I believe that the role of an artist in society is to make people aware. Our job is to assist in the education of the ignorant, so that everyone is capable of making informed decisions. If everyone actually knew what they were doing and saying, the world would be a much more accepting place. Artists can make such a difference, especially because art can speak more directly to a person than words alone. At times it is challenging to represent others in the right way. Misinterpretation is a surprisingly easy thing for viewers, and this can make things frighteningly difficult for the artist. Most artists have a specific idea or action in mind that they’d like to convey, and it can be difficult to do perfectly. It’s hard to predict how people will react to something you create. Creating something that effectively informs others about a problem or a human being and calls someone to action can be one of the most rewarding feelings to an artist. This is why they continue to do what they do.
A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook the other day and after watching it I spent a considerable amount of time just sitting and thinking. By making and posting this video in a public place like YouTube, this documentarian has called to action everyone who watches it. Even if it is just a cause for deep thought, as in my case, this artist has still caused something to happen. I think he had three different purposes in calling people to action. The first is to convince people to take a stand in the Gay Rights Movement, the second is to give gay people a sense of hope, and the third is a request for help in the actual making of the documentary. Never before have I seen a video that might possibly be capable of so strongly influencing different people to do different things.
I commend you on your courage for posting this video. I strongly believe that all people and especially our generation must take a stand on this issue and cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. The creator of this video has a very emotional message, one which paints the issue with broad strokes, offering very little detail on his point of view. In my opinion, it is a great example of effective propaganda. Because this issue is so important to us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is important that you, and all of us do what you did when you said, "I spent a considerable amount of time just sitting and thinking." I myself have spent a lot of time sitting, thinking, and praying about this issue.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was eloquent and intelligent to describe my views on this issue. Luckily, I know someone who is and shares my same beliefs and opinions about this issue. He is a friend who is also a former BYU student who has a brother who identifies himself as a homosexual. My friend is a great person and has given me a lot of advice on this issue and other things. I encourage you strongly to read his blog because it is awesome and has a lot of great spiritual messages.
In regards to this issue, please read this post:
http://cougarabogado.blogspot.com/2010/08/love-law-my-own-experience.html
There are a lot of links, in the blog post, to talks from Apostles and General Authorities. I encourage you, and anyone who wants information about this topic, to read all of them.
I have family members who are active members of our church and were living in California during the church's support and promotion of Prop. 8. They truly exercised great faith and obedience by their promotion of that issue and faced hardships and trials as a result. Cougar Abogado (my friend with the blog) also has a great post about the legal issues surrounding homosexuality. Because this video had those issues in it I strongly encourage you and everyone to read this post as well:
http://cougarabogado.blogspot.com/2011/03/please-defend-doma-marriage-and.html
I really think it is courageous of you to post this video and think that it is one of the most important issues of our time. Thank you for allowing me to leave a really long comment and please contact me with any questions.
I thought I would comment on this video because I served my mission in Los Angeles California right after the proposition 8 ballot was decided. My first two areas were Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. I'm not sure if you're in my section or not, but oh well. I think this issue is frequently mis-understood by both members of the church and homosexuals. I don't plan on sharing my feelings on the subject, because I think one of the reasons this is such a sensitive issue is because part of either party is not willing to listen to where the other person is coming from. While watching this video, I felt like I was making an effort to understand beliefs that do not completely coincide with my own personal thoughts and feelings. I feel like in order to be Christlike, we need to pay attention to what He did in the Garden of Gethsemane. While suffering, He came to know and understand each of us completely. He knows why we are the way we are, what inclinations we have, what are our temptations, and what we have suffered. If we want to be able to treat this issue the way Christ does, we need to strive to understand other people, though they may be different, or though they may believe differently than we do. I think social media has a really powerful way for us to do this. We can help people to understand things that perhaps otherwise they might never have had the opportunity to.
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