| | | | | | from the more established art favored by the elite, thrived on action beyond anything else. Often violent, even cruel, it was populated by easily recognizable types moving through what would quickly become a familiar series of events. This reiteration combined with "sentimentalism, easy passions that valorize the self, subordination to a recipe book of human solutions, and literary poverty . . ." eventually prevailed over Calder n, the versed opponent. 7 To make things even more attractive to the populace, much effort was exerted to highlight the technical stagecraft of the shows. Indeed, the ultimate goal of the spectacles, carefully monitored through previews and audience responses, was to awe the spectators so that, in the thrill of the moment, they would "forget to doubt and question" their actual conditions of existence.8 One last point: to appreciate fully the ideological impact of such material, we must go beyond single texts to a body of works, we must look beyond individual artistry to what is shared by all. In a word, we must assess their combined effect to capture its significance. | | | | | | | | | If the scenario sounds familiar, it is because Spain in the seventeenth century stands as a good precursor for the United States in the twentieth. In both times, waves of social and economic disruptions, and the baffling problem of what to do with the lower classes, proved themselves a threat to the existing order. And likewise for the solution: the popular fiestas giving way to professional sports and the commercially successful theater of Lope de Vega predating Hollywood moviemaking.9 Even the theatrical recipe did not change much through the centuries: the characters still being easily recognizable, the situations well-known, the tone emotional, the technique self-flaunting, and the style not straying far from a set of familiar norms a formula guaranteed to keep the spectacle accessible to all. | | | | | | | | | Still, "What's wrong with that?" It may be useful at this point to clarify the concept of entertainment. Etymologically, the word originates from the French entretenir. And entretenir means to keep in good shape, to provide what is necessary to maintain a certain readiness of being, to make sure that nothing inimical happens during some intervening time. The concept thus talks of preserving a situation, of keeping it from deteriorating. But, in our case, what situation are we talking about? That most | | | | |
