“Entertainment makes itself possible only by insulating itself from the totality of the social process, making itself stupid and perversely renouncing from the first the inescapable claim of any work, even the most trivial: in its restrictedness to reflect the whole. Amusement always means putting things out of mind, forgetting suffering, even when it is on display. At its root is powerlessness. It indeed escapes, but not, as it claims, escape from bad reality but from the last thought of resisting that reality”
In this quote, Adorno and Horkheimer discuss how amusement will, even if it comments on the suffering of a group or a particular issue, will not acknowledge the pain the people are going through. It is a coping mechanism, in essence. The people making the entertainment don’t know how to fix the suffering and to avoid facing it, will make a joke out of it.
This quote connects me back to arguments I’ve had with my parents about film and theater. They argue that film is used for entertainment and escapism, nothing more. However, as an artist within theater and film, movies and plays are more than mere entertainment; they are methods in which people express how they view the world and the issues surrounding us. However, I do agree with my parents on several things; there are pieces of media that “make itself stupid” and focuses on amusement. I think of offensive stand up comedians partially. Stand up comedy is one of the most difficult things to do in the creative world. How do you know what will offend one person and not another? However, the truly “amusing” jokes will put the suffering of those the joke is referring to away. Instead of actively engaging with the issue or people at hand, entertainment will write it off. This type of entertainment is not what a good, challenging piece of media is.
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