Shailja Blog: Artist In A Time Of War

Excerpt from an interview with Arundhati Roy on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now:

Amy Goodman: I want to ask in our last 30 seconds: the role you see of the artist in a time of war?

Arundhati Roy: Well, I think the problem is that artists are not a homogenous lot of people, and some of them are as rightwing and establishment as they can get. So the role of the artist is not different from the role of any human being. You pick your side, and then you fight, you know? But in a country like India, I'm not seeing that many radical positions taken by writers or poets or artists. It's all the seduction of the market that has shut them up like a good medieval beheading never could.

Amy Goodman: And what do you think artists should do?

Arundhati Roy: Exactly what anyone else should do, which is to pick your side, take your position, and then go for it, you know?

1 Comments:

jan jordaan said...: It's true the artist is just another human being. However the realy good artist as with the realy good journalist, by default depends on freedom of expression to enable them to properly engage with their craft. The great artist therefor is the original freedom 'fighter', inspiring freedom of expression in the viewer, reader or listener. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of human rights, which in turn is also the cornerstone of true democracy.; 9/30/2008 12:01 AM

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Artist In A Time Of War

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