Entourage and Your Emotions

We all have our reasons for enjoying a certain kind of TV show or movie. It is widely accepted that one of the reasons we like and need this kind of entertainment is that it gives us a way to escape our own lives and live another life through a fictional character for a short time. The big word for this kind of escape is "vicarious" living and mostly it is healthy. But to really "attach" to fictional characters, we have to either identify that this character is like you or that he or she is like how you would like to be.

It is the "I would like to be that guy" appeal that is one of the big reasons the HBO series Entourage is such a big hit. Entourage takes us inside the world of Hollywood and the adventures of a great looking and successful young actor named Vincent Chase and the adventures of his friends and associates as well. So if you are like millions who are hooked on Entourage, it is probably because you love to think about Hollywood and the idea of seeing the inside of the exotic lifestyles movie stars must live is really fun and exciting.

Vincent Chase lives up to our fantasies of how it would be like to be a Hollywood big shot. He is rolling in money, handsome, has loads of great looking women and parties with his best friends nonstop. Of course, there are deeper issues going on within the plots of Entourage but it is the glamour and the bright lights and dazzle of a Hollywood lifestyle that draws us in and keep us coming back week after week. In that way, Entourage only accelerates our national obsession with Hollywood and all things related to movies, music and television.

From an emotional standpoint, there is a good side and a "dark side of the force" when it comes to enjoying the life of the "beautiful people" as it is depicted on Entourage. The good side is that be escaping our own lives for a half hour or so each week, the mind gets refreshed and you are more energized to make your own life as successful as you can make it. Psychologists are unanimous that the act of having some down time where we put our worries on the shelf for a little while is tremendously healthy for all of us. So taking half an hour and living in the world of Hollywood excitement enjoying Entourage can be seen as good therapy for most people.

The dark side of allowing yourself to disappear into a glamour life like Vincent Chase lives is that when you come back to your own life, it can look a little drab and depressing by comparison. That "I wish I was him" syndrome is pretty powerful and it is easy to want that so much that you don’t want to be you for a little while. Even if you have not experienced that "let down" when an Entourage episode is over, you can understand how it would happen.

The important thing to remember is that Entourage is fiction. Mark Wahlberg who is the executive producer on the show knows the real struggles and ups and down of trying to make it in Hollywood. But he also knows how to make a very entertaining show. So take heart that if there were a real Vincent Chase, his life would have a few drab and humdrum days too.

If you can just allow Entourage to give you that healthy escape that you might get from watching The Wizard of Oz or Pirates of the Caribbean, then you will get the good from it that good entertainment like Entourage provides. Just remember it is just a show and let the relaxation and fun you have watching Entourage send you back to work invigorated and ready to become the Vincent Chase of your world. Then come back next week to escape into Entourage for another half hour of glamour and fun.