"i'm only here to do art, not politics" - every pretty white woman ever
This one's gonna be a short one.
and I want to talk about it regardless, no matter how heavy my eyelids are and the fact that my shoulders are aching.
I feel like I've heard that statement far too many times, and it is uncomfortable how I recall only pretty Caucasian women ever say this. The most recent one being Sydney Sweeney in an interview. However, I can also attest that I have seen any regular white woman say this, divorcing arts from politics. That art is only art, and politics are politics.
This mentality has trickled down to also majority races in countries that inherit the same colonial mentality brought upon by the elden empires (we insist they are elden, because colonialism only exists in the past, as it were). But the privilege and platforming of this statement only ever happens when it involves a gorgeous bombshell of a pale-skinned (occasionally tanned, but not for the existence of melanin) woman.
It leads me to presenting the question of "what does politics mean, exactly?"
Is it "elections"? Is it "rights of other people who do not fit within your demography"? Or is it just "any statement that addresses reality, and dares to break the suspension of disbelief/escapism"?
I don't have a lot of money, but willing to bet it is all three and heavy on the latter two.
As an artist of an underrepresented population, I do feel it is worth speaking about.
This is why it frustrates a lot of people. You can call it jealousy for the artistry that Caucasian white women have developed through their network and years of learning. But for a lot of people, particularly women of non-Caucasian origins, a lot of the times our art are motivated by stories.
Name any one, from Black people, to indigenous natives of any land, to Pacific Islanders, Asians, Hispanic, Arab... And you will find that even beneath any interpretations, their stories are fueled by their lived experiences. And for a lot of people of colour, these lived experiences are inevitably political.
It is ignorance to continue pretending that art of any manner is divorced from politics.
It is ignorance to continue to not see the politicised lives of others.
It is, in fact, ignorance to assume that art is meant to be escapism.