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The arts exist for the sole purpose of keeping us entertained. Do you agree?

The arts are collectively defined as the creative and non-scientific branches of

knowledge that are studied academically. This emcompasses a plethora of subjects,

including visual, literary and performing arts. While the arts are undoubtedly valid topics

of academic interest, they have often been cast aside and neglected by many

governments in favour of more scientic branches of knowledge, including physics,

chemistry and biology. An epitome would be the situation in Singapore during its

developing years. There was a stark contrast between government spending on primary

and secondary schools and spending on their artistic counterparts, such as the Nanyang

Academy of Fine Arts. This discrepency boils down to a deeply ingrained perception of the

arts in such utilitarian societies. The perception is this. Arts are merely tools of

entertainment and leisure, while the sciences are the engines of a countries development

and prosperity. However, I do not agree with this generalisation, for the arts have

demonstrated multiple functions in society, including but not limited to the purpose of

entertainment.

It is difficult to dispute that generally, the arts have an innate ability to entertain

people. By nature, they are forms of human expression and communication. Thus they

often arouse emotions within their audience and keeps them entertained. For instance,

Victor Hugos 1862 novel, Les Miserables, inspired a hit musical in 1980 that, by 2010, had

been played ten thousand times, showing how the entertainment value of the musical has

withstood the test of time. This is only one of many famous musicals playing at Broadway

theatre, which yearly revenue is approximately $1 billion. This is testament to the

function of the arts as effective means of entertainment because of its lasting demand. It

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is clear that the arts are prime entertainment devices. However, I strongly believe that art

is not constrained to mere entertainment.

Firstly, the arts are the medium through which a countries culture and beliefs are

spread. The arts have a primary function in preserving the cultural identity of a society.

Just as each individual human has his or her own quirks and differences, individual

societies each have their own idiosyncrasies that distinguishes them from others. This

distinguishing factor gives rise to national pride and establishes a sense of belonging and

uniqueness in the global sea of humans. For instance, the archaic form of English used in

Shakespearean literature has long evolved into modern English as we know today.

However, such Old English are part and parcel of English history, and it has been passed

down across generations to the modern generation through Shakespeares evergreen

literature, such as Romeo and Juliet. Without it, a crucial part of English history would

likely have died out. This illustrates the arts crucial role in ensuring the preservation of a

countries culture.

Secondly, the arts allow for creative expression. All forms of art, whether through

dance, song, poetry or instrumental music, constitute an outlet for people to release their

creative juices. After all, art is the embodiment of ones unique thoughts in physical form.

Thus, a function of the arts is to promote creativity. Creativity is vital to problem solving

and creating innovative technologies and novel ideas, for such innovation often requires

thinking out of the box. There is thus another purpose of studying the arts, because they

mould creative thinkers whose revolutionary ideas can contribute to the betterment of

humanity. For example, Leonardo da Vinci, the man famous for his painting of the Mono

Lisa, was also a reknowned scientist who created the idea of the helicopter, calculator and

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solar power ahead of his time. Although such ideas may seem mediocre in our modern

age, where we have developed technology more exotic that those, in Da Vincis time, such

ideas were radical and unheard of. However, the most valuable part of any technology is

its conceptual idea. The ability to think of such ideas require creative qualities, which can

be inculcated via the arts. Thus, a purpose of the arts is to cultivate creative men akin to

Leonardo Da Vinci, with the aim of the betterment of humanity.

Lastly, the arts have a purpose in providing an alternative to materialism for

societies pursuing happiness and fufillment. There are prominent global trends, especially

within developed countries such as Singapore and the United States, which show that

there is rising materialism. This means that such societies turn towards the consumption

of material goods for happiness. Paradoxically, studies have shown that this has instead

lead to increases in dissatisfaction. What the arts does is diminish the need for societies to

rely on material goods for happiness. Through the arts, such as singing and dancing, the

psychological well-being of people generally increase, according to a Manchester

Metropolitican University research. It showed that people, on average, felt happier,

empowered and more confident after participating in art activities. Evidently, the arts

have been more effective in achieving the dual objectives of happiness and fufillment

than the consumption of material goods. This illustrates a purpose of the arts, which is to

promote an emotionally satisfied society.

In conclusion, this essay has illustrated the many functions of the arts, though it is

by no means comprehensive. They are a means of entertainment, preservers of culture, a

means of creative expression, a promotor of creativity and an improver of levels of

happiness. It is obvious that the arts are indeed entertainment devices, but have a greater

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goal in the bigger picture. It is thus highlighted that the purpose of the arts are never

solely only to keep us entertained.