We are always battling this notion theses days: should we be entertained from the outside in or the inside out. Did you see that? I just opened with a mysterious sentence. I hope you’re intrigued enough to stay with me for the explanation.
Being entertained from the outside in is pretty simple and easy: TV, YouTube, Video games, Social Media, Netflix are forms of entertainment where everything is brought to you, all it requires from you is a bag of Cheetos. Why did I put Video games in the lot? Because they have a theme a story, a mode that’s already predetermined. It’s like interacting TV, It gets you brain going, but you are not really building anything.
Now, where does a book, a novel stand? I’d say that’s the hybrid, but, in general, it forces your brain to use your imagination thus, conjuring those pictures from inside, I see it as more entertainment from inside out.
Enough with that, I am a music teacher and I’ll say a big one: studying music is entertainment from the inside out. It requires your active participation, and, unlike video games, it can take really weird and unplanned turns. And, also unlike video games, you can make a fool of yourself in front a lot of people.
Let’s broaden the spectrum, shall we? Does this digital world work best with inside out or outside in entertainment, meaning are we doomed to become packages ready to consume whatever is fed to us? No! I say a resounding no! That’s for a simple reason: entertainment needs to be made by people, whether the actors need to act, the coders need to code or the musician need to play for the audience. There will always be a strong need for writers and stuntmen, for make-up artist and special effects designers.
I enjoy the digital world, just like every one else. But I also spend a lot of time creating my own world with the regular practice of my instruments, reading a good book, composing a nice tune or writing pages for my students. All of that is highly entertaining. Working can also be very entertaining, being with my students and teaching is a real joy. But that’s because I love my job.
