--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a depressing fact that Americans…" description: "\"It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse morality and art (to the detriment of both) and that, among the educated, morality tends to mean..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg" --- # It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse… ![“It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse morality and art (to the detriment of both) and that, among the educated, morality tends to mean social consciousness.” quote by Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg) > “It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse morality and art (to the detriment of both) and that, among the educated, morality tends to mean social consciousness.” [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Americans often blur the line between moral messages and artistic expression, harming both. **In simple terms:** Confusing morality with art hurts both. Key Takeaway Separate moral intent from artistic creation. Themes art morality culture criticism Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - film criticism - visual arts - education - public discourse Key Concepts Aesthetic theory ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - How does conflating art with morality limit creative freedom? - Can art be ethical without being didactic? A Different Perspective Art can still convey moral ideas without being reduced to propaganda. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-consciousness/) ## Related quotes > [If you can't show the difference between religion and the Gospel, people will confuse morality with a changed heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-can-t-show-the-difference-between-religion-and-the-gospel/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“My Son-in-law astutely observes that a Man’s sense of Morality tends to decrease as his Power increases,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/my-son-in-law-astutely-observes-that-a-man-s-sense-of-morality-tends/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“a Man’s sense of Morality tends to decrease as his Power increases,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/a-man-s-sense-of-morality-tends-to-decrease-as-his-power-increases/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-morality-of-art-consists-in-the-perfect-use-of-an-imperfect-medium/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The morality of art consists, for everyone, in the side that flatters its own interests. People do not like literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-morality-of-art-consists-for-everyone-in-the-side-that-flatters/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The morality of art is in its very beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-morality-of-art-is-in-its-very-beauty/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [There should be no argument in regard to morality in art. There is no morality in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/there-should-be-no-argument-in-regard-to-morality-in-art-there-is-no/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-impossible-for-us-who-live-in-the-latter-ages-of-the-world-to/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“If the relation of morality to art were based simply on the demand that art be concerned with values, then almost every author should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/if-the-relation-of-morality-to-art-were-based-simply-on-the-demand/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-artist-is-the-creator-of-beautiful-things-to-reveal-art-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The supreme morality of art is to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kunitz/the-supreme-morality-of-art-is-to-endure/) [Stanley Kunitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kunitz/) > [I pour my blood, sweat, and tears into a movie. What I always look for is a message and a social consciousness: a relevance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/i-pour-my-blood-sweat-and-tears-into-a-movie-what-i-always-look-for/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [My first AIDS campaign was in 1985. There was this dark cloud, everybody was socially inspired - we hadn't seen social consciousness like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/my-first-aids-campaign-was-in-1985-there-was-this-dark-cloud/) [Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/) > [I try not to make social consciousness a massive part of my music or comedy because I prefer to be an entertainer first and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-brown/i-try-not-to-make-social-consciousness-a-massive-part-of-my-music-or/) [Doc Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-brown/) > [“A spirituality that is only private and self-absorbed, one devoid of an authentic political and social consciousness, does little to halt the suicidal juggernaut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-harvey/a-spirituality-that-is-only-private-and-self-absorbed-one-devoid-of/) [Andrew Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-harvey/) ## More by Pauline Kael > [The worst thing about movie-making is that it's like life: nobody can go back to correct the mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-worst-thing-about-movie-making-is-that-it-s-like-life-nobody-can/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Movies have been doing so much of the same thing - in slightly different ways - for so long that few of the possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/movies-have-been-doing-so-much-of-the-same-thing-in-slightly/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/a-good-movie-can-take-you-out-of-your-dull-funk-and-the-hopelessness/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The movies have been so rank the last couple of years that when I see people lining up to buy tickets I sometimes think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-movies-have-been-so-rank-the-last-couple-of-years-that-when-i-see/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/movies-are-so-rarely-great-art-that-if-we-cannot-appreciate-great/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [If you use Hollywood as the test tissue for mankind, what could the prognosis be?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/if-you-use-hollywood-as-the-test-tissue-for-mankind-what-could-the/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/where-there-is-a-will-there-is-a-way-if-there-is-a-chance-in-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [What this generation was bred to at television's knees was not wisdom, but cynicism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/what-this-generation-was-bred-to-at-television-s-knees-was-not-wisdom/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Watching old movies is like spending an evening with those people next door. They bore us, and we wouldn't go out of our way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/watching-old-movies-is-like-spending-an-evening-with-those-people/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [I felt as if I had attended the funeral of someone I didn't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/i-felt-as-if-i-had-attended-the-funeral-of-someone-i-didn-t-know/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Protagonists are always loners, almost by definition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/protagonists-are-always-loners-almost-by-definition/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [if you think it so easy to be a critic, so difficult to be a poet or a painter or film experimenter, may I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/if-you-think-it-so-easy-to-be-a-critic-so-difficult-to-be-a-poet-or-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Writers who go to Hollywood still follow the classic pattern: either you get disgusted by 'them' and you leave or you want the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/writers-who-go-to-hollywood-still-follow-the-classic-pattern-either/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Robert Redford ... has turned almost alarmingly blond-he's gone past platinum, he must be into plutonium; his hair is coordinated with his teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/robert-redford-has-turned-almost-alarmingly-blond-he-s-gone-past/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) [Explore all 96 Pauline Kael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse morality and art (to the detriment of both) and that, among the educated, morality tends to mean social consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pauline Kael" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-tend-to-confuse-morality-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-tend-to-confuse-morality-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/pauline-kael-6910_art_it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-t_1815830.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a depressing fact that Americans tend to confuse morality and art (to the detriment of both) and that…” — Pauline Kael", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pauline Kael", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a depressing fact that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-tend-to-confuse-morality-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/it-is-a-depressing-fact-that-americans-tend-to-confuse-morality-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```