CMCstudent, 3/29

“To entertain means to be in agreement.” (57)
“Amusement always means putting things out of mind, forgetting suffering, even when it is on display. At its roots it is powerless.” (57)

We discussed these two quotes in class this week. Placing these quotes together I felt a strong connection with Eco’s quote on Disneyland, “a place of passivity, its visitors must agree to behave like robots” (205). One must not question where all of the African Americans are because then Disneyland would no longer be fun. A place is only fun if you take it for what it is, instead of analyzing every aspect there or not there. One must agree with what they are seeing rather than oppose it.

We also discussed as in any entertainment, racial stereotypes and gender stereotypes must be put aside in order to enjoy what is being presented to you. If one looks too deeply into what is actually going on and the suffering that is taking place in order to make people laugh we may feel sympathy towards them and be unable to enjoy the “amusement.”

Horkheimer and Adorno say that amusement is powerless but I beg to differ on that. I think amusement can be very powerful. If amusement is able to put suffering out of our minds even when it is right in front of us, I would have to say that it is a pretty powerful tool. Personally I do like movies like Saw because I do not understand how people can enjoy watching others being tortured. Whenever I watch a movie, I always find myself putting myself into characters places, seeing how I would feel in situations. It is for that reason that I could never watch a movie like Saw, because I could not imagine myself having to mutilate myself in such a way and I certainly do not find it to be entertainment.