Caught in Play: How Entertainment Works on You

by Peter Stromberg

Most of us have become so immersed in a book or game or movie that the activity temporarily assumed a profound significance and the outside world began to fade. Although we are likely to enjoy these experiences in the realm of entertainment, we rarely think about what effect they might be having on us. Precisely because it is so pervasive, entertainment is difficult to understand and even to talk about. To understand the social role of entertainment, Caught in Play looks closely at how we engage entertainment and at the ideas and practices it creates and sustains. Though entertainment is for fun, it does not follow that it is trivial in its effect on our lives. As this work reveals, entertainment generates commitments to values we are not always willing to values of pleasure, self-indulgence, and consumption. For more information, please visit .

Genres: Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2009

Reviews

[Anna Simile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some incredibly interesting perspectives on the idea of Play and Entertainment and how it fits into our society. I read this for a class and was able to meet the author and ask questions, overall a very thought provoking read.