Entertaiment

Something that affords pleasure, diversion, or amusement: Solving the daily crossword puzzle is entertainment for many.

Stories have a powerful capacity to entertain, and they often inspire retellings in other media: composers Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel, and Szymanowski took the story of Scheherazade, a character from Persian professional storytelling tradition, and turned it into an orchestral work; director Pasolini made a film adaptation; and an innovative video game was inspired by the tale as well.

One theory on why entertainment works so well is that it addresses issues our brains were evolved to react deeply to – things like social backstabbing, murders, and other aspects of the world we must know about in order to function in society. This makes it both emotionally stimulating and satisfying.