The Future of Entertainment
Posted: July 30th, 2005, 11:44 am
Had I not been a poet, I would have likely been a preacher. All branches of show business have certain things in common. Religious services are certainly theater.and in many cases burlesque.
We had the sad occasion last week of attending a funeral. A young family member had died in a car accident. I'm not big on funerals. I have only attended several in my life. This one was particularly touching because it was mainly composed of testimonials from friends and family of the deceased. It was very effective theater; there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
It's sad when anyone dies, especially a young person. Not so much for them as for the ones left behind to ponder their own mortality. The dead are well taken care of, by god or oblivion. It's the living that must cope with the experience through ritual and familial support.
The whole funeral experience set me to thinking. I have spent long years as a poet and a comedian and a musician. These are all, in the final analysis, entertainment. As the entertainer, you are trying to make the audience happy. Funerals are entertainment too. But it's a different kind of entertainment. Tragedy rather than comedy. The entertainers (funeral directors, florists, singers and preachers etc.) are trying to make the audience cry rather than laugh.
It's strong as an electric guitar, the specter of death. I'm thinking of becoming a funeral director. It's the future of theater. We are all guaranteed to go. Unlimited box office. Yes, I've been in the wrong business all these years. I should be trying to make people cry rather than trying to make them laugh. It's much easier.
We had the sad occasion last week of attending a funeral. A young family member had died in a car accident. I'm not big on funerals. I have only attended several in my life. This one was particularly touching because it was mainly composed of testimonials from friends and family of the deceased. It was very effective theater; there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
It's sad when anyone dies, especially a young person. Not so much for them as for the ones left behind to ponder their own mortality. The dead are well taken care of, by god or oblivion. It's the living that must cope with the experience through ritual and familial support.
The whole funeral experience set me to thinking. I have spent long years as a poet and a comedian and a musician. These are all, in the final analysis, entertainment. As the entertainer, you are trying to make the audience happy. Funerals are entertainment too. But it's a different kind of entertainment. Tragedy rather than comedy. The entertainers (funeral directors, florists, singers and preachers etc.) are trying to make the audience cry rather than laugh.
It's strong as an electric guitar, the specter of death. I'm thinking of becoming a funeral director. It's the future of theater. We are all guaranteed to go. Unlimited box office. Yes, I've been in the wrong business all these years. I should be trying to make people cry rather than trying to make them laugh. It's much easier.