Compeers,
It would be heartening for those worried about entertainment to read
through the entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, in which the word's
original English meaning is "to hold mutually," and then by extension,
"to hold engaged," "to engage agreeably the attention of (a person),"
etc.  My anxiety about aiming for entertainment came from recognizing its
relation to the French, "entretenir," which is anything but a trivial
exercise of mind.

My impression is that the word entertainment, in terms of filling and
absorbing the mind, came in the 17th century to shift, in most popular
uses, toward a less serious mental undertaking.  At the same time, the
French began to use the term "divertissement" for these less focused
exercises.  We have diversions, of course, but we never have used this
word as powerfully as have the French.

As a result, we're perpetually worried about the downside qualities of
entertainment.  Diversions are plainly a turning aside of one's
attention, but we can still "entertain an unfamiliar idea" and feel good
about it.  So I suggest that we indeed aim for entertainment, for
engaging our visitors with all their mental faculties, modes of learning,
etc.  The test is how this engagement can spur them to action and
creativity of their own.

Coming soon, a parallel investigation of edification.
Richard Rabinowitz
American History Workshop
588 Seventh Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215-3707
Phone:  718/499-6500; fax:  718/499-6575
email:  [log in to unmask]