Finished reading Trip to the Moon by John Yorke: writingslowly.com
@writingslowly I think Yorke is right about the power of story, and unfortunately artists are not taught the basic Spiderman lesson that “with great power comes great responsibility.” The idea that artists have a responsibility larger than their own career success has been virtually ignored within the profession and the training programs that feeds it. I think a bit more Spidey energy would be welcome.
@drwalt worse than ignored:
> “Every journalist who is not too stupid or full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible” – Janet Malcolm.
Louis Theroux quoted this in an interview with Patrick Raddon Keefe. But then not all writers are journalists
@writingslowly I wouldn’t go so far as to say making art is “morally indefensible,” but what I would say is that, if you use the word “responsibility” in a conversation with artists, most will say that their only responsibility is to their vision, and that they have no responsibility for the effects that their art has on those who consume it. This is the same argument made by the owners of social media companies.