R. Alan Brooks: When the world is burning, is art a waste of time? | TED

Transcriber:

Translator: Yuliani Supandji Reviewer: Bias Ayu

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and I didn't know very many white people,

Aku tumbuh di Atlanta, Georgia, dan aku tak tahu banyak orang kulit putih.

but I was raised in a Southern Black church

tetapi aku besar di gereja kulit hitam di Selatan

that was under the shadow of white supremacy

yang dibayang-bayangi oleh supremasi kulit putih

dan dikelola oleh kulit hitam

and run by Black people

who in many ways were taught to hate themselves.

yang banyak diajari untuk membenci dirinya sendiri.

The generation that raised me was still familiar with lynchings.

Generasi yang membesarkanku masih paham dengan

hukuman mati tanpa proses.

So in order to not be murdered by racists,

Jadi supaya tidak dibunuh oleh orang rasis,

some of the Black people in the generation before me

beberapa orang kulit hitam di generasi sebelumku

learned to make themselves smaller.

belajar membuat diri mereka lebih kecil.

We couldn't be too loud,

Kita tak bisa banyak ribut,

too smart, too attractive, too bold.

terlalu pintar, menarik, atau tajam.

On some level, they felt

Hingga, mereka pikir

like anything that we did that made us stand out

apa yang kita lakukan yang dapat membuat kita unggul

might get us murdered.

bisa membuat kita dibunuh.

In the midst of that, I emerged,

Di tengah-tengah itu, aku muncul,

this straight-A student who rapped,

anak pintar di kelas yang suka nge-rap,

loved "Weird Al" Yankovic

penyuka “Weird Al” Yankovic

and read comic books.

dan baca buku komik.

So much for not standing out.

Tidak terlalu unggul, sih.

So the grownups around me regularly discouraged my artistry.

Jadi, orang dewasa di sekitarku tidak suka aku terlalu kreatif.

To them, comic books were the pursuit of a kid

Baginya, buku komik hanya untuk anak kecil

who didn't really understand the world.

yang belum memahami dunia.

They told me that art was silly

Mereka bilang padaku bahwa seni itu konyol

and I was in for some hard lessons about the real world.

dan hidupku akan sulit di dunia nyata.

Back then, I only had one other friend who was into comic books

Saat itu, hanya aku dan seorang kawan yang suka buku komik

and he went to a different school.

dan dia pindah sekolah.

So when I was around 11,

Saat kira-kira aku 11 tahun,

he and I went to our very first comic book convention.

kami pergi ke pameran komik pertama kami.

They were so unused to seeing Black kids there,

Mereka tidak biasa melihat anak kulit hitam di sana,

that one grown white man mistook me for security

sampai satu lelaki dewasa mengira aku satpam

and showed me his convention badge in order to get in.

dan menunjukkan aku tanda pamerannya untuk masuk.

Remember, I was 11.

Ingat, aku baru 11 tahun.

But me and my friend loved these conventions.

Tapi, aku dan kawanku suka pameran seperti itu.

Finally, we had other people to talk to about the important questions,

Akhirnya, ada orang lain yang mau bicara pertanyaan penting,

like, why does the Hulk always wear purple pants?

seperti, kenapa Hulk selalu pakai celana ungu?

About a year or so later with every free moment that we had

Sekitar setahun setelahnya dengan waktu luang kami,

me and that same friend were actively drawing comic books.

aku dan kawanku yang tadi mulai aktif menggambar buku komik.

His father took notice of this and he sat us down in the living room.

Ayahnya memperhatikan dan menyuruh kami duduk di ruang tengah.

He loved us both, and he decided it was time to set us straight.

Ia sayang kita berdua, dan dia putuskan saatnya jujur ke kita berdua.

He said, "It's great that you two love these comic books,

Katanya, “Bagus sekali kalian berdua suka buku komik,

but you need to pick a serious profession,

tapi carilah profesi yang serius,

something that's going to take care of you and your families.

sesuatu yang bisa menghidupimu dan keluargamu nanti.

And you’re not going to be able to do that with comic books.”

Dan, kamu tak bisa melakukannya dengan buku komik.”

My friend's father wasn't trying to hurt us.

Ayah kawanku tidak berusaha menyakiti kami.

He was trying to prepare us for the world

Ia hanya mempersiapkan kami ke dunia

and underneath that was this fear that was shared by my own parents.

dan dibawah itu ada ketakutan yang dimiliki tiap orang tua.

That being a Black artist would make me stand out

Sebagai seniman kulit hitam takkan membuatku unggul

and that I might be murdered by racists.

dan aku bisa dibunuh oleh orang rasis.

And it's not like that was a far jump.

Ini bukan seperti kelewatan.

My parents were born in the early 50s.

Orang tuaku lahir di awal 50-an.

In 1955, a white woman accused a 14-year-old boy of whistling at her.

Pada 1955, wanita kulit putih menuduh anak 14 tahun bersiul kepadanya.

He was Black

Anak itu kulit hitam

and two grown white men brutally murdered him

dan dua lelaki kulit putih membunuh anak itu dengan kejam

just for her accusation.

hanya karena tuduhan itu.

These men never went to prison.

Para lelaki itu tidak pernah dipenjara.

The boy's name was Emmett Till.

Anak itu bernama Emmett Till.

So my parents grew up in a time

Jadi, orang tuaku lahir di era

where just the accusation of whistling at a white woman

saat tuduhan bersiul ke wanita kulit putih

could get a Black boy brutally murdered.

bisa membuat kulit hitam dibunuh kejam.

So why wouldn't they be concerned about me standing out as some bohemian artsy dude?

Jadi, kenapa mereka tidak peduli kalau aku unggulnya sebagai seniman boho?

So as a Black artist, I've had to ask myself:

Jadi, sebagai seniman kulit hitam, aku harus tanya ke diri sendiri:

when the world seems like it's burning, is art really worth it?

saat dunia seperti terbakar, apakah seni berharga?

I grew up and I worked serious jobs and did art on the side.

Aku besar dan bekerja serius dan berkesenian sebagai sampingan.

Izinkan aku ceritakan pekerjaan serius apa saja yang pernah kulakukan.

Let me tell you about the most serious job that I ever worked.

I ran an insurance agency

Aku mengelola agensi asuransi

and I know everything that you've learned about me so far

dan aku tahu semua yang kau pelajari dari aku sejauh ini

screams insurance agent.

pasti kelihatan aku agen asuransi.

Predictably, I hated that job.

Sesuai dugaan, aku benci kerjaan itu.

So after a few years and against all the wise advice I heard in my life,

Setelah beberapa tahun dan tak mengindahkan

nasihat bijak yang kudengar seumur hidup,

I decided to close my insurance agency and try my hand at writing graphic novels.

Aku memutuskan tutup agensi asuransi itu dan mencoba menulis novel grafis.

I wanted to address the social issues that I was passionate about.

Aku ingin menyampaikan isu sosial yang sangat kusukai.

Police brutality, sexism, racism, that kind of thing.

Brutalitas polisi, seksisme, rasisme, dan hal-hal seperti itu.

But to make it clear,

Tapi untuk memperjelas,

I was leaving the serious insurance job

Aku meninggalkan kerjaan serius asuransi

in order to pursue writing comic books.

untuk mengejar menulis buku komik.

You know, art,

Kau tahu, seni,

which is silly,

yang konyol itu,

especially in the face of a world that seemed dedicated to murdering me.

terutama di dunia ini, yang sepertinya didedikasikan untuk membunuhku.

This was 2016

Saat itu adalah 2016

dan ada pembawa acara reality show yang mencalonkan diri sebagai presiden.

and there was this reality show host running for president.

You guys probably never heard of him,

Kalian mungkin pernah dengar namanya,

but there were all these disturbing things arising in the world.

Tetapi, hal-hal yang menggelisahkan dunia pun muncul.

Nazis were feeling bolder.

Pengikut Nazi merasa lebih berani.

People were feeling less shame about their racism,

Orang-orang jadi tak tahu malu pada rasisme mereka,

hate crimes arising.

seruan kebencian muncul.

In response,

Sebagai jawaban,

my Black and Brown friends organize public protest and boycotts.

kawan-kawan kulit hitam dan cokelatku menyerukan protes dan boikot publik.

A lot of my liberal white friends were marching on the Capitol every weekend.

Banyak kawan liberal kulit putihku berbaris di Capitol tiap akhir pekan.

Dan, aku tadinya ingin menulis buku komik.

And I wanted to write a comic book.

Was I being silly?

Apa aku bertindak konyol?

Vain?

Sakit?

I never made a living off of art before

Aku tidak pernah hidup dari seni sebelumnya

and now I just quit my job

dan kini aku baru lepas dari kerjaanku

when it seemed like the world was falling apart.

saat rasanya dunia ini runtuh.

Art is silly, right?

Seni itu konyol, kan?

I struggled with this for a while.

Aku berjuang dengan ini untuk sesaat.

So I took a month to travel in the UK for the first time.

Jadi, aku mengambil libur pergi ke Inggris untuk pertama kali.

I was nervous about this trip because I was traveling alone.

Aku gugup di liburan ini karena aku pergi sendiri.

And I didn't know how people in these countries

Dan aku tak tahu pandangan orang di negara itu

felt about Black people,

tentang orang kulit hitam,

but I went to Berlin, Prague, Budapest,

tapi aku juga ke Berlin, Praha, Budapest,

and this tiny British town called Melksham.

dan kota kecil di Inggris bernama Melksham.

In Berlin, I sat down with the owner

Di Berlin, aku duduk bersama pemilik

of the biggest comic book store chain there.

gerai buku komik terbesar di sana.

And we talked about how as a kid, his favorite hero was Captain America,

Dan kita bicara bahawa saat kecil, tokoh kesukaannya adalah Captain America,

but certain issues of that comic book he never got to read as a kid

tapi ada beberapa isu di buku komik yang tidak bisa ia baca saat kecil

because Captain America was fighting Nazis in those books.

karena Captain America berperang lawan Nazi di buku itu.

And nothing with Nazis was allowed in Germany,

Dan apa pun yang berbau Nazi dilarang di Jerman,

even if they were getting beat up.

meskipun mereka dikalahkan.

So let's think about that for a moment.

Jadi, coba pikir sejenak.

In Germany,

Di Jerman,

Nazis were banished from everything

Nazi diberantas dari apa pun

sementara di Amerika Serikat sendiri,

while here in the States,

we've erected statues to Confederates who betrayed our country.

kita menaikkan patung pendiri Konfederasi yang mengkhianati bangsa ini.

Anyway, I thought about this man,

Karena itu, aku memikirkannya,

this comic book fan who grew up in Germany,

pecinta buku komik yang besar di Jerman,

but fell in love with the story of an American icon.

tapi cinta dengan cerita dari seorang ikon Amerika.

And I realized a well-written comic book or graphic novel

Aku sadar bahwa buku komik atau novel grafis yang ditulis dengan baik,

could reach someone all the way across the world.

bisa mencapai siapa pun yang ada di dunia ini.

And I thought about revolution,

Dan aku berpikir tentang revolusi,

how whenever society needs to change,

bagaimana rakyat butuh perubahan,

that change is inspired at least in part by the artist.

dan perubahan ini terinspirasi setidaknya sebagian oleh seniman.

I thought about how dictators and despots regularly murder and discredit artists.

Aku berpikir para diktator dan orang lalim yang suka membunuh dan mencemooh seniman.

Hitler's people came up with a term specifically to discredit artists:

Orang-orang Hitler punya istilah untuk merendahkan seniman:

degenerate art.

Seni tidak berderajat.

They were burning books and paintings.

Mereka bakar buku dan lukisan.

But why,

Tapi kenapa,

why were the leaders of the Nazi party

kenapa para pemimpin partai Nazi

dedicating their attention to destroying art?

memutuskan untuk merusak karya seni?

If art really has no power,

Jika seni tidak punya kekuatan,

if it's really a silly waste of time,

benar-benar buang waktu secara konyol,

then why are dictators afraid of it?

lalu kenapa para diktator takut?

Why were Nazis burning books and paintings?

Kenapa para Nazi membakar buku dan lukisan?

Why was McCarthy so dedicated to blacklisting artists in the 1950s?

Kenapa McCarthy sangat peka memblokir seniman di tahun 1950-an?

Why was Stalin's government so focused on censoring artists in Russia?

Kenapa pemerintahan Stalin sangat fokus menyensor seniman di Rusia?

Because art scares dictators.

Karena seni membuat takut para diktator.

Because they understood something

Karena mereka paham sesuatu

that I've been struggling to understand my entire life.

yang gagal kupahami seumur hidupku.

Seni itu memiliki kekuatan. Seni itu penting.

Art is powerful. Art is important.

Art can change hearts and minds all the way across the world.

Seni bisa merubah hati dan pikiran ke seluruh dunia.

In 1894, Russian author, Leo Tolstoy wrote "The Kingdom of God Is Within You".

Di 1984, pengarang Rusia, Leo Tolstoy, menulis “The Kingdom of God is Within You”

It's a book that advocates for nonviolence.

Itu adalah buku yang mengajarkan kedamaian.

In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi listed Tolstoy's book

Di tahun 1920-an, Mahatma Gandhi menyatakan bahwa buku Tolstoy

as one of the three most important influences in his life.

sebagai satu dari tiga buku yang paling berpengaruh di hidupnya.

So Tolstoy inspired Gandhi.

Jadi, Tolstoy menginspirasi Gandhi.

And you know who Gandhi inspired?

Dan Gandhi menginspirasi siapa?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luter King, Jr.

So how would the civil rights movement in America have changed

Lalu, apakah gerakan hak warga sipil Amerika akan berubah

if Tolstoy had never written his book?

jika Tolstoy tak pernah tulis buku?

Would I even be here talking to you now?

Apa aku akan berbicara sekarang?

Tolstoy's book made real changes in the world by inspiring people.

Buku Tolstoy membawa perubahan nyata di dunia dengan menginspirasi orang.

During the civil rights struggle,

Saat perjuangan hak warga sipil,

Black people would stand hand in hand

orang kulit hitam akan berdiri bersama

as police and dogs attacked us

meski diserang anjing dan polisi

and we'd sing gospel songs.

dan kita bernyanyi lagu gereja.

Those songs,

Lagu-lagu itu,

that art inspired these people

adalah seni yang menginspirasi orang

and it helped them make it through.

dan membantu mereka melewatinya.

Activism is how we change the world.

Aktivisme adalah bagaimana kita merubah dunia.

And there are different ways to engage in activism.

Dan ada berbagai cara untuk berperan di aktivisme.

And for me, that way is art.

Untukku, caranya adalah seni.

So I came back to the States

Karenanya, aku kembali ke Amerika

and I wrote about all those issues that I mentioned before:

dan aku tulis segala isu yang kusebutkan tadi:

the police brutality, the sexism, the racism.

brutalitas polisi, seksisme, rasisme.

Honestly, I didn't know how the world was going to receive it from me.

Sejujurnya, aku tak tahu apa tanggapan dunia atas karyaku.

I just knew that I was tired of giving my life

Aku cuma tahu aku sudah capek memberikan hidupku

to things that I didn't care about.

ke hal-hal yang tak kupedulikan.

So I hired a comic book artist,

Lalu, aku mempekerjakan seniman komik,

I ran a Kickstarter campaign

aku kelola kampanye Kickstarter,

and my graphic novel became "The Burning Metronome."

dan novel grafisku menjadi “The Burning Metronome.”

It's a supernatural murder mystery about otherworldly creatures

Itu adalah misteri pembunuhan supranatural tentang makhluk gaib

who absorb magical power from human cruelty.

yang menarik kekuatan magisnya dari kekejaman manusia.

They watch human beings

Mereka melihat manusia

dan memberikan kesempatan kita untuk memilih

and they give us the chance to choose between compassion and cruelty.

antara kasih sayang dan kekejaman.

In one of the stories a police officer has an opportunity to go back

Di salah satu cerita, seorang polisi punya kesempatan kembali

and undo a time when he was unnecessarily violent to someone.

dan mengembalikkan waktu saat ia tak sengaja kejam ke orang lain.

So what happened as a result of me writing this book?

Jadi, apa hasilnya aku menulis buku ini?

I was interviewed on TV news, newspapers.

Aku diwawancara berita TV, masuk koran.

The university invited me to teach writing in their master's program.

Sebuah kampus mengajakku mengajar menulis di program S2nya.

I'm a professor now.

Aku seorang profesor sekarang.

But more importantly,

Tapi lebih penting lagi,

I was able to reach into my heart,

aku bisa mencapai hatiku,

pull out the truest parts of my soul

menarik bagian terjujur di hidupku

and see it have a positive impact on other people's lives.

dan melihat dampak positif di hidup orang lain.

I was signing books in this comic book store

Aku sedang menanda tangani buku di toko buku komik ini

and this man made small talk with me for about 20 minutes.

dan pria ini berbicara denganku selama 20 menit.

Eventually he said that my book made him think about how he does his job.

Lalu katanya, bukuku membuatnya berpikir tentang pekerjaannya sekarang.

So of course I asked, what do you do for a living?

Tentu aku tanya balik, memang kamu kerja apa?

He was a police officer.

Ia adalah seorang polisi.

So my book made a police officer think about how he does his job.

Jadi bukuku membuat polisi jadi bertanya bagaimana ia bekerja.

That never happened when I sold insurance.

Ini tak pernah terjadi saat aku menjual asuransi.

I write comic books and graphic novels for a living.

Aku menulis buku komik dan novel grafis untuk hidup.

Now I'm a full-time artist.

Kini aku seniman seratus persen.

If I hadn't written that book,

Jika aku tak menulis buku itu,

none of you would be listening to me right now.

tak ada dari kamu yang mendengarkan aku kini.

And listen, my parents weren't wrong to warn me

Dan dengar, orang tuaku tidak salah saat mengingatkanku

about the lethal tendencies of this country.

tentang bahaya mematikan di negara ini.

Just last year,

Baru tahun lalu,

seorang supremasi putih mengirimiku ancaman mati

a white supremacist sent me death threats

over a book that I hadn't even finished writing yet.

karena buku yang bahkan belum rampung kutulis.

But obviously the only reason he was threatened

Tapi sudah jelas alasan ia merasa terancam

is because he recognized the power of art

adalah karena ia paham kekuatan seni

to change hearts and minds all the way across the world.

untuk mengubah hati dan pikiran di seluruh dunia.

So I say to you now,

Jadi kukatakan kepadamu sekarang,

if there's any art you want to create,

jika ada seni yang ingin kau buat,

if there's something in your heart, if you have something to say,

jika ada sesuatu di hatimu, jika ada yang ingin kau katakan,

we need you now.

kami membutuhkanmu sekarang.

Your art can be activism.

Senimu bisa berupa aktivisme.

It can inspire people and change the world.

Itu bisa menginspirasi orang dan mengubah dunia.

If you're afraid, that's OK.

Jika kau takut, tidak apa-apa.

Just don't let it stop you.

Asal jangan menghentikanmu.

Go make art and scare a dictator.

Buatlah seni dan takut-takuti para diktator.

Is art worth it?

Apa seni berharga?

Hell yeah.

Tentunya.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.