tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post2294493426737727608..comments2023-10-08T04:56:41.092-07:00Comments on Bezalel: Art and Entertainmentnoneuclideanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00401446537047753731noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post-54917192831208018002007-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:002007-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:00Hmm...perhaps you are right (you certainly wouldn'...Hmm...perhaps you are right (you certainly wouldn't be the first to have valid criticisms of Shakespeare!) I think I may need to rethink my argument before responding further--I think that at the very least I am compounding two separate issues (1 - the usefulness of mindless entertainment. 2 - the importance of art that remembers to be fun while making a serious point, and uses the fun (maybe a bit self-indulgently) to make the point.)<BR/><BR/>In unrelated news, my name is Robert Garbacz, my story is "The Salvation of Sancho," and my email is my first name, followed by "TheScott," and is a GMail address. I just don't tend to announce any of those specifics on my website, largely because I'm paranoid about talking to multiple audiences and don't want that to be the first response when someone googles my name.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post-66881629586260738312007-08-11T11:05:00.000-07:002007-08-11T11:05:00.000-07:00I'd have to go to the specific passages to be prec...I'd have to go to the specific passages to be precise, but I would venture to guess that those scenes in Hamlet which might appear to serve as mere disengaged entertainment actually draw us in to the humanity of the characters; so while we might not, at that specific moment, be thoughtfully considering some profound idea drawn from the play, we are given information about the characters which allows us to have such contemplative moments later, when the characters mean more to us. <BR/><BR/>Of course, I'd have to reread Hamlet to be sure that I'm characterizing the play properly, but don't think I've misrepresented it. The other possibility--one which I am much more hesitant to posit--is that the scenes you're alluding to could be weaknesses in his play, places where Shakespeare needed to please his audience rather than keep the consistency of his theme. Just a thought.noneuclideanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401446537047753731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post-8054147895119132502007-08-11T10:33:00.000-07:002007-08-11T10:33:00.000-07:00I see what you are trying to say, and I really wan...I see what you are trying to say, and I really want to agree with it (as an author of dark fiction, as a literary critic, etc.) I think my objection is that to a certain extent passive entertainment is an important and valuable part of the aesthetic experience. Hamlet is a story in which a prince struggles with his impossible duties, edges over to a madness that is only partially pretend, and demonstrates a whole lot of the struggles of humanity. It also is chock full of scenes that have no other purpose than to make the audience sit back and laugh in a disengaged manner. Hence the idea of passive entertainment.<BR/><BR/>It was thinking about your post, in part, that lead to my latest blog entry, so maybe that'll help clarify what I was trying to say.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post-36693695856948071342007-08-09T21:15:00.000-07:002007-08-09T21:15:00.000-07:00No, I agree. They often overlap. But I would say t...No, I agree. They often overlap. <BR/><BR/>But I would say that works of art can be entertaining, but are not entertainment. <BR/><BR/>I think the very idea of entertainment encourages a passiveness that is fundamentally unhealthy for critical thinking and righteous discernment. I think Christians should abandon the idea of entertainment altogether and treat all media as worthy of critical thinking and reflection, since all media posits a worldview, whether purposefully or not.<BR/><BR/>However, I fully acknowledge that art has an entertaining quality, which is a very good thing. <BR/><BR/>Does that make sense? <BR/><BR/>Thanks for the response.noneuclideanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401446537047753731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11979619.post-89187440082029651382007-08-09T21:08:00.000-07:002007-08-09T21:08:00.000-07:00Good definitions:If I may offer a nitpick that mig...Good definitions:<BR/><BR/>If I may offer a nitpick that might be useful. Occassionally, the "art v. entertainment" subject is brought up, for various very good reasons. However, it is my experience that more commonly people assume "art" to be a subset of "entertainment," as in "The Stories in Coach's Midnight Diner are not only thoroughly and chillingly entertaining, but rise to the level of art in their engagement with the deeper difficulties and complexities of Christianity within a fallen world."<BR/><BR/>My point: is there a specific reason why you don't allow art and entertainment to overlap within one work?Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.com