History of Entertainment

When did Entertainment start?

• When did a NEED for entertainment begin?– Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs– Self-actualization– Once all other needs were satisfied only self-

actualization was left to be met.

History of Entertainment

• In most ancient civilizations, dancing before the god is an important element in temple ritual.

• In Egypt the priests and priestesses, accompanied by harps and pipes, perform stately movements which mime significant events in the story of a god, or imitate cosmic patterns such as the rhythm of night and day.

History of Entertainment Cont.

• The first gladiatorial contests in Rome take place at a funeral in 264 BC. Proving very much to the public taste, they soon become frequent spectacles.

• Death remains the central theme. • Each gladiator tries to kill his opponent.

If he merely wounds him, either the sponsor or the crowd will give thumbs up or down for mercy or death.

At the beginning of the 20th century the performing arts represented a major form of entertainment. This included the live theater, the ballet, the opera, and concerts.

Marketing was limited to posters and word of

mouth.

In order to enjoy professional entertainment people had to travel and travel was sometimes slow and tedious.

Entertainment in the 20th Century

In 1888 Louis LePrince made the first moving pictures in Britain.

In 1895 the Lumiere brothers were the first to present a projected movie to paying customers in a café in Paris.

The first movie with sound was The Jazz Singer which opened in the United States in 1927.

Mickey Mouse arrived in 1928 in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie

10 years later Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became the first full length animated film.

July 1955 Disney opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

With the opening of Disneyland a totally new form of entertainment was born – the theme park!

Once started technologies of all sorts changed marketing, advertising, and distribution forever.

A current trend is to name sports arenas for corporate sponsors.