They could understand that. They had been living in their own wars. That brief explanation of a historical context was all it took for the teens to become completely emerged in the art. Suddenly, they understood and felt it. This response to art may seem unsophisticated and base, but sophistication is not the issue here.
Impact is the issue.
By being able to access the art, these teens were able to access themselves, a seemingly simple thing that many people are never able to do. Institutionalized elitism plays a significant role in the devaluation of the human intuitive response to art and of art's ability to teach through catharsis and reflection. While many intellectuals and academics consciously and aggressively defend the elite status of art and argue for its high placement in the cultural hierarchy, others have adopted theory, a heavily encoded form of intellectual analysis, as a tool to look into art and analyze its implications, messages, and social significance. Academics use theory as a tool to communicate complex ideas about the abstract social, political, and cultural implications of art, literature, and film. Frequently, academic theory informs the creation of contemporary art and is seen as politically progressive and potentially revolutionary.