Entertainment is a frequently understated need. Without it, life would seem meaningless, and it would be nearly impossible to enjoy life. This could have serious mental consequence. I guess this is a reason to envy previous generations.
Every form of entertainment seems to be on the decline. Let me start with the most obvious, movies and television. These two things were developed primarily for the purpose of entertainment. They have become more formulaic in recent years in the sense that the studios have developed ideas regarding what's good for the ratings and try to get all of their productions to fit their mold. The mold combined with how art schools are displacing creativity in exchange for technical writing skills has resulted in pretty much everything being derivative and watered down.
Modern movies consist primarily of reboots and sequels. While there are a few based off of true stories, very few movies provide anything new. As for the reboots and sequels, those movies are built off of franchises rather than legitimate ideas. The decision to capitalize on a franchise almost always comes before the script, which rarely results in anything worthwhile. In attempts to modernize the franchises, the primary appeal becomes neglected.
In my family, pretty much everyone agrees that the last movies that really stood out were released in 2001. We all pick different movies from that year because we all have different tastes. Despite our differences in interests, none of us are happy with the kinds of movies that have been released over the last 14 years.
While there have been a few reboots in the television world, it's the formulaic components that are doing the most damage. For example, I have heard once that studios actually have determined an ideal pace for jokes in sitcoms. I forget how many seconds it was, but classic comedy relied on the strength of the jokes rather than a schedule for their jokes.
Additionally, ever since Jerry Seinfeld perfected the humorless comedy, pretty much all comedies have tried to follow that show's pattern. More specifically, television shows no longer try to appeal to any particular audience. Instead, they hold back any content that any segment of viewers might not understand. This is why I view these programs as watered down. They reduce the impact of their content in fear of alienating any viewers. Ultimately, this means that pretty much every show is targeting the same mainstream audience. If you do not allow others to dictate your interest, none of these show will really capture your attention.
In all fairness, there are a lot of shows that do not classify as comedy. Personally, I like to laugh. The idea that there are fewer laugh-out-loud moments in modern television has had a big impact on me. As for dramas, science fiction, and other genres, I really can't properly evaluate their current quality.
There is a bit of a quirk with the decline of television and movies. What has come out in recent years has not eliminated the entertaining productions of the past. The real problem is that the good stuff is becoming more difficult to find as it gets buried underneath the modern crap that we have been seeing.
It's not just television and movies. Take a look at video games. I started playing in the 16-bit era. Specifically, I got into video games with the Sega Genesis. During those years, video games were primarily built around gameplay and contained enough of a story line that what you were doing made sense. As game consoles have become more powerful, the cost of utilizing that power has increased. For the top-tier publishers, the technical accomplishments have become more valuable than gameplay. Additionally, the industry has become more mainstream. Bullets on a box and hype surrounding a game are far more valuable to the average gamer who is buying a game than gameplay.
Final Fantasy VII was a great example of the shift in focus of the industry. Square invested heavily in cinematics and artwork, but they completely neglected gameplay and storyline. The big plot twist wasn't a misunderstanding, oversight, or anything noteworthy. Instead, the developers outright lied about the past. It was the laziest plot twist I have ever encountered in any kind of story. I would have preferred no plot twist. Character development consisted of the main character regaining his memory without any personal development and the other characters saying that they had changed. It was the laziest character development I have ever encountered in any kind of story. I would have preferred no character development. The developers used graphics artists rather than level designers to establish the various locations in the game. Exploration was replaced by essentially pushing the characters on rails. The developers responsible for gameplay clearly did not work with the developers responsible for the story. We ended up in this science fiction universe with lasers in hopes that swords and related handheld weaponry could save the world in a way more sophisticated weaponry could not. While some of the mini-games were intriguing, they were merely thrown into the game. They didn't fit very well with what was going, and they did more to disrupt gameplay than to add to it. Ultimately, Final Fantasy ended up as a $50 silent movie with a weak plot.
Final Fantasy VII was a huge success. Other developers and publishers saw what was going on and said, "me too." Most games from that point forward tried to replicate the success of Final Fantasy VII. Cinematics and storytelling components were on the rise. Marketing and franchising have displaced the value gameplay. The industry is trying to move closer to movies, but movies cost far less to own. There have been numerous $60 games that have been praised for being almost good enough to be a movie. If that's the case, I would rather save my money and buy a movie.
Since I'm talking about the decline of entertainment, I should probably also bring up watching sports. All sports have sacrificed entertainment value in favor of marketing. The NHL was a hold out for quite a while, but even they have now given all of their fans the middle finger in an attempt to make more money for wealthy team owners.
Not all problems in sports are on the owners side. Most athletes are playing only for their personal fame and fortune. This is particularly problematic with North American athletes who don't hesitate to defy the rules to give themselves an unfair advantage. Sports are also becoming more technical with proper play becoming more common and creativity declining. Most professional athletes lock into a sport at an age where they should still be trying new things, and they rely heavily on others to shape the game for them. Watching sports is no longer about watching people having fun while trying to prove they are the best. It's now about watching self-absorbed individuals working at a job they don't seem to enjoy trying to come out on top regardless of what it takes to get there.
I could go on about other forms of entertainment. There are ways to enjoy nature that can qualify as entertainment. While new parks are always being created, those parks are primarily meant to prevent undeveloped land from being taken over by real estate developers. New parks are merely reducing the rate at which we lose the natural world.
While I can think of a lot of entertainment that has clearly declined, I can't think of anything that has legitimately improved. At this point, I think we need to start rethinking how we handle entertainment. What new forms of entertainment can we find, and what can we do to help restore entertainment for others?
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