Tolstoy argued that art communicated the feelings of the artist to the masses in the way in which the artist intended. This definition is broadly interpreted by artists and their audiences. We see it's power through popular media today such as television shows where issues are cast a light upon to call for action. They have raised public awareness and policy through issues that we would've once overlooked. This calls for a moral component for us to act upon and seek out through art. Today almost all story telling is through the mass media and it's artists.
Messages are compressed and distorted due to the depth that they lack. Artists are not bound to tell the truth, they simply create an idea from their own mind and we interpret it. We don't care if truth and entertainment are blurred because new realities are fun for us to discover. Being an art student made me realize that the more creative you are, the more valuable you are in that profession. They don't want clear cut thinking and definitely seek the unimaginable.
I love that our book discussed Jon Stewart on CNN's Crossfire-the excerpt we watched in class. I like that he highlighted on their responsibility to the public. The argument was entertaining to watch and I laughed a lot because Stewart knew his stuff and got his point across.
Also in the War of the Worlds broadcast listeners tuned in to what they couldn't decipher as an actual event or a story. They heard of a mass takeover and some listeners thought it was actually occurring.
I went to a Christian camp when I was younger where Harry Potter was banned. I read the first Harry Potter book in kindergarten and my parents were proud that I was an advanced reader so young, they didn't care it discussed issues that upset the Catholic church. Should we really ban books that help students to explore creativity in a healthy way? No of course not, but everyone has their views that will differ on what is acceptable and what isn't. I think if the Catholic Church wants to be weird about a book then they have bigger issues to deal with.
While I was at art school we were not given a lot of boundaries, we were allowed to explore basically whatever we wanted, there might have been some guidelines but they weren't echoed a lot. It was an environment that didn't have deadlines and promoted the development of an idea organically. We had a special center for students who learned differently- I have always studied and memorized information in symbols. I drew pictures to remember information that I needed to know for tests, partly because I had always been critical of my teachers and knew i had to memorize information but needed a way to do it. I was always frustrated by authority and being confined to a system. It was a different way of thinking and the most intelligent people I have met have been professors and students from that school (SCAD) but their views and methods are definitely not the majority in America. A lot of artists have gotten labeled as lazy but really it is a difference between left and right brain.
Last night I watched the movie Jobs with Ashton Kutcher which I haven't finished but I can sort of relate the character of Steve Jobs to this chapter. He did some pretty unethical things when his art/technology was given fuel and power.
My parents always tell me that the future is for creative minds and entrepreneurship, we have enough doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.
We also air almost anything on TV. I am still amazed that people carve out time in their day to watch tacky court shows where they find out who the dad is, Cops, and random families in the south (honey boo boo? are you kidding?!) I feel like what people do with their own time is their business but the media definitely opened the window for people to throw their lives out of. I have tried to watch reality tv and couldn't sit through an episode so to each his own. It makes money but i find it hard to watch, a waste of time and stereotypical, but then again it makes money.
We had a documentary film maker come into our class ( this was one of my favorite class days) because It was so unique to talk to the artist behind the idea. I usually feel stupid asking questions but internally I was so enlightened to hear about the crossing of immigrants to America. It's an issue I hear about but don't know enough to have a conversation and not sound ignorant. Documentary film makers always have an angle to their film, and usually it is one sided. They are always in the right and the truth teller. They use information of their own and tell the story in the way they want to be the most truthful one. Blackfish is another film that comes to mind, however I can't really see keeping a wild animal in a pool from another point of view. I think that was one of the most successful documentaries I have seen because it doesn't leave a lot of room for "well yeah, but...." Other documentaries I can see the issue as being skewed, sometimes with good reason, but there is always more to a story.
The time of our deaths is fixed and I think most people should be given freedom to live their lives in a way the want to. I believe in as few creative rules as possible and hopefully people focus on having strong morals and use power and their voice wisely. That would be a perfect world but it's probably not going to happen.
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