Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by war and conflict. More specifically, the responses they draw. Beauty is born out of blood and hatred. Something that is so full of hope, joy, and love, something so true to our human nature. 

The arts are an extension of our humanity and a physical manifestation of our beliefs. So when we meet situations that counter our vision of goodness, we protest them in our art. And sometimes the protest is simple: just wanting to love. 

Is love controversial? Are we in disagreement about love? How frequently is love misinterpreted?

I’ve had these questions while going through social media lately. If one person makes a post offering their perception of peace, people in the comments write back with verbal eye rolls. If you condemn violence within a government institution, eyes will roll. Even if you perform a Super Bowl halftime show and declare that “the only thing more powerful than hate is love,” eyes will roll– including the president’s. 

Have we politicized love?

It’s no secret that social media has played a significant role in polarizing us, not only in America but worldwide as well. When feeds are curated to serve specific individuals and their beliefs, it’s unlikely they will crawl out of that safe space for too long. When they do, they still fall victim to confirmation bias, or the tendency to interpret information in a way that aligns with their existing perspective. 

In an age of such division, disinformation and general confusion, we will not agree on anything if it comes from the mouth of our supposed opposition, no matter what the message is. We do not allow art to act as the bridge it is meant to be; we instead twist it until it forms a weapon to be used against the artist. 

Take this week’s Super Bowl halftime show as an example. 

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, is an artist from Puerto Rico. With how outspoken he has been on the federal government’s immigration policy, I anticipated there would be backlash regardless of the show he put on. Still, I was surprised to see the criticisms he received, given the message his performance conveyed. 

There were fears that the show would be a highly politicized act of protest (with AI-generated photos of him burning the American flag on stage circulating). Instead, he used culture as a means of resistance. The set of sugar cane and power lines symbolized Puerto Rico’s past and present. It was a performance labeled by the New York Times and Rolling Stone as “joyful” and “an upbeat blowout.”