Is the Why more Important than the Wow?

Art and Activism in Challenging Times

Photographed by the author, during a climate action demonstration in Sydney as the east coast suffered severe destruction from fires, December 2019

Introduction

‘The times, they are a changing.’ ~Bob Dylan

Perhaps there isn’t a phrase that rings truer today. Bob Dylan wrote these lyrics a month before President Kennedy was assassinated and opened a concert the following night with this song. Dylan wrote this song specifically as a catalyst for change, and together with Blowin’ in the Wind, they came to be the anthems that defined the Civil Rights Movement.

“Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head…and pretend that he just doesn’t see?” ~Bob Dylan

Dylan is on my mind because we have just been to see the movie — A Complete Unknown. His lyrics spoke to the political, social and philosophical influences of the Sixties. The story of the meteoric rise of a completely unknown 19-year-old musician is inspiring. But more than that, it reminded me of the context in which his music was written. The war in Vietnam, segregation and the threat of nuclear war were hanging over America. The movie highlights how his music defied the conventional norms of folk music and how it was embraced by a generation.