New Forms of Entertainment and Theater Attendance

Essay by b_lloyd83University, Bachelor'sA, November 2004

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When comparing numbers, the three percent of Americans who go to the theater do not compare to the once vast numbers from years past. While many people think that Americans no longer go to the theater because it is too expensive, I believe that it is also the many new forms of entertainment readily available that people would rather spend their money on then the theater.

        The entertainment industry is a sort of niche industry. Each person has their own idea of a good time, and the entertainment industry has been trying to meet every individuals idea of a "good time." So while it may not be true that there is a dying interest in theater, I believe there is an inclining rate of new forms of entertainment that are sweeping up more and more individuals who where originally interested in the theater.

        Chapter 2 states that theatre "is particularly the collective and public nature of the theatre that makes it such a potent social force.

The theatre is a gathering place for the public presentation of ideas." (24) This is the sort of statement that I have been proving against. Because there are so many new forms of entertainment and ways for people to express themselves, the amount of people that were once mainly into theater are now divided up into different niches that entertain them the most.

        Overall I would argue that it is not that people are no longer interested in theatre, it is that they are more interested in the new forms of entertainment that now take the place of theatre because they were not yet available when the theatre was thriving.