Good Art Persuades, Bad Art Bludgeons

Good Art Persuades, Bad Art Bludgeons.

I used to travel a lot for work. Planes, hotels, dead time. I’ve consumed more modern media than I care to admit. When I’m stuck in a hotel room or a plane, I’m a captive audience. Recently, I watched the Quantum Leap reboot. I usually avoid new series, but I loved the original, so I gave it a shot. I wasn’t looking to be lectured; I was just killing time.

​Two minutes in, I knew exactly what ride I was in for. But I gave it a chance anyway. The original was good, so I had high hopes. Maybe it just had a rocky start…

Nope.

Soon enough, the writers were determined to slap me in the face with their message of acceptance. At that point, I wasn’t watching a story; I was being handed a pamphlet.

​This pattern is everywhere now. The story grinds to a halt. A character stops behaving like a person. The camera tightens. The music swells. Then the actor becomes the mouthpiece for the writer, delivering their sermon.

​There isn’t exactly a problem with their message, per se. It’s the delivery that’s the problem. Here’s the thing: good art doesn't need to do this. Good art persuades.

And… Say it with me…

Bad art bludgeons.

When a story does this, it tells me the writer doesn’t trust their craft or doesn’t trust us, the audience. Either way, the spell breaks instantly. Once I’m yanked out of the world, I turn it off and move on.

​A confident story buries its message inside character, conflict, flaws, and tension. It makes you live in someone else’s skin, even if you don’t like them. And it lets you reach your own conclusion.

A story that bludgeons, on the other hand, is terrified you’ll miss the point. So it stops everything, flips on the house lights, and tells you exactly what to think. It doesn’t want you to feel. It wants you to agree.

All art has a message. That isn't the issue. The issue is respect.

​Good art is a bridge, inviting you to see the world from a new perspective. Bad art is a loyalty test that demands you prove you're on the right side. One leaves a mark. The other just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.