The Future Ai

From Jane Fonda speaking out against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 70s to more recent Hollywood figures such as Mark Ruffalo and Sean Penn voicing their dissent against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Ukraine and the Iran war, artistes have always been vocal during times of global tension.

Artists have long used their visibility to push back against state violence, a thread of dissent that runs across decades and resurfaces every time conflict erupts. So when Donald Trump declares war on Iran, it’s no surprise that figures from Sean Penn to Jack White to Mark Ruffalo to George Clooney speak out against the state.And this moment is not unique. During the Vietnam War, opposition manifested as a cohesive counterculture movement. Figures like Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland engaged in political theatre, while John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance and Jimi Hendrix’s distorted Star-Spangled Banner transformed popular media into urgent anti-war manifestos. By the time of the Iraq Warthat collective front had splintered into more fragmented, individual assertions. While groups like the Dixie Chicks faced severe industry backlash, others like Green Day used punk-rock satire to critique government rhetoric.With the rise of social media, the medium may have shifted, but the artistic impulse to challenge state power remains persistent, although more decentralized and diffused.The Vietnam War and the rise of the counterculture movementThe Vietnam War (1955–75) was one of those rare moments in history when opposition to conflict went beyond politics, reshaping art in ways that felt unified and solid. The protests were there for everyone to see – in cinema, music and on the streets, as artistes gathered to express defiance against state violence.Hollywood actress Jane Fonda’s image sitting in a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun became a polarizing subject. Between praises that celebrated her anti-war stance and criticism that questioned her loyalty to her nation and its soldiers, the actress was given the label Hanoi Jane. Since then, Fonda has apologized for the image and emphasized that she stood against the government and its actions, and not against the soldiers.

Jane Fonda received backlash for her anti-war stance during the Vietnam War.

On her appearance on The Dick Cavett Show around the time, Fonda expressed solidarity with the Vietnamese and said, “Those people have been fighting a long time. I hope that people understand that they would fight anyone – socialist or a capitalist country alike – that tries to take away their independence.”Another known figure from Hollywood who was strongly opposed to the war was actor Donald Sutherland, who formed the Free the Army (FTA) tour with Fonda. The FTA was a political theater project where Sutherland visited military camps and performed anti-war plays and songs for them. Actor-singer Eartha Kitt, actor Jon Voight, actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were other prominent faces from the film industry who participated in the protests.Cinema shifts focus to war’s human consequencesWhile actors joined the debate, cinema turned its focus towards the moral and psychological effects of the war. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) is still cited as a masterpiece of anti-war cinema, where the question was not about winning or losing, but about moral collapse. The film showed how the war pushed its characters into confusion and breakdown.The Deer Hunter (1978) starring Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken captured the lingering trauma of soldiers, with Walken’s character spiraling into self-destructive behavior. Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) explored similar terrain, where soldiers’ dehumanization was exposed, best exemplified by Private Pyle’s breakdown, who ended up killing himself and his ruthless drill instructor.

A still from the movie Apocalypse Now.

Lennon, Hendrix and the Vietnam protestIn the 1960s, music was the heartbeat of anti-war rhetoric. Folk legends Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger provided the soundtrack for rallies with anthems like Blowin’ in the Wind and Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.John Lennon eventually bridged the gap between pop stardom and radical activism. Moving beyond the studio, Lennon used his Bed-In for Peace as a form of performance art, recording Give Peace a Chance as a direct, rhythmic mantra that could be chanted by thousands in the streets.The movement culminated at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. While Joan Baez brought the folk tradition to the stage, Jimi Hendrix provided the festival’s most haunting critique. Closing the event with a distorted rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, Hendrix used high-volume feedback and screeching guitar effects to mimic the sound of falling bombs and sirens, turning the national anthem into a sonic mirror of the battlefield.Iraq War: A splintered dissentAlmost three decades later, with the US invasion of Iraq and drafting of soldiers, artists gathered once again. However, this time, the assertion against war was fragmented. The constant stream of news and the rise of the Internet meant that there was a continuous dialogue which was being interpreted as a response to the unrest. There was also the post-9/11 fatigue which put pressure on celebrities who dared to speak out. The music group, Dixie Chicks, faced backlash for their anti-US invasion stance. In March 2003, before the invasion, the band’s lead singer Natalie Maines said during a London concert that she was “ashamed” that President George W Bush was from Texas. The statement was met with death threats and radio boycotts.Despite the fear of getting silenced and ridiculed, celebrities did sign a petition directed to the US administration against the invasion of Iraq. “The war talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary. A pre-emptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests,” read a section of the letter signed by actors such as Matt Damon, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. The assertion was met with support by Samuel L Jackson and Kim Basinger.

Actor Sean Penn traveled to Baghdad and took out an ad in the Washington Post, warning President Bush against a “preemptive strike” on Iraq.Cinema mirrored the dissonance that people felt with the war, but it was reshaped to represent experience rather than a collective ideology. In films such as The Hurt Locker and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jarhead, the focus remained on the soldier’s lived reality, not heroism.However, where some were silenced, others found a new, aggressive medium for protest. Green Day’s American Idiot emerged as the definitive protest record of the era. Transitioning from “slacker rebels” to serious political commentators, the band crafted a punk-rock opera that directly challenged the Bush administration and the “redneck agenda.” The title track, “American Idiot,” served as a blistering critique of media-propagated paranoia and the “manufacturing of consent” that supported the invasion.Voices outside AmericaIn the UK, directors Ken Loach, Michael Winterbottom, comedian Stephen Fry and actor Mark Rylance urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to not support the Iraq war. English composer and singer George Michael was a significant UK voice against the unrest and released two protest songs – Shoot the Dog and The Grave – to express his objection to the war.English bands Massive Attack and Radiohead opposed the war, with the latter releasing Hail to the Thief in 2003, influenced by the frustration around it. Actor-writer Emma Thompson also joined marches against the war in the UK.

Heath Ledger was opposed to the Iraq war.

Late Australian actor Heath Ledger called out the Australian government for supporting the war during an appearance on a talk show, “This is the first time in the history of our country that we are an aggressor, and we are not an aggressive people. I am certainly not. We shouldn’t be a part of this. It is not a fight for humanity, it is a fight for oil. I think we should all pull out and live a peaceful existence down here.”At the time, Heath Ledger was photographed alongside fellow Australian actors Naomi Watts and Joel Edgerton during a protest march in Melbourne.The modern crisis: Social media and documentariesIn more recent conflicts, including the escalation in the Russia–Ukraine Conflict (2022–present), and the Israel–Gaza crisis (2023–present), actors have continued to speak out. Actor-producer Mark Ruffalo, Angelina Jolie, Pedro Pascalmodels Bella and Gigi Hadid, Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters among others have repeatedly addressed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.Sean Penn notably missed an awards ceremony earlier this year because he was on the ground in Ukraine filming his documentary Superpower, documenting the invasion firsthand. His subsequent meeting with President Zelenskyy served as a reminder that while the medium has changed from folk songs to documentaries and digital posts, the artistic impulse to challenge conflict remains.