Social Commentaries : Is Political Art Really That Important?

Social Commentaries: Is Politics In Art Important?

Us (2019)

The frame above is taken from one of my favourite films, Us directed by Jordan Peele. Anyone who has watched any of Peele’s films will be aware of how incredible his films are as well as how unique they are, even from a physiological film perspective. 

Us follows Gabe and Adelaide Wilson in their family trip to their beach house in hopes of unwinding and enjoying time as a family, however as the night descends their originally fun holidays turns sinister with the arrival of some chilling visitors. 

Warning before this continues, this will contains spoilers so if you haven’t had the opportunity to watch Us (2019) yet please do before finishing this blog.

The film is a social commentary on income inequality in America. A review I found on Letterboxd sums up the film perfectly “The film is an allegory for a nation so divided between those above and below [in social classes] that it feels like the only outcome is a bloody one of self destruction” - Vince East. 

We initially see hints towards a social divide through the literal divide between the tethered (ones of a lower social class) and the untethered. The tethered are depicted as living physically below the untethered near the sewers, the eat rabbit meat and have an overall poor quality of life. In many ways the untethered are ‘us’ without the social upbringing, highlighting the superficial divides that poison a capitalist society. 

In 1986 when the film was set in America there was no healthcare for the poor, further ruining their quality of life, this is reflected in the lack of healthcare for “Red” after her throat is crushed by her doppelgänger, leaving her unable to talk, mirroring how people of a higher social class have silenced the poor throughout history.

In contrast, the Wilson’s represent the middle class. They are a “perfectly functional family unit, living comfortably” (- Vince East, again) who have the opportunity to afford luxuries such as boats and holiday homes. However, Peele comments on people’s constant desire for more by depicting the Wilson’s as always being jealous of their neighbours, the Tylers, who always have the best technology, nicer houses and a better car, thus representing the upper class. 

The constant desire for better things is initially represented when young Adelaide’s dad is winning her a prize at the carnival, the man at the booth asks them both if they would like to stay where they are and win a prize from the second level (middle class) or continue on to try and win a prize from the top level (upper class).

Two final details I would like to point out before I finish this section. First the escalator to the tethered’s bunkers is stuck going down, representing the idea that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, as you could only ever easily enter the tethered bunkers with ease but have to fight tooth and nail to escape. 

Finally, at the end of the film the tethered form a red line across America making a clear statement about redlining (the systematic denial of various services to residents of specific, often racially associated, neighbourhoods or communities) this makes a strong impression on the audience, causing viewers to reflect upon themselves about their own experiences whether they are similar to the tethered or not.

Sale Ends (Banksy)

I can’t talk about social commentaries in art and not discuss Banksy. British graffiti artist Banksy is known for his hard hitting graffiti which comment on the brutality of war, consumerism, capitalism and politics. 

The 2017 work Sale Ends comments on societies devotion to short lived goods. Here five people are depicted as morning the loss of a sale, reflecting on our almost religious devotion to consumerism. Here Banksy mocks our capitalist society by reminding us of how unimportant our beloved consumerist items are, we worship them as if they were gods who could make our lives perfect, when in fact they are factory made items which we could live without, but as we are blinded by our own capitalist desires we hopelessly devote ourselves to them.

I personally love this piece as it puts into words something that I have always wanted to discuss, as well as perfectly imitates our modern society. 

Guernica (Pablo Picasso) 

Guernica is an anti-war painting, focusing on the horrors brought about by the bombing of the town of Guernica in 1937 by Nazi German and Italian bomber planes.

Picasso painted Guernica for the Paris International Exhibition (1937) in efforts to raise money for the Spanish war relief as well as bringing attention to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). 

It is believed that Guernica is an anti-fascist painting, commenting on General Francisco Francos dictator-like regime that plagued Spain at the time. Though, Picasso was not known to be a political artist, he was at the time in love with Surrealist photographer and anti-fascist activist Dona Maar who is believed to have influenced Picasso into painting this deeply moving piece.

Guernica is still relevant today as there are many wars which plague and destroy our societies causing ever more death and suffering with the rise in nuclear weapons, which not only could kill millions but permanently damage important ecosystems.

Is Politics in Art Important?

To conclude, I personally believe that politics in art is unbelievably important, it can help raise awareness to causes or events (as seen in Guernica), remind people of their impacts and what is really important (Sale Ends) and comment on problems that should not exist in the first place while discussing the problems with our current social system (Us). There are so many more films, books, music and plays I could talk about but I’ll leave them for a future date.

A Note From the Author

Thank you so much for reading my first blog!! Future posts will go live at 10pm GMT on Fridays, however if multiple come out in one week then the timings will be different. I hope that by doing this blog it will inspire other artists as well as give creative people a space to share their work and thoughts! Thank you again!!