Does an “active” socio-political climate demand any sort of comparable response from our entertainment? My impulse is to say yes, at least to some degree, but if I’m being honest I’ve never been of the mind to enjoy art that takes itself too seriously. That isn’t to say literature, film or television can’t moralize while also maintaining a sense of fun. At the same time, we’ve been looking for cultural revelations in the wrong places for far too long.
Artists seem to be haunted by the fear of being idle, now more so than ever. Somewhere along the way we’ve taken the old maxim about art and immortality far too literally. Under the shadow of the current administration, between the unremitting racial tension, and in the midst of a gender revolution, if you're not writing this generation’s Common Sense then you might as well hang it up, right? I’m not so sure.
The age of promethean figures in art has long since passed. Things are simply too complicated now. Many of the truths unveiled by the works of Paine, Locke, Woolf and so on, now seem like relatively simple ones. The kind of problems that dogged their respective eras could be answered by pamphlets, plays and essays. That’s no longer the case. Things have gotten a lot stickier since the age of reason. The best chance any work has at resonating with as many people as possible is to steer clear from any worthwhile declarations. The best retort art can offer a daily dose of terrorist attacks and corruption is mind-numbing schlock.
Thankfully, the contemporaries agree. Barring Saturday Night Live , the creative instinct seems to err on the side of irreverence. The current blockbuster trend is to indulge in wit, action and nostalgia while spurning commentary at every turn. On the independent scene, a return to human stories is in vogue. A sort of extension of the slice of life aesthetic that sort of works as commentary by proxy but rarely gets too heavy.
The best art still retains that capability to influence and speak on important matters. The problem comes when we start to perceive any single aspect of art, as integral to any credible expression. After all, The Daily Show is meant to be enjoyed as a politically-inspired comedy show, same goes for SNL and the Onion (MOM!). Let’s leave solving the world’s problems to the real experts. When you burden art with the obligation to make sense of things you prohibit it, from doing so cogently.
