“Art will save us all and is the antidote to fascism” is NOT out of touch or privileged

NOTE: I made effort comment on this now deleted post and it shall not go unseen

The quote“Art will save us all and is the antidote to fascism” is relevant and still works in the modern day if you expand the scope of “Art”

Art (incl Entertainment “Media”) is the antidote to fascism still works imo

1. A lot of how we got here was via negative art and entertainment - reality TV, gamergate, social media - all heavily contributed to getting the consent to permit increasing fascism. How many MAGA point reference “trans agenda in Hollywood” when they bring up their politics?
2. Looking back at history the thing that broke through the fascist propaganda was counter-propaganda in the form of media - photos of holocaust prisoners in gulags, videos of black people getting hosed and attacked by police in Civil Rights
3. Fictional media, like books, film and even cartoons demonstrated much of the liberal ideas throughout historic times. You can even notice this in literature from different eras. Arts that effectively utilise the communication technology of their time are the most accessible to the average person

praise anti-Trump movies and entertainment as a way to raise awareness and mobilise the masses against the administration. I have even seen a few comments on Letterboxd in the vein of “We are finally getting some good art, because of the Trump administration’s policies”.

Art can offer a momentary comfort and a way to make people feel like they’re not alone and are part of something important, but ultimately, it doesn’t really lead towards any constructive changes or movements. A lot of Americans would just watch a movie, discuss about it and move onto the next big thing.

This is too narrow of a view about the impacts of art. Sure there won’t be a direct link from the media to idea, but aspects of the thinking and message embed themselves in the sub-conscious of viewers and show up in their day-to-day lives - how many people have an idea of what “therapy” looks like without ever going? Of what the steps to “getting arrested” is like despite never once being stopped by cops? Or of how the justice system should work or how healthcare professionals should behave? MOVIES - it’s movies and television (fuck books! reading is gay)

Explicitly political movies are not the only movies that are political. In fact most movies express a political message in them, it’s inescapable. And they are still working even when audiences don’t notice themselves.