Why is entertainment a bad word?

Yes, I know many artists and theatre folks find the word entertaining a "bad" word. Some how entertainment has come to refer to work that has no value or is fluff. If it is entertaining it isn't art.

However I believe it is a very subjective word and unfortunatly as it often is individuals want to believe their individual interpretations are universal. Entertainment has gotten a bad rep.

Last year I was at lunch with a group of gentlemen from our local Y's Men group and this was basically the topic of discussion. I had given an overview of some of the Playhouse's plans for expanding programming in the building and on the internet, and after the presentation, a member of the group told me that he had been VERY bothered that I had not used the word entertainment when discussing our shows. I told him that I purposely avoided the word since I found it to be so subjective.

At lunch I asked each of the gentlemen what they found entertaining. It was not surprising to me that the answers ranged (and I am paraphrasing) from I want to laugh to I want to taken to another place to I like to be made to think to I love to have a good cry.

We have to admit as practioners and audience members that being ENTERTAINED isn't the same thing for each person and it IS NOT a bad thing for someone to leave the theatre feeling as if they have been entertained. There is no reason that art can't be entertaining.