"I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today. But it's certainly worth a try"
About this Quote
Then he pivots: “But it’s certainly worth a try.” That “but” carries the whole ideology. He’s not claiming art is policy; he’s claiming it’s pressure. Movies can’t redraw borders, but they can redraw the emotional map people use to justify borders. The subtext is Spielberg’s lifelong belief in mass storytelling as a civic technology: not a lecture, a shared experience that sneaks empathy past partisan defenses. “Worth” is doing important work, too. He frames artistic intervention as a bet with asymmetric upside: low chance of “solving” anything, high value in nudging the conversation, humanizing the abstract, complicating the slogans.
Context matters: Spielberg isn’t speaking as an avant-garde provocateur; he’s Hollywood’s consensus builder, a director whose brand is moral clarity delivered at scale. That makes his caution credible and his optimism legible. The line lands because it’s modest about outcomes while quietly ambitious about influence - an argument for art as incremental diplomacy, not miracle cure.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Spielberg, Steven. (2026, January 18). I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today. But it's certainly worth a try. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-think-any-movie-or-any-book-or-any-work-of-17224/
Chicago Style
Spielberg, Steven. "I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today. But it's certainly worth a try." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-think-any-movie-or-any-book-or-any-work-of-17224/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today. But it's certainly worth a try." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-think-any-movie-or-any-book-or-any-work-of-17224/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.



