Amanpour: "Artists With a Message"

Date: December 27, 2025
Host: Christiane Amanpour (B)

Episode Overview

This special Amanpour episode explores how artists use their work to address pressing global issues and convey powerful messages. Through interviews with filmmakers, playwrights, visual artists, and more, Amanpour delves into stories of art as activism and self-expression—from James Cameron’s anti-nuclear film and the climate drama “Kyoto,” to Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s exploration of mortality, and a mural celebrating immigrants in New York.

Segment Summaries & Key Insights

1. James Cameron on Nuclear War and "Ghosts of Hiroshima"

Guests:

• James Cameron (C), director
• Ernest Moniz (D), former U.S. Secretary of Energy & nuclear physicist

Discussion Points

• Cameron's New Film (00:38–09:50):

  • Adapting Ghosts of Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino, focusing on survivors of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  • The personal account of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both bombs, as central to the film’s message about forgiveness.

  • The power of survivor stories in understanding the human impact of nuclear war.

    “I can forgive that. I can forgive that. And as a result, I believe you, everybody in the audience, you can forgive anything.”
    —James Cameron quoting Yamaguchi (03:49)

• Nuclear Weapons & Public Perception:

  • Moniz critiques the “false narrative” that nuclear weapons make us safer, emphasizing their utter destructiveness.

  • The risks of accidents and human error in high-stakes nuclear standoffs.

    “They should not be thought of as military weapons, but as weapons of mass destruction. Indiscriminate mass destruction when certainly dropped in an urban center.”
    —Ernest Moniz (04:58)

• Art Imitating (and Outpaced by) Reality:

  • Cameron reflects on the difficulties of writing science fiction in a world veering toward dystopian scenarios.

    “I'm at a point right now where I have a hard time writing science fiction... We are living in a science fiction age right now and the only way out is through by using our intelligence... and really understanding the stark probabilities that we face.”
    —James Cameron (09:50)

2. Theatre as Diplomacy: The Play "Kyoto"

Guests:

• Joe Murphy (G), playwright
• Stephen Kunkan (E), actor

Discussion Points

• The Drama of Climate Negotiations (12:25–16:47):

  • The play dramatizes the fraught negotiations of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, seeking stories of agreement amid polarization.

  • Uncovers unexpected romance and humor in political compromise.

    “We were searching for stories about agreement... It felt to us like a kind of romance story in a way, something, something beautiful...”
    —Joe Murphy (13:53)

• Portraying the “Baddie”:

  • Kunkan plays Don Perlman, an oil lobbyist, discussing empathy for adversarial perspectives.

    “I don't think baddies think of themselves as baddies... How do we find commonality with people that we find distasteful?”
    —Stephen Kunkan (14:38)

• Hope and Polarization:

  • Murphy expresses hopefulness, but also fear regarding contemporary politics and the allure of “short termism.”

    “...provide a language to people that persuades them that doing something complicated is better than doing... nothing.”
    —Joe Murphy (16:22)

• Generational Struggle & The Role of Art:

  • The cyclical nature of social progress and the enduring role of art in educating and empowering the next generation.

    “There is hope. The arc of this is going to be long. This is a problem that another generation is going to have to deal with. How do we help that generation... Art is a very powerful educating mechanism.”
    —Stephen Kunkan (17:59)

3. Punk, Photomontage, and Feminism: Linda's Artistic Legacy

Guest:

• Linda (H), artist

Discussion Points

• Breaking Boundaries in Art & Gender (18:32–23:45):

  • Linda’s photomontages challenge traditional depictions of women, famously merging domestic imagery with nude forms.

  • Reframes bodily representation and domestic symbolism in a subversive, empowering way.

    “It was such a simple act, you know, gluing on three motifs onto a page from Playboy... It was so very elegant.”
    —Linda (21:15)

• Photomontage vs. Collage:

  • Linda is strict about distinctions—her work is photomontage, connecting its origins to the Dada response to the trauma of war.

    “Photomontage is very, very purist. It really is just cutting up and gluing together photographs.”
    —Linda (21:44)

• Scalpel as Tool for Creation, Not Destruction:

  • The act of cutting is described as reparative and life-affirming, not violent.

    “That cut doesn't feel violent. That cut feels very life enhancing and it allows me to make images that go out into the world upon which each person can have their own meaning.”
    —Linda (23:29)

4. Pedro Almodóvar on Mortality, Artistry & Color

Guest:

• Pedro Almodóvar (F), director

Discussion Points

• "The Room Next Door": Facing Death with Dignity (24:19–31:44):

  • Almodóvar’s first English-language film, featuring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, is inspired by Sigrid Nunez’s novel and thematically grapples with euthanasia, loss, and acceptance.

    “It is taken by Martha in a very vital way. So I wanted to give the impression of vitality in this last period of her life…”
    —Pedro Almodóvar (31:44)

• Processing Personal Loss through Art:

  • The loss of long-time collaborator Marisa Paredes underscores themes of friendship, loyalty, and continuity in Almodóvar’s “company.”

    “We feel like being part of one stable company to make movies. So we still being friends and if there is always a character that they can do it... the loss of Marisa was, you know, the example. That is something that I can't understand.”
    —Pedro Almodóvar (28:30)

• Life, Death, and Color:

  • Color as a statement of life, even when narrating death.

    “The decision to die is a sign of vitalism... We also have to be the owner of our death... I think this is a human right.”
    —Pedro Almodóvar (31:29)

5. Opera as Political Commentary: "Nixon in China"

Archive Segment:

• Revisiting contemporary opera's power to translate recent history and diplomacy for the stage.

  • "Nixon in China" blends humor, heroism, and a nuanced look at flawed leaders.

  • Artistic license gives new dimensions to public figures and moments.

    “This upsets a lot of Americans... but we feel that he is hamstrung by his own paranoia, his own vanity.”
    —Peter Sellars, recounted by Amanpour (34:37)

6. Immigrants and the American Spirit: A New Mural at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Guest:

• Adam Svjanovic (I), muralist

Discussion Points

• Art for Dignity & Unity (36:12–38:51):

  • Svjanovic’s mural “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?” celebrates the dignity and humanity of immigrants and New Yorkers alike.

  • Stresses that recognizing the “basic humanity of somebody who is ‘other’” is the path to a better dialogue, and that art bears witness to that.

    “This is not a political painting... It's a painting about showing the dignity of all people.”
    —Adam Svjanovic (36:18)

  • His own immigrant heritage informs his empathy and the universality of the immigrant experience.

    “These people are just like me. You know, we're all immigrants here, if you're not Native American. And it's just like there's no difference.”
    —Adam Svjanovic (38:37)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• James Cameron:

  “What compels me out of all that and what I think the human hook for understanding this tragedy is, is to follow a handful... of survivors that actually survived not only the Hiroshima blast, but then went to Nagasaki and three days later were hit again.”
  [03:10]

• Ernest Moniz:

  “There remains a false narrative that the possession of these nuclear weapons is actually making us safer when they're not.”
  [04:37]

• Stephen Kunkan:

  “I don't think baddies think of themselves as baddies... How do we find commonality with people that we find distasteful?”
  [14:38]

• Linda:

  “Photomontage is very, very purist... The scalpel feels clean. So I can say it makes a clean cut. And this seems to be violent? No, it feels reparative.”
  [21:44–23:34]

• Pedro Almodóvar:

  “The decision to die is a sign of vitalism... I think this is a human right.”
  [31:29]

• Adam Svjanovic:

  “It’s a painting about showing the dignity of all people. And I think that becomes political only in that the dehumanification of people is the first step towards a whole lot of very, very bad things.”
  [36:18]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:38 – Episode introduction & theme
• 02:58 – James Cameron on Ghosts of Hiroshima
• 04:34 – Ernest Moniz on nuclear weapons
• 05:37 – Stories of bomb survivors
• 09:50 – Cameron on sci-fi vs. reality
• 12:25 – The play "Kyoto" and climate change
• 14:34 – Portraying the antagonist in "Kyoto"
• 16:47 – Theater, protest, and generational change
• 18:32 – Punk feminism & photomontage with Linda
• 21:42 – Photomontage: origins and technique
• 24:19 – Pedro Almodóvar on death, color, and creativity
• 31:44 – Euthanasia as vitality, art as empowerment
• 33:11 – "Nixon in China" and art reflecting diplomacy
• 36:12 – St. Patrick's Cathedral mural and immigrant dignity
• 38:37 – Personal immigrant story of Adam Svjanovic

Concluding Thought

In this episode, Amanpour unites diverse artists and storytellers to highlight how creativity can confront trauma, illuminate social challenges, foster empathy, and celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. From atomic survivors to climate negotiators, punk artists to opera composers, each segment affirms art’s enduring power to carry a message—and to invite us all to reflect, heal, and hope.