Entertainment

Entertainment consists of activities participated in during leisure time that provide amusement and diversion, and usually refers to passive rather than active activities (watching a movie or television rather than a recreational activity such as playing sports). The entertainment industry includes all of the people who work in entertainment--actors, musicians, television producers, comedians, set designers, etc. Today entertainment usually means television, movies, theater, comedy, music and literature. Entertainment news usually follows these media and the celebrities involved in them-- entertainment news might also include reviews of movies, television and books.

Some of the most prestigious awards awarded in entertainment include the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Tony Awards. The Academy Awards are bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually at one of the most publicized and televised awards ceremonies in the world since 1929. The Grammy Awards are awarded in music, the Emmy Awards in television and the Tony Awards in theater. The entertainment industry is a lucrative one--according to the Wall Street Journal Americans spent over 700 billion dollars on entertainment in 2004.

Two of the biggest advances in the history of entertainment are the invention of the cinema and the invention of television. The history of cinema began in 1894, when Jean Aime Le Roy presented the film "Marvellous Cinematograph." Cinema quickly became a worldwide industry, and by 1907 there were roughly 4000 cinemas in the U.S. showing silent films accompanied by a pianist. Television sets became commercially available in the late 1920's, and the first regularly broadcasted television service in the U.S. began in 1928. By 1947 there were roughly 44,000 television sets in the U.S., and ABC and CBS began regularly broadcasting a year later. Commercial color television was introduced in 1951, and commercial television color broadcasts were available in 1953.

The internet has vastly changed the scope of entertainment by allowing greater access to movies, television, music and even books in digital form. The internet has allowed people exposure to types of entertainment they may not have otherwise explored, and makes it easier for live entertainment to publicize shows and reach a larger audience.