and entertainment affect individuals and societies on a cultural, political, and economic level. However, it should also be noted that these two theories may need to be analyzed in different social and cultural contexts, and more rationally explained by skillfully combining the evolving and changing media technologies.
To sum up, both the phenomenon of entertainment to death and the theory of music are reflections of complex societies and reflect the mental state of people in the current society. People are increasingly seeking sensory stimulation and neglecting to think about and critique reality. We need to be aware of the pros and cons of the phenomena of "** fun" and "entertainment to death", reasonably control our entertainment behavior, maintain the pursuit and exploration spirit of information and knowledge, and be able to have a deep understanding and participation in important issues. At the same time, we should also pay attention to social and cultural development trends and actively seek solutions to promote the development of society.