Dakota Cupples, Contributing Writer Can we in good conscience create art that critiques systems of oppression when the same money creating and funding our art comes from the pockets of our oppressors? What are the consequences of making Elon Musk a meme? “Digger,” Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new dark comedy film, is a call for artists to consider whether art is truly an effective way to incite change. The majority of theatre and film is privately funded by investors or wealthy people who perform philanthropy to make themselves look better. Bill Gates has a foundation that gives billions to charity every year, and a portion of that goes to the arts. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only about roughly 10% of American art was publicly funded, the numbers later being inflated due to COVID-19 relief efforts, according to the National Arts Action Summit. The rest comes from sponsorships, philanthropy or personal income.  If you are planning to be a working artist today, chances are you will have to reckon with the fact that the ultra-wealthy are at least part of the reason why you can share your art with others.  Many films and TV shows have attempted political satire in recent years such as “The Boys,” “Don’t Look Up” and “Eddington,” but failed to stick the landing and ask for something more from their audiences. “Digger” is a satire about satire. The film tells how its own art and climate change satire is compromised because it was created by a corporation. It explores what can make satire effective today and art’s true impact in 2026.  I do not want to spoil the movie, because “Digger” is most impactful going in blind. However, one message is central: art, in itself, is not an action. We must take action ourselves. We can make a hundred movies about the horrors of climate change and evil billionaires, but is that going to stop Sam Altman from continuing to introduce AI into the U.S. government? Is that going to stop people from “drilling, baby, drilling?” Does making these films harm society more by creating a mythos for these men, rather than showing them as human beings, the same as you and me? Calling Elon Musk a loser on an app that he owns is fun. It is really cathartic, but did it stop him from creating DOGE and terminating thousands of government jobs? To these people, all