:See also Entertainment (disambiguation) and The Entertainer (disambiguation)
An entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.

Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation. Activities such as personal reading or practising a musical instruments are considered as hobbies.

The industry that provides entertainment is called the entertainment industry. There are many forms of entertainment, which cater for particular tastes. For example, there is cinema, theatre, sports, games, social dance which cater for different groups of people. These may also be grouped on the age of persons interested, such as child entertainment or adult entertainment. For example, puppets, clowns, pantomimes and cartoons tend to appeal to children, though adults may also find them enjoyable.

Forms of entertainment

There are many activities which people find entertaining, though the activities which one person may find entertaining may not be so to another person. The types of things which some people find entertaining would include the following.

Animation

Some people find animation to be entertaining. Similarly, some people find cartoons to be entertaining.

Cinema and theatre

Many people find cinema and/or theatre and other live performance such as circus, plays, musicals, farces, monologues and pantomimes to be entertaining.

Comedy

Comedy provides laughter and amusement. The audience is taken by surprise, by the parody or satire of an unexpected effect or an opposite expectations of their cultural beliefs. Slapstick film, one-liner joke, observational humor are forms of comedy which have developed since the early days of jesters and traveling minstrels.

Comics

Comics comprise of text and drawings which convey an entertaining narrative. Several famous comics revolve around super heroes such as Superman, Batman. Marvel Comics and DC Comics are two publishers of comic books. Manga is the Japanese word for comic and print cartoons.
Caricature is a graphical entertainment. The purpose may vary from merely putting smile on the viewers face, to raising social awareness, to highlighting the moral vices of a person being caricaturised.

Dance and music

Many people also find social dance to be entertaining, in addition to it being a popular forum for social interaction. Alternatively, some people enjoy merely listening or watching musical entertainment of various forms, in private or public environments.

Reading

Many people also find reading to be entertaining and a fascinating pastime, though different people choose different genres of books, magazines, etc. Some enjoy TV and magazine celebrity gossip, for example.

Games

Games provide relaxation and diversion. Games may be played by one person for their own entertainment, or by a group of people. Games may be played for achievement or money such as gambling or bingo. Racing, chess or checkers may develop physical or mental prowess. Games may be geared for children, or may be played outdoors such as lawn bowling. Equipment may be necessary to play the game such as a deck of cards for card games, or a board and markers for board games such as Monopoly, or backgammon. A few may be ball games, Blind man's bluff, board games, card games, children's games, croquet, frisbee, hide and seek, number games, paintball, and video games to name a few.

Other forms of entertainment

• Concert

• Lecture

• Magic

• Sports

• Mass media

• Television

• Radio

• Storytelling

See also

• Broadway theatre

• Busking

• History of film

• Leisure

• Escapism

• Literature

• West End theatre

Footnotes