3D

I saw “The Green Lantern” in 3D recently. While its humano-centric, over-the-top theatrics got some critics’ attention, I was thinking of something not about the movie itself at all. I was thinking about my fellow movie goers, most of whom were young, and some who were even lively. How much does entertainment of all types, but especially electronic entertainment, divert, distract, and/or de-plug its partakers? How much are they inoculated against reality and anesthetized against its effects by entertainment? Are people, and especially many of the young adults, in modes of desperation, despair, or denial? Is entertainment mostly just innocent marketing of what we want, or are there elements of purposeful, perhaps even sinister, manipulation for desired effect? Given that I enjoy entertainment immensely, these are anxious thoughts to ponder…