Our 30 nov 2025 RoundTable 360° session was The Interaction of Politics and Art: Expressing the Moment -Some creatives back away from all things political in their work and rightly so; unless a current or historical event provides a necessary plot point, why include it?
Other creatives include current or historical events as plot points, reference points, character elements, and still others make direct political statements. The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Day the Earth Stood Still, many of the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes, are making social if not political statements. The Three Stooges made several Saturday matinee reels with heavy political messages during WWII as did Mash during and post Viet Nam, and a case could be made that without political messaging much of the music of the 60s-80s would be soulless pop.
If art bridges the mundane and the sacred, then how does what happens in the mundane impact what is seen as art? Does the good king encourage artistic freedom? Does the tyrant call creatives to heal? What, if any, is the political responsibility of the artist? To support, to oppose, and to support or oppose what? What is the responsibility of the creative to reflect and or comment on their times?
It would be naive to try and completely dodge current events since we are all constantly bombarded with the frantic 24 hour news cycle of chaos.
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