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to the American public so much because of his all-American ideals, styles and morality. These all relate to the desire to retain the qualities of past childhood after the age of maturity. Kelly proves that retaining this utopian state is not impossible and this appeals to the American public. In Anchors Aweigh Kelly tells Jerry the Mouse that: anyone who is happy can dance. In Kelly lies this secret of eternal youth. He shows that man and child can coexist in the same body: be happy, dance and clown and the impossible can be achieved. Kelly never seems to age on screen. It is interesting to note that in Singin' in the Rain he was actually over 40 years old.

So in conclusion let me state that utopia is the desire for a better way of being and Dyer's essay is about entertainment's ability to evoke what utopia would feel like. He says utopia feelings of abundance, energy, intensity, transparency and community premeditate the non-narrative aspects of entertainment. These sensibilities also act as "temporary answers to the inadequacies of society." In other words, entertainment responds to real needs but in a manner that shows what solutions feel like, not how narrative is secondary to the entertainment value of songs and dances. This is perfectly portrayed in Brigadoon and An American in Paris, especially through Gene Kelly's approach to the musical numbers in these post-war movies that create the sense of escaping into a utopian world, both for the characters and for the audience, thus creating the real definition of entertainment as escape and wish fulfilment.

Learn more about this author, Marilyn Justine.
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