Medieval Minstrels Essay

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Entertainment is an action that can be seen all throughout time, since it is important to provide enjoyment to keep up morale. During Medieval times, entertainment was provided by minstrels. Minstrels were general entertainers but mainly they played an instrument or sang. In modern times, entertainment is provided by a few different professions; however today’s popular musicians are quite similar to medieval minstrels.
In the Medieval era, minstrels were the main source of entertainment. “Wandering minstrels were rustic showmen, juggling, doing magic, tumbling, and moving door to door trying to scratch a living.” The better minstrels were “employed mainly to provide background music at feasts, ceremonies, and religious rituals” (Jones 41). …show more content…

However, in “The Illusion of Literacy” Chris Hedges states that as a culture, society is “chained to the flickering shadows of celebrity culture, the spectacle of the arena and the airwaves, the lies of advertising, the endless personal dramas, many of them completely fictional, that have become the staple of news, celebrity gossip” (Hedges 15). This shows that today’s society is obsessed with celebrities and very popular musicians are celebrities. Since most popular musicians are celebrities, they have a signature look where they can easily be identified. Those who manipulate how society views celebrities “that dominate our lives are the agents, publicists, marketing departments, promoters, script writers, television and movie producers, advertisers, video technicians, photographers, bodyguards, wardrobe consultants, fitness trainers, pollsters, public announcers, and television new personalities who create the vast stage for illusion” (Hedges 15). “Celebrities are portrayed as idealized forms of ourselves” (Hedges 20). This causes society to become obsessed with their images, so people know exactly how each popular musician looks. Since society has become obsessed with their image, this teaches society that “no one has any worth beyond his or her appearance, usefulness, or ability to ‘succeed’” (Hedges 32). When a musician changes their appearance, society notices and may criticize. Becoming more popular can be stressful since they need to keep up appearances, but in compensation, they tend to earn more money. Musicians can also do good through sponsoring charity works or fundraising for good causes, such as helping raise money for medical research. The importance of musicians, in today’s age, is their ability to promote humanity and treating other

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