Anyone who wants to keep politics out of art is a fascist who seeks to keep everyone else’s politics out of art and/or a dilettante who understands neither politics nor art.
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“Let’s not get political” has become such a reliable way to shut down conversations, and people constantly redefine “political” to mean “stuff I don’t want to have to think about”. Sometimes I think we need to just throw the whole word away.
When I was a young Evangelical Conservative I was really only concerned about identifying my politics and shunning Left politics. That is until I started to identify with the Left politics.
You'll be pleased to hear that many socialists and even liberals are loudly denouncing the original tiktoker, ofc a white woman, and clowning her for blatant fascism.
They don't/can't or even won't understand politics and want it out of art they use to escape the world they continually fuel chaos in by continually ignoring politics
The argument against politics in art is always so silly. Everything is political because politics are essentially power dynamics which are a pillar of expression. Even if it's a story just about a guy drinking tea, the author injects their politics subconsciously.
I got into it with someone trying to claim Godzilla Minus One was a relief to watch because it didn't have any "anti-America sentiment" in it, and I almost had a fricking stroke. The way he must have just shut his ENTIRE brain off just to go "hurr hurr big monster" at *that particular* Godzilla ...
People like that are media illiterate or deliberately trolling. There are multiple scenes where Americans are indifferent to Japanese suffering because it won't play well with the Russians.
"What do you MEAN this is about how trauma of military and civilian alike perpetuates the cycle of violence?! We're supposed to notice that Godzilla only looks directly at weapons?! There was no scene with veterans talking about how having not gone to war is something to be proud of? BIG MONSTER!!"
Agree, though fascist/artist is a bit binary. I think art making is innately personal *and* political, and that the aesthetics of agit-prop (in my case theater), can be deadly dull and dismissible. I like questioning more than scolding. I don't kid myself that I'm always making *Art*.
True. Existence being politicized is an important distinction. Just like being a statistical minority (left-handed, red hair) does not result in being minoritized into systemic oppression.
Without politics many couldn’t create or practice or show their art. Expecting artists to hide “politics” would mean no Blues songs. It is cruel to want an artist suffering under politics to be silent about it just to entertain those who don’t care about their lives and feelings. “Sing slave!”
I actually witnessed someone on tik tok claiming that, now Trump is elected, the price of paper backs will go down…. huuuhhhh!!??? so I wouldn’t listen to book tok much tbh
Art is what has taken the role of describing the reality of our times for ages. A powerful medium. Throttling it or confining it defeats its very purpose.
People have gotten mad at me for saying little kids deciding which corner to draw the sun in is political, bcz they haven’t made the leap to the very idea you just stated. The sun in the corner is just that child’s perception of reality / how they want reality to be. Not DNC vs GOP vs PSL vs vs etc
keeping politics out of literature? have they even read Jane Eyre or the other one that's very centred around marriage & making a profitable match of the appropriate class - Mr Darcy etc
You may have just hit on the closest that anybody can come to apolitical art. But even in the dogs playing poker or cards paintings, I think there is a hidden subversive theme… I’m actually reconsidering my original take.
Nobody told me before I read it that the last three chapters of The Jungle are entirely a pro-socialist (1906 variety) screed.
(Also, about half of it is just an argument we could vastly improve farm output if only farmers had the resources to mechanize. It's fascinating in hindsight.)
Of course, the fash want to keep politics from being discussed. Oddly, the frame of the Mashable argument is whether or not we CAN keep politics out of literature.
Back in 2016, I remember someone trying the argument with me that art has no business being political (or something moronic of the sort.) Boy did I have a field day with that 😂
Erich Maria Remarque (submits manuscript for All Quiet on the Western Front.)
Publisher: “A little negative, don’t you think? What ever happened to supporting the troops?”
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Truly fascinating
Yet, they wanna complain about "political"
stop it, autocorrect
I would hope all the *serious artists* who thought that have evolved in their thinking by now.
Should we? Even bigger NO.
(Also, about half of it is just an argument we could vastly improve farm output if only farmers had the resources to mechanize. It's fascinating in hindsight.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkfUNc9x7MU
Publisher: “A little negative, don’t you think? What ever happened to supporting the troops?”