In order for any work of art—for example, a film, a novel, a poem, or a song—to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.

Some believe, that the art is the purest form of freedom – freedom of expressing oneself. So why this freedom should be restricted in order to be understandable by most of the people? Of course, it should not – any artist should have the ability to create freely and the way he wants.

Some may feel, that a true work of art can be understood: it can be interpreted in some sort of universal way, that will define the true value of it for the public. Unfortunately, it is not completely true. Nowadays, people often cannot understand the inner meaning of the art work – the feelings, that the art work awakes when presented for the public can not be the same intended by the artist. This confusion often leads to misunderstanding of the art work. But it does not mean, that the art work is not valuable at all. For example, some artists became famous only after their deaths. It means, that a real art work is not supposed to be understood by masses quite fast. Sometime it requires considerable effort for the public to really understand the art work.

Creating a masterpiece requires an outstanding abilities from the artists. It requires to think and act differently than most of the people do. Thus, because the process requires a different thinking, the outcome may sometimes not be understood by the majority of the public. For example, some movies that were highly appreciated at Cannes Film Festival never “went pop” – only people with particular knowledge could see the real value of such movies. A true artist should not depend on the public level of cultural development, in fact, he should improve one – it is one of the goals of art.

Every artist becomes one not for the money, thus, public approval, but for the sake of art itself. It means that he creates for a higher purpose. Besides, sometimes an artist creates just for his own satisfaction: while in the process of creating, he discovers inner-himself and tries to express it through his work. It explains how the real work of art often can not be understood by the public: the inner world of a person can not be always understood by this person, not to mention the others. But the misunderstanding does not diminish the real value of such work – this work is intended for a long examination.

All in all, the real value of the work of art is not defined by the level to which it can be understood. Artist should not be limited in the work in order to please the public. Otherwise, the art will definitely lose its value.