Entertainment Work

The entertainment industry is the industry most dependent on other people for success. Getting and keeping work completely depends on an audience enjoying the performance. If people don't like an entertainer, they won't stay an entertainer for long. 

If entertainment is going to be rewarding for someone they will need to really enjoy it despite the long hours that must be put in to succeed. Stephen Colbert is a great example of this. He wakes up around 7 every day and immediately begins going over the news. He receives news reports as well as does research on his own. By 9am he is already on his way to the studio, still working during the car ride. This dedication is necessary to produce entertaining content every night. The hours don't go unrewarded, Stephen makes a remarkable six million dollars each year.

Entertaining people can be rewarding even if someone is only entertaining small audiences. Hots Michaels, from Working by Studs Terkell, says of his work at a piano bar, "Over the years I get to know people. They'll hit the piano bar and we'll talk back and forth" (250). This part of Hots's work is rewarding because he gets to meet new people and share his piano playing with them.

Some entertainers work in the industry because they simply cannot see themselves doing anything else. Jazz musician Bud Freeman says, "I knew when I was eight years old that I wouldn't amount to anything in the business world. I wanted my life to have something to do with adventure" (258). This feeling of spontaneity, of really enjoying what you are doing, is a rare thing to find in a job.

Not every entertainer chooses this industry for the same reason. Some do it for the money, some for the fame, and others who just enjoy meeting people. Whatever the reason people have for entertaining others, It can't really be argued that this work isn't rewarding.

Craftsmanship and Consumerism

In Matthew B. Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft", Crawford writes of craftsmanship and consumerism, and how the latter is causing the former to degrade. He says that people in this day in age are more likely to buy new, rather than replace something old. This is cause either by lack of interest or lack of skill when it comes to building and repairing useful items. He says, "The craftsman is more possessive, more tied to what is present, the dead incarnation of past labor; the consumer is more free, more imaginative, and so more valorous according to those who would sell us things" (3).

In slate.com's podcast, Working, hosted by David Plotz; David interviews John Lefever, an appliance repair man. John repairs all types of large home appliances such as refridgerators and washing machines. To a point, John would agree that repairing is important. If a customer liked an item and John could get it working again, he would fix it. However, John also sees the importance of consumerism. Efficiency is important to him, and if it will save a customer money by replacing an old machine, then he will recommend buying a new one.

In Working, by Studs Terkel, Lincoln James tells about his job as a factory mechanic in a glue and rendering factory. He takes pride in what he does despite having gross working conditions. His pride shows when he tells his friends all the products that they use that come from the factory where he works. His craftsmanship shows with his ability to fix machines when they break.

Questions:

Why does Lincoln still like his job despite conditions being gross