Entertainment

Entertainment is a huge part of our lives. We are constantly consumed by people spoon feeding us with things to fill up our open time. In this blog, we listened to Stephen Colbert in "How does Stephen Colbert Work?" Presented by David Plotz. We also read "Hots Michaels" from Studs Terkel's Working. In addition, I  chose "Jill Torrance" and "Bud Freeman" also from Studs Terkel's Working.

Stephen Colbert is a well-known comedian and that definitely shows through in his interview. Because I have listened to a myriad of Slate podcasts, I find it interesting to compare different interviewees and how well they articulate their work. Colbert is excellent at explaining what he does and making it amusing to listen to. One amusing thing Colbert says is comparing the script to a girlfriend and saying that sometimes a script won't "love him" and sometimes no matter how hard you work with a script, it won't give you what you need and you have to "break up" with it. One thing I found interesting is when Colbert was talking about interviewing people and he said "if you're interested, I'm interested" which is really scary. What if you get someone who's horrible to talk to? Colbert is a great example of someone who although has a bit of an unstable job, has obviously made it. He's the success story of the jobs that most of us are too scared to reach for and I think that's a great inspiration.

Hots Michaels, a hotel pianist, may not be a big time entertainer like Stephen Colbert, however, he seems very content with what he's doing. Michaels says, "If I were suddenly to inherit four  million dollars, I guarantee you I'd be playin' piano, either here or at some other place" (251). I think this quote really embodies what it is to be a performer. Even if you're not working in the best conditions or making the most money, there's really no feeling like getting to do what you love and show it to people.

Next, I read about "Jill Torrance, model" Torrance talks about her job and all of the different ways she has to comply to what other people want, which when it comes down to it, is what entertaining is all about. She quotes her photographer that says, "we want you to be sexy, coy, pert, but not too effervescent" (51). In this way, I can see all different types of performers getting this critique. Stephen Colbert might hear, "be witty, but not too quick, make sure the viewers can keep up," etc. No matter what type of art you're doing, you're constantly tending to what other people want you to portray.

Finally, I read about "Bud Freeman, Jazz musician." Almost as soon as the chapter starts, Freeman states, "I do what I do because I want to do it. What's wrong with making a living doing something interesting?" I immediately began to love this character. I think he embodies exactly what you think of when you think of a musician. Free spirited and independent. He also exemplifies another example of if you can do what you want for a living, absolutely pursue that. It won't always be easy or conventional, but it's worth it.


Overall, I would say that being a performer is a rewarding job. As an ex cheerleader and musician, I can really relate to performing; the good and the bad side. Nothing can make you feel more insecure than performing for an audience that doesn't care about what you're doing (which for cheerleaders is literally every audience in the history of ever- unless boys are staring at your butt or your mom came to relive her glory days). I also know that there's nothing more rewarding than the feeling I got when I would nail a piece on my violin and get to move up a chair in the section or when my whole orchestra would get ranked superior in our contest every February. Performing is a job that I think is very easy to fall into a love, hate relationship with. But at the end of the day, I think it's impossible for the hate to outweigh the love when you get to literally do what you are passionate about for your career.