Mara Brock Akil Quotes

Art is a reflection of everything that impacts your life.

The role of art in society differs for every artist.

And I said - Styx - as a musical group it is our place to reflect the light that is shining on us back onto this place and say - this is where so much great stuff started.

I'm in a position to look back at my life, and I realized there were a number of experiences that needed to be documented.

I've written almost 200 songs with Bad Religion. No matter where you look in our history, the focus has been trying to instill some of these disturbing realities about the world, some of the implications of evolution into an artistic format that can be interpreted by people who may never study evolution.

I must admit, maybe I am a piece of history after all.

Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.

It's fun having songs about parties and gigolos, but I really wanted to use my music as a form of art. Art is supposed to spark conversation and make people think, and I wanted to do that with this song.

Looking back, I guess I've lived an unusual life.

Not just art for art's sake, but I want to have films out there that will provoke authentic, holistic conversations about the human condition. And not provide the easy answers, but put it out there.

It's one of the functions of the theater to shock and titillate and appall, apart from entertain and delight.

Comics could use more creators with something worthwhile to say.

Art never harms itself by keeping aloof from the social problems of the day: rather, by so doing, it more completely realises for us that which we desire.

Tragedy is formed 'round ideas it does not expound, and to understand its history is, in some part, to understand those ideas and their place in the society that produced it.

I'm always writing and reflecting on life. I want to suck it all in.

I think that's always the goal of art, is to make people ask themselves questions.

I think the job of artists is to stir things up.

When I look back at my life now, I'm not amazed by what I did at 16 to 21.

It's really about the work - if you are doing it for the right reasons - really to illuminate the human condition.

I don't think it's an artist's responsibility to be political all the time. I think your first responsibility as an artist is to make music that people will listen to and enjoy. However, I think that when you are able to say something that is moving and put it in a great song, then that is even better.

I think for a lot of us, you know, what 'Hamilton' gave us the opportunity to, what it gave me the opportunity to do, was to go, 'Here's what I've learned in 35 years.'

But I don't think as film-makers it is our responsibility that every time we make a film we should be saying something. If you are entertaining people, that's more than enough.

I feel so grateful for the whole ride that I've been on.

For me, filmmaking is not about making statements but about exposing human behavior so people are eager enough to start thinking on their own and make their own assumptions.

I pour my blood, sweat, and tears into a movie. What I always look for is a message and a social consciousness: a relevance to what's happening in our world.