“Art that offends” is art that shocks on purpose to breaks taboos or insult strongly held beliefs to force public attention and debate. ie, AI Weiwei's middle finger photo towards Tiananmen to challenge authority and say citizens should judge power and not worship it or Andre Serrano's Piss Christ. "Art that persuades” is art that wins people over by telling clear stories, empathy and simple messages to build broad support. ie. Civil Rights photography displaying images of peaceful protesters being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses. These pictures build empathy and make the problem easy to understand, helping ordinary people and lawmakers support new protections and fairer laws.

Heroic national myths are simplified, celebratory stories taught as part of national history that present the nation’s founders, leaders, or defining events as uniquely virtuous or destined for greatness, while downplaying wrongdoing, complexity, or contested perspectives. Ie, Malaysia/Singapore founding-era development stories that compress leftist currents and minority grievances, Japan’s minimisation of the Nanjing Massacre in certain textbooks and Russia’s “Great Patriotic War” hagiography that downplays Stalinist repression.