“Art is useless as a tool for political change”

Today’s New York Times Saturday Profile features Duraid Lahham, a Syrian actor who is described as one of the Arab world’s best known performers. The opening paragraphs alarmed me:

“THERE was a time, when he was a young man, Duraid Lahham said, that he thought he might help change the world with his movies. Not anymore. Now, he says over and over, art is useless as a tool for political change.

Art cannot change anyone’s mind, he says. It never caused a terrorist to have second thoughts, never transformed a dictator into a democrat. In fact, he says, it never did much but entertain.”

This point of view directly challenges my firmly held belief that art may very well be the MOST powerful tool for change–our only remaining hope for world healing. I decided to start a company that promotes arts philanthropy because I am confident that individual enlightenment followed by positive social change will result from our accomplishing Avail Art’s mission: to promote the global exchange of ideas by empowering people and the arts to engage in new ways.

By the time I finished reading the article, I was relieved that its subject, in my opinion, failed to make a persuasive case against art as more than entertainment. If it is true that Lahham’s politically charged works of the late 1970s nearly landed him in jail, yet today his art form –acting– is the singular space in Syrian society where people can explore “delicate” subjects, his art has been a powerful agent of political change indeed. Perhaps because he wanted to inspire revolutions or regime change, Lahham is troubled that the art form he is famous for fails to inspire more than laughter. But maybe there is more to celebrate than he realizes. I agree with Francoise Sagan: “One can never speak enough of the virtues, the dangers, the power of shared laughter.”