Article on Entertaiment

Entertainment is the activity of occupying or amusing oneself. It includes all agreeable occupations for the mind, including diversion and amusement, such as solving a crossword puzzle or playing a game of baseball. It also includes a variety of live performances, such as theatrical shows or dance and comedy shows. It can also include sports and games, and reading books or magazines. The word derives from the Medieval Latin inter tenere, a contraction of the prefix inter meaning “inside” and the suffix tenere, derived from the Indo-European root ten, meaning to stretch or extend.

Entertainment often hits on points that the brain was evolved to react deeply to. This is why many familiar themes are repeated over time, in different media and across cultures.